Hazard assessment in rock cliffs at Central Algarve (Portugal): A tool for coastal management

Coastal hazards are in the interface of human activities with natural coastal processes. The conflicts arising from this relationship require new approaches suitable for coastal management that consider the dynamic of coastal areas. A method to assess hazard in rock cliffs is presented, combining cliff evolution forcing mechanisms along with protection factors, according to a weighted factors system. This method provides a rapid evaluation of vulnerability for cliffed areas, supporting coastal management and hazard mitigation. The method was applied to the rocky cliffs of the densely populated coastal zone between Galé and Olhos de Água (Southern Portugal), where high and very high hazard values were found to be dominant. A method validation was made using the vulnerability areas and the recorded mass movements over a 45 year period in the same area.     

Application of a nonlinear frequency domain wave–current interaction model to shallow water recurrence effects in random waves

The effect of ambient currents on nearshore nonlinear wave–wave energy transfer in random waves is studied with the use of a nonlinear frequency domain wave–current interaction model. We focus on the phenomenon of wave recurrence as a classical nonlinear phenomenon whose characteristics are well established for systems truncated to small numbers of frequency modes. The model used for this study is first extended to enhance accuracy; comparisons of permanent form solutions to analytical forms confirm the model accuracy. Application of the model to a highly truncated system confirmed the model’s consistency with published results for both positive (following) and negative (adverse) currents. Propagation of random wave spectra over a flat bottom was performed with the model, with the intent of determining the prevalence of recurrence between the spectral peak and its harmonics. For spectra of moderate Ursell number, it was found that positive currents extended the length scale of recurrence relative to the case with no currents; conversely, negative currents reduced the recurrence lengths. However, beyond a propagation distance of ≈40 wavelengths of the spectral peak, recurrence becomes almost completely damped as the spectra becomes broad and the spectral energies equilibrate. For spectra of high Ursell number, in contrast, recurrence is almost immediately damped, suggesting that the nonlinearity is sufficient to allow immediate spectral broadening and equilibration and overwhelming any preferential interactions among the spectral peak and its harmonics, regardless of current magnitude or direction.     

Large Eddy Simulation on Interaction Between in-Line and Cross-Flow Oscillation of A Circular Cylinder

This paper discusses numerical results from three-dimensional large eddy simulations of an oscillating cylinder under prescribed movements in uniform flow. Six cases,namely pure in-line,pure cross-flow and two groups of 'Figure of Eight' oscillation patterns are under investigation at Reynolds number Re=24000. The 'Figure of Eight' pattern in each group is with identical shape but opposite orbital directions. The numerical results on hydrodynamic forces,higher order force components,and vortex shedding mode...     

Stationary waves in the flow of a homogeneous fluid with vertical shear of the velocity

A plane problem of free stationary gravitational waves in a horizontal current with vertical shear of the velocity is studied in the linear statement. The determination of the parameters of waves is reduced to the solution of the Sturm–Liouville boundary-value problem. For some vertical distributions of current velocity, we obtain analytic solutions. We propose a numerical algorithm for finding the parameters of waves. On the basis of the performed analysis, we establish the possibility of existence of stationary surface waves in currents for certain ranges of the Froude number. As the Froude number decreases, the waves become shorter, which leads to a faster attenuation of waves disturbances with depth. Under the actual conditions, the waves are short and suffer the influence of shear currents only in the subsurface layer of the ocean.     

Principles of organization of a database on theory of wave processes in the World's Ocean

A conceptual variant for constructing a computer database for the theory of wave processes in the World's Ocean is suggested. Five basic model components have been singled out, namely, acoustic waves, surface waves, internal waves, gyroscopic waves, and Rossby waves. The structure of each block is described. The main principle of organizing the databank consists in dividing the entire variety of wave processes into categories and in generating a hierarchical system of models for each, category, using the principle of transition from general to partial. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Treatment of Hydrodynamic Loading for Random Sea State

- In order to employ cost effective frequency domain analysis for off-shore structures treatment of hydrodynamic loading is essential. Drag and inertia dominated, resonating and antiresonating cases under random sea states are analyzed to highlight the implications and relative merits of four salient linearization techniques.     

An early Miocene reefal platform in the Rama Ridge (Banda Sea, Indonesia)

 In December 1995 we dredged early Miocene coral-reef carbonates and early/middle Pliocene slope carbonates outcropping on the submerged Rama Ridge. This indicates that some of the Banda Sea Ridges were present during early Miocene times. Subsequent major tectonic subsidence occurred between middle Miocene and early Pliocene times. These results concur with the hypothesis of a relatively recent age for the North Banda Sea basement. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revision received: 23 October 1997     

The statistics of particle velocities and accelerations under waves with directional spread

The statistics of the horizontal component of the water particle velocity vector under random waves are considered. A spread in the directions of travel of the component wave trains does not affect the rms value of the modulus r but it affects the shape of its probability distribution in such a way that the pr3bability of extreme values is reduced. For small and moderate directional spreads the modulus for a given probability of exceedance is reduced by a factor which tends to F_s as the probability of exceedance tends to zero, where F_s is the spread factor (which is typically 0.9 in temperate storms). However, the convergence on this asymptote is not complete for probabilities of engineering importance, particularly for wide directional spreads. The standard deviation of the probability distribution of the direction of the vector is reduced roughly in inverse proportion to r. The same conclusions apply to particle accelerations.     

Factors governing abundance of hydrolyzable amino acids in the sediments from the N.W. European Continental Margin (47–50°N)

Fifty-six samples representing 6 sediment cores taken along the N.W. European Continental Margin from the shelf, slope and abyssal plain of the Goban Spur and Meriadzek Terrace were quantitatively analysed for total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA) and clay minerals. In descending order, the five most abundant amino acids making up more than 70% of the total were: aspartic acid, glycine, serine, alanine and glutamic acid. Clay mineral proportions were typical for the N.E. Atlantic, in order of descending abundance: illite, kaolinite, chlorite, smectite and mixed layers.The Meriadzek Terrace area is characterised by fine grain suspension sedimentation with a low pelagic carbonate input and the lowest content of THAA. In contrast, the Goban Spur transect is characterised by much higher carbonate inputs and more vigorous hydrodynamics as judged from granulometry and the high abundance of minerals of shelf and continental origin and a generally higher THAA content. The pelagic portion of THAA deposited at the sea floor is more readily mineralised during early diagenesis than the more ‘refractory', clay mineral-associated continental portion. Along this margin the average mineralization of THAA down to 25 cm in the sediment is about 54%. There is a significant affinity between chlorites and amino acids which we suggest may involve the formation of ionic bonds between the octahedral layers of the clay and the amino acids.     

Influence of Bottom Stress on the Two-layer Flow Induced by Gravity Currents in Estuaries

Baroclinic circulation in highly stratified and partially stratified estuaries is characterised by a two-layer flow: a bottom salt- water inflow and a surface brackish-water outflow. Tidal period variation of the thicknesses of a two-layer flow is observed to be associated with mixing, bottom stress and hydraulic characteristics of superposed tidal and gravity currents. Here, both analytical two-layer hydraulic equations with weak friction and a numerical model including a turbulence closure were utilised to understand the mechanism of the layer tendency within a two-layer flow under different barotropic flow conditions. It has been found that in the weak bottom friction case, a gravity current has two critical solutions at the layer thickness equal to 0·5Hand 0·292H. The layer thickness towards a particular critical solution is dependent on the sign of the bottom stress, i.e. when the bottom stress is opposite (favor) to the bottom gravity current, its layer thickness converges to 0·5H(0·292H). In the case of strong bottom stress and mixing opposing the gravity current, the solutions of the gravity current layer thickness at 0·5Hand 0·292Hwill not be valid. Both mixing and vorticity produced by bottom stress erode the halocline, and produce a high velocity core in the mid-depth, which leads to the thickness of a bottom gravity current greater than 0·5H. These internal hydraulic tendency and mixing processes, varying with time-dependent barotropic tidal current forcing, determine the tidal period variation of the gravity current structure.