The Structure of A Turbulent Jet in A Crossflow-Effect of Jet-Crossflow Velocity

A comprehensive numerical study on the three-dimensional structure of a turbulent jet in crossflow is performed. The jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio (R) varies in the range of 2 - 16; both vertical jets and inclined jets without excess streamwise momentum are considered. The numerical results of the Standard two-equation k-ε model show that the turbulent structure can be broadly categorised according to the jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio. For strong to moderate jet discharges, i.e. R> 4, the jet is characterized by a longitudinal transition through a bent-over phase during which the jet becomes almost parallel with the main freestream, to a sectional vortex-pair flow with double concentration maxima; the computed flow details and scalar mixing characteristics can be described by self-similar relations beyond a dimensionless distance of around 20-60. The similarity coefficients are only weakly dependent on R. The cross-section scalar field is kidney-shaped and bifurcated, vvith distinct double concentr     

Transient Atmospheric Events Measured by Detectors on the Vernov Satellite

In this paper, data obtained by the Vernov satellite are discussed in comparison with the data obtained by Universitetsky–Tatiana-1, 2 satellites. The advanced instrumentation onboard the Vernov satellite improved the capabilities of the data-transmission system, providing an opportunity to acquire more detailed information on transient atmospheric events (TAEs), including a wider range of TAE photon numbers (event brightness) down to lower photon numbers, the opportunity to observe the events in ultraviolet range without the considerable inclusion of red–infrared photons (which indicates the substantial contribution of electric discharges, lightning precursors, at the altitudes of thunderstorm clouds), and the observation of TAE series at a rate of about 10–100 occurrences per second with a period from tens of seconds to several minutes.     

Hydrochemical features of the Kara Sea aquatic area in summer 2015

During cruise 65 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in the Kara Sea, three transects were executed: one eastwards from the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago and two in the St. Anna and Voronin troughs. It was noted that the continental runoff affected the entire surveyed aquatic area, even at the northern extremity of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. The transect along the St. Anna Trough showed the presence of a slope frontal zone overlaid at the surface by a desalinated layer. The Voronin Trough was characterized by sliding of slope waters. The hydrochemical parameters show that the surveys were carried out during a recession of biological activity of the waters and that the peak bloom was over by that time. The hydrochemical structure of waters conformed to early autumn conditions, but before the beginning of intense cooling of surface waters.     

Sulfur Isotopes in the Upper Part of the Black Sea Anoxic Zone

New data are reported on the sulfur isotope composition and concentration of sulfide and sulfate in the upper part of the Black Sea anoxic zone as a function of the potential water density. The observations were performed at a station with the coordinates 44.489° N and 37.869° E three times a week every two days. A local negative deficiency in sulfate concentration up to 1.7% related to the sulfate reduction processes was recorded. This anomaly in sulfate concentration was short-lived and did not affect the sulfur isotope composition. In the upper part of the anaerobic zone, the δ³⁴S(SO₄) value varied from 21.2 to 21.5‰, which could have occurred from mixing of water masses from the oxic zone (21.1‰) and the Bottom Convective Layer (23.0 ± 0.2‰). The sulfur isotope composition of sulfide ranged from ?40.8% at a depth of 250 m to ?39.4‰ at the upper boundary of the anoxic zone with a H₂S content of only 2.7 μM. Two models (mass balance and fractionation of sulfur isotopes using the Rayleigh equation) are considered to explain the differences in δ³⁴S(H₂S) values observed.     

Thioploca spp. sheaths as niches for bacterial and protistan assemblages

Sulfide oxidizing bacterial mats are common in regions of the continental shelves characterized by high primary production and the resultant oxygen minimum zone. These mats are made up of several species of Beggiatoa and/or Thioploca, which oxidize sulfide that is generated in the sediment. Thioploca spp. inhabit a large polysaccharide sheath that encompasses bundles of 1–20 filaments (trichomes), each ranging from 3 to 60 μm in diameter. This sheath has been shown to be a critical component of the autecology of Thioploca. Analysis of Thioploca from cold seeps in Monterey Bay using light and transmission electron microscopy identified new and diverse microbial assemblages associated with interstitial spaces between trichomes, inside the sheath. Small diameter, non‐vacuolate, filamentous prokaryotes were numerous. Amoebae, euglenozoa, ciliates and other protists of unknown affiliation were observed in sheaths. Most of the protists possessed food vacuoles and some protists showed ultrastructural evidence of endosymbionts. These observations suggest that Thioploca sheaths may serve as oases on the sea floor, providing nutritional and detoxification services to previously unrecognized microbial partners.     

Nitrogen uptake kinetics in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

The first estimates of uptake kinetic parameters for NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, and urea in the Ross Sea, Antarctica were measured on three cruises during austral late winter–early spring 1996 (pre-bloom), late spring 1997 (bloom development), and summer 1997 (bloom decline). Nitrogen (N) uptake experiments were conducted with water collected at the 50% light penetration depth using trace-metal clean protocols and ¹⁵N tracer techniques. At all sites, ambient NO₃⁻ concentrations ranged from 5.8 to 30.5 μg-at N l⁻¹ and silicic acid concentrations were greater than 62.0 μg-at Si l⁻¹. The following trends were observed. First, based on maximum uptake rates (V_max), apparent N utilization followed the order NO₃⁻>NH₄⁺>urea during the pre-bloom and bloom development cruises. During the summer cruise, as the bloom was declining, the apparent order of utilization was NH₄⁺>NO₃⁻>urea. Second, evidence for possible repression of NO₃⁻ uptake by elevated NH₄⁺ concentrations was only observed at one site. Third, the kinetic parameters of NH₄⁺ uptake rates corrected for isotope dilution were compared with the kinetic parameters determined from uncorrected rates. In this comparison, the measure of substrate affinity, α (α=V_max/K_s) increased by an average of 4.6-fold when rates were corrected for isotope dilution, but values of V_max remained unchanged. Fourth, using bacterial production data, the magnitude of bacterial N uptake was estimated. Assuming that all bacterial N demands were met with NH₄⁺, the estimated bacterial portion of NH₄⁺ uptake ranged from <1%, when the ratio of bacteria to autotrophic biomass was low, to 35%, when bacterial abundance and biomass were highest. Finally, dramatic changes in NH₄⁺ uptake capacity were observed at one station (Stn. O), where kinetic parameters were measured during all three cruises. We hypothesize that a mutualistic relationship exists between phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria, and that the creation of microzones of high NH₄⁺ concentrations contributed to the changes seen at this station.     

A singular evolutive extended Kalman filter to assimilate ocean color data in a coupled physical–biochemical model of the North Atlantic ocean

Within the European DIADEM project, a data assimilation system for coupled ocean circulation and marine ecosystem models has been implemented for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. One objective of this project is to demonstrate the relevance of sophisticated methods to assimilate satellite data such as altimetry, surface temperature and ocean color, into realistic ocean models. In this paper, the singular evolutive extended Kalman (SEEK) filter, which is an advanced assimilation scheme where three-dimensional, multivariate error statistics are taken into account, is used to assimilate ocean color data into the biological component of the coupled system. The marine ecosystem model, derived from the FDM model [J. Mar. Res. 48 (1990) 591], includes 11 nitrogen and carbon compartments and describes the synthesis of organic matter in the euphotic zone, its consumption by animals of upper trophic levels, and the recycling of detritic material in the deep ocean. The circulation model coupled to the ecosystem is the Miami isopycnic coordinate ocean model (MICOM), which covers the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans with an enhanced resolution in the North Atlantic basin. The model is forced with realistic ECMWF ocean/atmosphere fluxes, which permits to resolve the seasonal variability of the circulation and mixed layer properties. In the twin assimimation experiments reported here, the predictions of the coupled model are corrected every 10 days using pseudo-measurements of surface phytoplankton as a substitute to chlorophyll concentrations measured from space. The diagnostics of these experiments indicate that the assimilation is feasible with a reduced-order Kalman filter of small rank (of order 10) as long as a sufficiently good identification of the error structure is available. In addition, the control of non-observed quantities such as zooplankton and nitrate concentrations is made possible, owing to the multivariate nature of the analysis scheme. However, a too severe truncation of the error sub-space downgrades the propagation of surface information below the mixed layer. The reduction of the actual state vector to the surface layers is therefore investigated to improve the estimation process in the perspective of sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor (SeaWiFS) data assimilation experiments.     

Reversing Water Exchange Patterns at the Entrance to a Semiarid Coastal Lagoon

Water velocity and density profiles were obtained in late-spring and late-winter to document reversing mean circulation patterns at the entrance to a semiarid coastal lagoon, the Bay of Guaymas, in the Gulf of California, Mexico. The lagoon is shallow but the bathymetry at its entrance is similar to that of temperate estuaries with an asymmetrically positioned channel flanked by shoals. In late-spring the mean circulation at the entrance to the lagoon was driven by horizontal density gradients that arose from excess evaporation over precipitation in the area as evidenced by water density profiles. The lagoon exported relatively warm (25·8 °C) and salty (36·2) water to the Gulf of California through the channel. This export was consistent with inverse estuarine circulation influenced by bathymetry. In late-winter, the circulation at the entrance of the lagoon was mostly driven by wind stress that blew from the northwest, roughly along the main axis of the lagoon. Relatively cool (16·0) °C) and less salty (35·1) water from the Gulf of California was driven into the lagoon within the channel. Density gradients inside the lagoon seem to have played a secondary role in driving the circulation. The late-winter circulation was then estuarine-like, with outflow in the direction of the wind over the shallow areas and a compensatory inflow appearing in the channel as expected from theory of wind-driven flow over bathymetry. This estuarine-like circulation developed despite the lack of measurable freshwater input to the lagoon and was the opposite to that observed in late-spring. These observations then document a reversal in water exchange patterns from season to season in a semiarid coastal lagoon. The observations also constitute one of the few reported examples of flow over shoals driven in the same direction as the wind stress with a compensatory flow in the channel.     

Basic Environmental–Hydrogeological Studies in the Territory of European Russia Affected by Chernobyl Accident

Water Resources - A procedure for assessing the protection of groundwater against pollution is considered. This is a basic procedure for tentative forecast estimates of changes in the...