Design of a 3D Chirp Sub-bottom Imaging System

Chirp sub-bottom profilers are marine acoustic devices that use a known and repeatable source signature (1–24 kHz) to produce decimetre vertical resolution cross-sections of the sub-seabed. Here the design and development of the first true 3D Chirp system is described. When developing the design, critical factors that had to be considered included spatial aliasing, and precise positioning of sources and receivers. Full 3D numerical modelling of the combined source and receiver directivity was completed to determine optimal source and receiver geometries. The design incorporates four source transducers (1.5–13 kHz) that can be arranged into different configurations, including Maltese Cross, a square and two separated pairs. The receive array comprises 240 hydrophones in 60 groups whose group-centres are separated by 25 cm in both horizontal directions, with each hydrophone group containing four individual elements and a pre-amplifier. After careful consideration, it was concluded that the only way to determine with sufficient accuracy the source–receiver geometry, was to fix the sources and receivers within a rigid array. Positional information for the array is given by a Real Time Kinematic GPS and attitude system incorporating four antennas to give position, heading, pitch and roll. It is shown that this system offers vertical positioning accuracy with a root-mean-square (rms) error less than 2.6 cm, while the horizontal positioning rms error was less than 2.0 cm. The system is configured so that the Chirp source signature can be chosen by software aboard the acquisition vessel. The complete system is described and initial navigational and seismic data results are presented. These data demonstrate that the approach of using fixed source-receiver geometry combined with RTK navigation can provide complete 3D imaging of the sub-surface.     

Numerical modeling of long waves in shallow water using Incremental Differential Quadrature Method

Incremental Differential Quadrature Method (IDQM) as a rapid and accurate method for numerical simulation of Nonlinear Shallow Water (NLSW) waves is employed. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first endeavor to exploit DQM in coastal hydraulics. The one-dimensional NLSW equations and related boundary conditions are discretized in space and temporal directions by DQM rules and the resulting system of equations are used to compute the state variables in the entire computational domain. It was found that the splitting of total simulation time into a number of smaller time increments, could significantly enhance the performance of the proposed method. Furthermore, results of this study show two main advantages for IDQM compared with other conventional methods, namely; unconditional stability and minimal computational effort. Indeed, using IDQM, one can use a few grid points (in spatial or time direction) without imposing any stability condition on the time step to obtain an accurate convergent solution.     

Caught in the act: the 20 December 2001 gravity flow event in Monterey Canyon

A sediment gravity flow descended through the axis of Monterey Canyon on 20 December 2001 at 13:35 Pacific standard time. The timing of this event is documented by a current-meter package which recorded an 11.9-dbar pressure increase in less than 10 min and was found 550 m down-canyon from its deployment site, buried completely within a >70-cm-thick gravity flow deposit. This event is believed to have started in less than 290 m of water because an instrument at this location was also lost at the same time. A 178-cm core collected after the event from the axis of the canyon at 1,297-m water depth contained fresh, greenish, chlorophyll-rich organic material at 32-cm sub-bottom depth, suggesting the event extended to this water depth. The only trigger identified for this mass movement event appears to be moderate sea and surf conditions. Thus, gravity flow events of this magnitude do not require an exceptional triggering event.     

Boussinesq-type modelling using an unstructured finite element technique

A model for solving the two-dimensional enhanced Boussinesq equations is presented. The model equations are discretised in space using an unstructured finite element technique. The standard Galerkin method with mixed interpolation is applied. The time discretisation is performed using an explicit three-step Taylor–Galerkin method. The model is extended to the surf and swash zone by inclusion of wave breaking and a moving boundary at the shoreline. Breaking is treated by an existing surface roller model, but a new procedure for the detection of the roller thickness is devised. The model is verified using four test cases and the results are compared with experimental data and results from an existing finite difference Boussinesq model.     

The formation and evolution of East Australian current warm-core eddies

Data on East Australian Current (EAC) warm-core eddies were obtained over the period 1976–1978 by the Department of Defence and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). In that time we have learned that warm eddies form by pinch-off of poleward EAC meanders, can coalesce with the EAC and appear generally similar to Gulf Stream, Kuroshio and other current system eddies. Two eddies were tracked over 1977–1978 with satellite buoys and one (eddy B) was repeatedly studied over eleven months. A deep winter core formed by winter convective cooling and the following summer a new surface mixed layer formed on top of the core. The seasonal changes have been analysed for heat content and changes in dynamic relief. The eddy decayed with a time constant of 650 ± 150 days, due to upwelling below the seasonal thermocline. Surface cooling had little effect on eddy lifetime. The eddy contracted horizontally, possibly after some interaction with the EAC, giving rise to eddy spin-up with increasing age. Surface currents increased after eleven months to 2.0 m s^?1. The dynamic relief during summer was also apparently boosted by contact with the EAC. Eddy B was observed to coalesce with a new meander of the EAC rather than drift away to the south. It is proposed that the formation of these eddies is governed by the westward propagation of the baroclinic Rossby wave known as the Tasman Front. Pinch-off of eddies adjacent to the coast and the variable flow of the EAC may be caused by the baroclinic wave ‘breaking’ on the coast. The eddy formation rate is about two per year and most eddies coalesce with the EAC and do not escape to the south. Eddies coalesce and re-separate, creating many subsurface isothermal layers from old cores south of 34°S.