Viscous model of plate tectonics for the Black Sea region (in relation to the problem of the late Cenozoic evolution of the Black Sea basins)

A numerical model of the Black Sea region (Northeastern Mediterranean) is presented in which it is regarded as a part of the mosaic plate ensemble consisting of the fixed East European platform; the active Arabian, Adriatic, and Pannonian plates; and passive East and West Black Sea and Mysian microplates, which are embedded in a plastically deformable regional orogenic matrix. The fields of displacements, stresses, and deformations in the region are calculated by means of the finite element method within the framework of a linear-viscous rheology approach to a system with nonhomogeneous viscosities. The velocity field obtained is in good agreement with published data of direct observations of plate displacements in the region. In the pressure field, areas of low pressure and decompression are established in the western part of Black Sea and in the south of the Mysian microplate. The poles of rotation of the East and West Black Sea microplates and of the Mysian microplate are computed. For the latter two microplates, significant rotational components are suggested. The East Black Sea microplate acts mostly as indenter, which transmits the collisional motion from the Arabian plate to the southern edge of the East European platform including the Crimea. According to the geodynamical model, the rates of the Cenozoic sedimentation in the Black Sea depression at the collision stage (Oligocene-Pliocene) result from the greater compression of the East Black Sea microplate as compared to the West Black Sea microplate, which, probably, experienced a kind of extension.     

Coping with disaster: Rehabilitating coastal livelihoods and communities

This paper examines lessons from past approaches to natural disasters, as well as early lessons from the post-2004 Asian tsunami rehabilitation, to draw out general principles for rehabilitating livelihoods in poor coastal communities. We contend that avoiding the mistakes of the past requires: (1) a framework for understanding the diversity of coastal people's livelihood strategies and the sources of their vulnerability, (2) a process for designing interventions that build on this understanding in order to strengthen and revitalize coastal communities, including a means of assessing and selecting the most promising livelihood options, and (3) a focus on the longer-term challenge of building future resilience and sustainability in the communities by addressing the root causes of vulnerability.     

Remote sensing and surface POC concentration in the South Atlantic

Several SeaWiFS products have been compared with shipboard data to assess the possibility of using remote sensing to estimate particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration in surface waters. Transmissometer data were collected during six South Atlantic Ventilation Experiment (SAVE) hydrographic expeditions conducted between November 1987 and March 1989 from R/V Knorr, and Melville. A total of 361 beam attenuation profiles were made with a SeaTech transmissometer interfaced with a CTD/rosette. In order to calculate the POC concentration from transmissometer profiles, a regression between beam attenuation and POC for open Atlantic Ocean waters derived from our research in the North Atlantic (North Atlantic Bloom Experiment, NABE) and enhanced by data from the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Station (BATS) was applied. The profiles were processed and examined as vertical sections of the surface 250 m. The data were collected in two successive years, during the same season, which allowed us to compile a combined data set over the austral summer for examination. Beam attenuation/POC concentrations were integrated down to one attenuation depth with the intent of making comparisons with satellite optical data. No satellite optical data were available for 1987–1989, so the only option was to compare our integrated data with SeaWiFS-derived variables from later years averaged over the same season as SAVE data. Analysis of four SeaWiFS products acquired from 1997 to 2002 demonstrated very low variations from year to year for seasonally averaged data, suggesting that making comparisons of the beam attenuation/POC fields with averaged satellite optical products from later years is a valid (though not optimal) approach for this area. The highest correlation between beam attenuation/POC concentration and remotely derived products was found with normalized water-leaving radiance at 555 nm. Other SeaWiFS-derived variables—chlorophyll concentration, diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490 nm and integral chlorophyll (integrated over one attenuation depth)—were also compared but showed a slightly less satisfactory correlation.     

Numerical investigation of the influence of various factors on the propagation and transformation of solitary waves in the sea

For various stratifications and different types of bottom patterns we study the transformations of solitary perturbations of density appearing in the depth of the sea. In the two-dimensional case, under the assumption that the average dynamic characteristics weakly vary in time as compared with the wave characteristics, we deduce the equations for mean currents and waves taking into account vertical and horizontal viscosity and the diffusion of density. Numerical examples show that the stratification, bottom topography, nonlinearity, mean currents, and dissipation strongly affect both the process of splitting of a solitary wave into wave trains and their amplitude and length. The wave currents exhibit the oscillatory (train-like) character. It is emphasized that, in the case of propagation of solitary perturbations of density with dissipation, it is also important to take into account the combined influence of nonlinearity, currents, bottom topography, and stratification. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Structural monitoring of offshore platforms using impulse and relaxation response

Monitoring offshore platforms, long span bridges, high rise buildings, TV towers and other similar structures is essential for ensuring their safety in service. Continuous monitoring assumes even greater significance in the case of offshore platforms, which are highly susceptible to damage due to the corrosive environment and the continuous action of waves. Also, since a major part of the structure is under water and covered by marine growth, even a trained diver cannot easily detect damage in the structure. In the present work, vibration criterion is adopted for structural monitoring of jacket platforms. Artificial excitation of these structures is not always practicable and ambient excitation due to wind and waves may not be sufficient for collecting the required vibration data. Alternate methods can be adopted for the same purpose, for example, the application of an impact or a sudden relaxation of an applied force for exciting the structure. For jacket platforms, impact can be applied by gently pushing the structure at the fender while relaxation can be accomplished by pulling the structure and then suddenly releasing it using a tug or a supply vessel in both cases. The present study is an experimental investigation on a laboratory model of a jacket platform, for exploring the feasibility of adapting vibration responses due to impulse and relaxation, for structural monitoring. Effects of damage in six members of the platform as well as changes in deck masses were studied. A finite element model of the structure was used to analyze all the cases for comparison of the results as well as system identification. A data acquisition and analysis procedure for obtaining the response signatures of the platform due to the impulse and relaxation procedure was also developed for possible adoption in on-line monitoring of offshore platforms. From the study, it has been concluded that both impulse and relaxation responses are useful tools for monitoring offshore jacket platforms. The present work forms the basis for the development of an automated, on-line monitoring system for offshore platforms, using neural networks.     

Ecology of beach wrack in northern New England with special reference to Orchestia platensis

The northern New England beach wrack community with special reference to the cosmopolitan amphipod crustacean, Orchestia platensis, was examined at estuarine and open coastal habitats. Beach wrack was dominated by the plant genera Ascophyllum, Zostera, Spartina and Chondrus, and was most abundant during spring and late summer. Animal community numbers, biomass and frequency in fresh to moderately decomposed wrack were dominated by O. platensis throughout the year at all habitats; oligochaetes and Collembola were also important. The abundance of O. platensis showed high spatial and temporal variability, with low abundance generally associated with decreased amounts of wrack during colder months. An exception was the winter presence of the species at one estuarine habitat, in patchy aggregations within gravel-cobble refuges. The abundance of O. platensis averaged 1280 (0.04 m²)⁻¹, with a maximum of 7040 (0.04 m²)⁻¹. The life cycle of O. platensis is bivoltine, with summer-hatched young reaching maturity within 1 month. Laboratory studies indicate females with up to 4 broods (30 days)⁻¹, averaging 18 eggs brood⁻¹.Orchestia platensis is omnivorous, eating fresh plant tissue, live oligochaetes, Limulus eggs and diatom ‘fuzz’. The rate of laboratory consumption of algae and Zostera was 0.05 mg plant mg⁻¹ wet body weight day⁻¹. Presumptive predators of O. platensis are juvenile green crab, Carcinus maenus, and the earwig. Anisolabis maritima. The mobility, aggregation and aggressiveness of O. platensis assist the species in establishing and maintaining populations in the rigorous wrack habitat. The general competitive superiority of O. platensis over its congener, O. gammarella, and the co-occurrence of these species on both eastern and western Atlantic shores is discussed.     

Carbon-isotope composition of sediments from the Gulf of Papua

Rivers draining into the Gulf of Papua (GOP) from the Papua New Guinea mainland deliver approximately 340 × 10⁶ t yr^–1 of sediment to the marine environment. The terrestrially derived sediment contains 1.1 ± 0.2% particulate organic carbon with a carbon-isotope composition of –26.5 ± 0.2, and amounts to 3.7 ± 0.7 × 10⁶ t yr^–1. The carbon-isotope composition of sediments in the Gulf of Papua indicates that 40% of the sediment cover contains 75% or more terrestrially derived carbon. Suspended sediments that are transported beyond the delta complex of the Fly River are transported north and northwest, augmented by sediments from other rivers along the coast of the GOP. The carbon-isotope results suggest that a significant quantity of terrestrially derived sediment escapes from the GOP, either along the coastlines to east and west or into the deep ocean via the Moresby and Pandora troughs. Little sediment travels south onto the Great Barrier Reef shelf. Extrapolating the results from this study to the region of Oceania suggests a total flux of particulate organic carbon to the world's oceans from the islands of Oceania of ~ 90 × 10⁶ t yr^–1 or twice the flux of riverine POC from the major rivers of North America, South America, and Africa combined. While such a calculation must be considered illustrative only, the similar tectonic, geomorphologic, and climatic features of the islands of Oceania suggest that the calculation is unlikely to be grossly in error and that the rivers of Oceania therefore represent a major but poorly documented source of sediment and organic carbon to the global ocean.     

Stellar flare statistics — Physical consequences

The observational data permit us to establish clear statistical correlations between different parameters of stellar flare activity and the characteristics of quiet stars. These relations are:

1. between energies and frequencies of flares on stars of different luminosities;
2. between total radiation energies of flares and quiet stars both in X-ray and Balmer emission lines;
3. between flare decay rates just after the maxima and flare luminosities at maxima.