Crustal Thinning of the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea

Magnetic data suggest that the distribution of the oceanic crust in the northern South China Sea (SCS) may extend to about 21 °N and 118.5 °E. To examine the crustal features of the corresponding continent–ocean transition zone, we have studied the crustal structures of the northern continental margin of the SCS. We have also performed gravity modeling by using a simple four-layer crustal model to understand the geometry of the Moho surface and the crustal thicknesses beneath this transition zone. In general, we can distinguish the crustal structures of the study area into the continental crust, the thinned continental crust, and the oceanic crust. However, some volcanic intrusions or extrusions exist. Our results indicate the existence of oceanic crust in the northernmost SCS as observed by magnetic data. Accordingly, we have moved the continent–ocean boundary (COB) in the northeastern SCS from about 19 °N and 119.5 °E to 21 °N and 118.5 °E. Morphologically, the new COB is located along the base of the continental slope. The southeastward thinning of the continental crust in the study area is prominent. The average value of crustal thinning factor of the thinned continental crust zone is about 1.3–1.5. In the study region, the Moho depths generally vary from ca. 28 km to ca. 12 km and the crustal thicknesses vary from ca. 24 km to ca. 6 km; a regional maximum exists around the Dongsha Island. Our gravity modeling has shown that the oceanic crust in the northern SCS is slightly thicker than normal oceanic crust. This situation could be ascribed to the post-spreading volcanism or underplating in this region.     

Experimental study of strong reflection of regular water waves over submerged breakwaters in tandem

A series of laboratory experiments was carried out to investigate the strong reflection of regular water waves over a train of submerged breakwaters. Rectangular and trapezoidal shapes of submerged breakwaters are employed and compared for reflecting capability of incident waves. Measured reflection coefficients of regular waves over impermeable submerged breakwaters are verified by comparing with those of the eigenfunction expansion method. A very good agreement is observed. Reflection coefficients of permeable submerged breakwaters are less than those of impermeable breakwaters. The trapezoidal shape is recommended for a submerged breakwater in terms of reflecting capability and practical application.     

A time-dependent radiation condition for transient wave-structure interactions

An extrapolated version of a time-dependent nonreflecting boundary condition is developed for use at artificial boundaries to truncate infinite/semi-infinite domains for transient water wave problems. Test examples include single- and multiple-frequency flap wavemaker problems and free vibrations of a floating circular cylinder. The finite element results compare favorably to analytical solutions. It is shown that with the proposed boundary condition the numerical simulations have little reflections from the artificial boundaries.     

Wave-induced surge motion of a tension leg structure

An analytical solution for the coupling problem of a two-dimensional tension leg structure interacting with a monochromatic linear wave train in an inviscid and incompressible fluid is presented. The tension legs are considered to be linearly elastic. The flow is further assumed to be irrotational and single-valued velocity potentials can then be defined.The boundary value problem is incorporated into a scattering and a radiation problem. The boundary value problems are then solved separately and combined to resolve all unknowns. The complete solutions of the velocity potentials are represented by the series of eigen-functions, and the surge motion of the structure is described in terms of the incident wave properties.The analytical solution is compared with a computer-coded numerical solution utilizing the boundary element method. The solutions agree very well, and both predict a resonant frequency for a specific structure which is different from the natural frequency of the structure due to the presence of the evanescent waves caused by the structure.     

Effect of free surface and strut on fins attached to a strut

An extensive experimental and computational investigation of the combined and separate effects of free surface and body on the lift characteristics of a pair of fins attached to a strut and fin alone is conducted. The results reveal that the free-surface effect becomes significant when the depth of submergence to chord ratio (H/c) is less than three. The effect of the strut is also realized for shallower depth of submergence of the fins through free-surface deformation leading to a significant change in the incidence angle of the flow to the fins. The numerical results based on the Higher Order Boundary Element Method with the linearized free-surface condition show good agreement with the experimental results for fin (foil) alone even at shallow submergence, but some discrepancies appear for the fin attached to the strut at higher speeds mostly due to the neglect of the nonlinear free-surface effect.     

Processes Causing the Temporal Changes in Si/N Ratios of Nutrient Consumptions and Export Flux during the Spring Diatom Bloom

Two processes are generally explained as causes of temporal changes in the stoichiometric silicon/nitrogen (Si/N) ratios of sinking particles and of nutrient consumption in the surface water during the spring diatom bloom: (1) physiological changes of diatom under the stress of photosynthesis of diatom and (2) differences of regeneration between silicon and nitrogen. We investigated which process plays an important role in these changes using a one-dimensional ecosystem model that explicitly represents diatom and the other non-silicious phytoplankton. The model was applied to station A7 (41°30′ N, 145°30′ E) in the western North Pacific, where diatom regularly blooms in spring. Model simulations show that the Si/N ratios of the flux exported by the sinking particles at 100 m depth and of nutrient consumptions in the upper 100 m surface water have their maxima at the end of the spring diatom bloom, the values and timings of which are significantly different from each other. Analyses of the model results show that the differences of regeneration between silicon and nitrogen mainly cause the temporal changes of the Si/N ratios. On the other hand, the physiological changes of diatoms under stress can hardly cause these temporal changes, because the effect of the change in the diatom's uptake ratio of silicon to nitrogen is cancelled by that in its sinking rate.     

A Zonal Pathway for NADW in the South Atlantic

Several large deployments of neutrally buoyant floats took place within the Antarctic Intermediate (AAIW), North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), and the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) of the South Atlantic in the 1990s and a number of hydrographic sections were occupied as well. Here we use the spatially and temporally averaged velocities measured by these floats, combined with the hydrographic section data and various estimates of regional current transports from moored current meter arrays, to determine the circulation of the three major subthermocline water masses in a zonal strip across the South Atlantic between the latitudes of 19°S and 30°S. We concentrate on this region because the historical literature suggests that it is where the Deep Western Boundary Current containing NADW bifurcates. In support of this notion, we find that a net of about 5 Sv. of the 15–20 Sv that crosses 19°S does continue zonally eastward at least as far as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Once across the ridge it takes a circuit to the north along the ridge flanks before returning to the south in the eastern half of the Angola Basin. The data suggest that the NADW then continues on into the Indian Ocean. This scheme is discussed in the context of distributions of dissolved oxygen, silicate and salinity. In spite of the many float-years of data that were collected in the region a surprising result is that their impact on the computed solutions is quite modest. Although the focus is on the NADW we also discuss the circulation for the AAIW and AABW layers.     

The fate of dumped sediments monitored by a high-resolution multibeam echosounder system,Weser Estuary,German Bight

With the development of high-resolution multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) for surveying shallow-water areas a new tool is available to monitor rapid changes in seabed morphology as, e.g., caused by the dumping of dredge spoil in coastal waters. In this study, four data sets of repeated bathymetric surveys with a MBES were processed and analyzed. The data were collected in a 1.94-km² dumping site in the outer Weser Estuary (German Bight). Between June and December 1998, 2.6 million m³ of dredged sediment were deposited there. The bathymetric maps generated in the course of this study reveal features such as subaqueous dunes, scour holes, and mounds of dumped dredge spoil. The mean water depth decreased by about 1 m during the dumping period. Furthermore, difference grids showing changes in sediment volume allowed a calculation of the sediment budget for the monitored area. After a time period of only 5 months, 0.5 million m³ of the originally dumped 2.6 million m³ of dredge spoil had already been removed from the dumping site.