Assessment aspect of contamination of the Arctic estuary ecosystems

Estuarine ecosystem may be considered as ‘pulse-targets’ where information about contamination of all-river basin and about scale and forms of contaminants input to the seas is concentrated. The nucleus of the estuarine processes of contaminants transformation and sedimentation is the critical salinity zone. In the real natural conditions of the Arctic the salinity dependent processes are masked by hydrodynamic effect. The tasks of effective chemical and biological monitoring of Russian Arctic estuarine ecosystems are formulated.     

Macrobenthic communities of the Pechora Sea: the past and the present on the threshhold of the prirazlomnoye oil-field exploitation

On data of bottom sampling, carried out by means of grab, trawl and underwater photography in August–September of 1993 in the area of the Pechora Sea, quantitative regularities of macrobenthos distribution are described for the ecological monitoring purposes. Maps of -biodiversity and biomass indices, bottom communities and trophic zones, singled out by dominant method, are presented. Assessment of structure changes of the investigated area bottom communities during the last 60–70 years is fulfilled. It is shown that the described communities on the whole are of natural undisturbed character and that the revealed changes are within the natural fluctuations in the abundance of benthic populations or may be interpreted in terms of methodical differences in the data analysis and generalization by different authors.     

Interannual variability in water masses in the Greenland Sea and adjacent areas

Oceanographic data covering the period 1950–1998 are used to determine interannual variations in the convection intensity and water mass structure in the Greenland Sea and adjacent areas. Extremely cold winters throughout 1965–1970 assisted intensification of the water vertical exchange in the Greenland and Norwegian seas. As a result, cold and fresh Greenland Sea Deep Water (GSDW) production was extremely high in the central Greenland Sea while in the southern Norwegian Sea warm and salty water spread downwards. The recent rapid warming in the Greenland Sea Gyre interior from 1980 originates, we argue, from an increase in the Atlantic Water (AW) temperature due to the advection of warm waters into the region with the Return Atlantic Current. The negative water temperature and salinity trends in the upper 300 m layer of the Atlantic Water in the Norwegian Sea prevailed during 1950–1990, whereas during 1980–1990 the water temperature trends are indicative of warming of that layer. Observation series obtained onboard the Ocean Weather Ship Mike confirmed the existence of layers with advectiondriven high oxygen concentrations in intermediate and deep layers. The depth of oxygen maxima and the values of oceanographic parameters at this horizon can be regarded as indicators of the convection intensity in the Arctic domain. A simultaneous rise in NAO index and GSDW temperature points to a link between atmospheric and thermohaline circulation. Weakening in water exchange with the North Atlantic could be the reason for the Polar Water recirculation increase within the Nordic seas.     

The brightest blue stars in M33 galaxy as unresolved star groups

The brightest blue stars in the M33 galaxy have peculiar images. A method to resolve them into components was applied. The brightest members stars atV15–16 mag were recognized as multiple ones. Some stars up toV=17 mag have multiple structures, too. The image of the brightest blue stars consist of two or more components and probably some of them, in fact, resemble dense stellar groups such of R 136 in 30 Dor.     

Preliminary results of measurements of atmospheric turbulence over the sea

We perform the experimental verification of the applicability of the theory of similarity to the wave boundary layer and the assessment of wave-induced perturbations of the air flow depending on various conditions of stratification of the atmosphere and the state of the sea. The measurements were carried out from a stationary platform located in the coastal part of the Black Sea. The experimental procedure is based on the simultaneous measurements of the profile and fluctuations of the wind speed at 5–6 levels in the 1.3–21-m layer, the elevations of the sea surface, the directions of waves and winds, and the mean gradients of temperature and humidity of air. The structure of the boundary layer in the region of measurements depends on the direction of the wind. For weak and moderate onshore winds (< 9 m/sec), the approximate balance is preserved between the production and dissipation of turbulent energy in the cases of unstable and neutral stratification. On the average, the estimates of friction velocity according to the profiles are higher than the dissipative estimates by 10% mainly due to the deficiency of dissipation near the surface. For the offshore wind, the structure of the boundary layer abruptly changes and is determined not by the local parameters but by strong turbulent eddies formed over the dry land. The intensity of low-frequency turbulent fluctuations and the gradient of wind velocity near the surface in the coastal zone are 1.5–2 times higher than for the open sea. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 3, pp. 42–61, May–June, 2007.     

Effect of the shape of an underwater coastal slope on the hydrodynamic instability parameters of a long-shore wave current in a surf zone

This paper reports the results of a numerical study on the hydrodynamic instability parameters of a long-shore wave current in a surf zone with convex and concave bottom profiles. The limits of the change of the relative length of a long-shore meander have been derived in the form of 2/66, and structural and dynamic peculiarities of perturbations in a surf zone with various bottom profiles have been demonstrated.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Hydrodynamic instability of the Equatorial Countercurrent in the Tropical Atlantic

Unstable wave disturbance parameters and their seasonal variability are considered using a multi-level quasi-geostropic model of a large-scale current. It has been postulated that hydrodynamically unstable processes become more intensive during the winter-spring period, with the dominating wavelength being 600 km and the period 350 days. The decay of the Equatorial Countercurrent in spring is related to a mixed type of hydrodynamic instability and to the generation of planetary waves. During the summerautumn period, when the Equatorial Countercurrent's hydrodynamic instability is developing, meandering occurs, with the lengths of the waves, slowly migrating across the ocean in an easterly direction, being 950–1500 km.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Current field in the north-western Black Sea and its role in the distribution of hydrological characteristics

The data derived from the observation of current profiles and hydrophysical features, carried out in the north-western Black Sea in August 1992, are considered. The main features of the currents' structure have been identified; they are consistent with the distribution of the basic characteristics computed from the distributions of the hydrological elements (dynamic heights, cold content, density of the accessible potential energy). A relationship between the thickness of the cold intermediate layer (CIL) and the Richardson numbers near the layer core distinctly manifested itself in the convergence zone over the shelf edge. The average correlation coefficient between these quantities was equal to 0.877, and the range of sampling variability with a probability of 0.95 varied from 0.9 to –0.79.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Mathematical modeling of barotropic waves in Lake Donuzlav

Within the framework of the linear theory, by using numerical methods, we study the free and forced waves in a bounded basin whose geometric characteristics approximately correspond to Lake Donuzlav. The oscillatory motions of the liquid at the exit of the lake are regarded as a driving force. The dependences of the amplitudes of generated waves on the parameters of the driving force are analyzed. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 1, pp. 37–51, January–February, 2005.     

A Model of the Sevastopol'skaya Bay. Reproduction of the Vertical Structure of Temperature and Salinity Fields in 1997–1999

We discuss the results of a numerical experiment carried out within the framework of the most complete one-dimensional (integrated over the horizontal coordinates) version of the quasiisopycnic multilayer model taking into account the processes of diapycnic mass, heat, and salt exchange and the diffusion coefficients chosen according to the theory of double diffusion. The indicated experiment reproduces the vertical thermohaline structure of waters in the Sevastopol'skaya Bay and its variability in 1997–1999. For numerical computations, we use the actual data of meteorological observations and measurements of the discharge of the river Chernaya and the sea level. The comparison of the numerical results with the data of monthly hydrological surveys reveals their good agreement (not only qualitative but also quantitative).