Directional wave measurement at Haifa,Israel, and sediment transport along the Nile littoral cell

Results of three years of directional wave measurement at the Eastern Mediterranean coast of Haifa, Israel are presented. The wave-height and energy-flux distributions reveal a moderately high-energy coast with a bimodal annual cycle.The rate of wave-induced longshore sediment transport is estimated from the directional energy flux distributions. It describes an annual cycle with a maximum northward transport of 75 ± 14 × 10³ m³/month in midwinter and a southward transport of 26 ± 5 × 10³ m³/month in summer. The net annual transport is northward and computed at 110 ± 100 × 10³ m³/yr.We show that a wave-induced transport is sufficient in explaining the apparent transport of sediments in the Nile Littoral Cell, from the Nile Delta source to the Haifa Bay sink.     

Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of Macrobrachium petersi (Hilgendorf) in the Keiskamma River and estuary,South Africa

A dry (1979–1980) and a wet (1980–1981) season had a marked effect on the freshwater inflow into the Keiskamma estuary. Under low inflow conditions, which results in elevated salinities in the upper reaches, an upstream migration of adult Macrobrachium petersi (Hilgendorf) to freshwater takes place. During periods of increased river inflow adult M. petersi move downstream to the more saline reaches of the estuary. These two migratory responses have been interpreted as (a) a breeding migration under high inflow conditions which ensures that larvae are in close proximity to salinities that favour growth and development, and (b) an adult upstream migration back to freshwater to escape elevated estuarine salinities as a result of the low freshwater inflow.     

Long-term changes in Saturn's troposphere

We report the results of monitoring Saturn's H₂ quadrupole and CH₄ band absorptions outside of the equatorial zone over one-half of Saturn's year. This interval covers most of the perihelion half of Saturn's elliptical orbit, which happens to be approximately bounded by the equinoxes. Marked long-term changes occur in the CH₄ absorption accompanied by weakly opposite changes in the H₂ absorption. Around the 1980 equinox, the H₂ and CH₄ absorptions in the northern hemisphere appear to be discontinuous with those in the southern hemisphere. This discontinuity and the temporal variation of the absorptions are evidence for seasonal changes. The absorption variations can be attributed to a variable haze in Saturn's troposphere, responding to changes in temperature and insolation through the processes of sublimation and freezing. Condensed or frozen CH₄ is very unlikely to contribute any haze. The temporal variation of the absorption in the strong CH₄ bands at south temperate latitudes is consistent with a theoretically expected phase lag of 60° between the tropopause temperature and the seasonally variable insolation. We model the vertical haze distribution of Saturn's south temperature latitudes during 1971–1977 in terms of a distribution having a particle scale height equal to a fraction of the atmospheric scale height. The results are a CH₄/H₂ mixing ratio of (4.2 ± 0.4) × 10^?3, a haze particle albedo of $\text{ω}\text{= 0.995 ± 0.003}$, and a range of variation in the particle to gas scale-height ratio of 0.6 ± 0.2. The haze was lowest near the time of maximum temperature. We also report spatial measurements of the absorption in the 6450 Å NH₃ band made annually since the 1980 equinox. A 20 ± 4% increase in the NH₃ absorption at south temperate latitudes has occurred since 1973–1976 and the NH₃ absorption at high northern latitudes has increased during spring. Increasing insolation, and the resulting net sublimation of NH₃ crystals, is probably the cause. Significant long-term changes apparently extend to the deepest visible parts of Saturn's atmosphere. An apparently anomalous ortho-para H₂ ratio in 1978 suggests that the southern temperate latitudes experienced an unusual upwelling during that time. This may have signaled a rise in the radiative-convective boundary from deep levels following maximum tropospheric temperature and the associated maximum radiative stability. This would be further evidence that the deep, visible atmosphere is governed by processes such as dynamics and the thermodynamics of phase changes, which have response times much shorter than the radiative time constant.     

Spectral variations of DY Cen

Two high resolution spectra of the hot RCrB star DY Cen in the red region are compared. The photospheric absorption lines show a radial velocity variation of 12 kms-1 between 1989 July and 1992 May. Emission components to some CII lines present in 1989 are almost entirely absent in 1992. Nebular forbidden lines of [OI], [NII] and [SII] appear unchanged from 1989 to 1992     

Analytical and numerical analysis of the generalized Shkarofsky function

The main analytical properties of the generalized Shkarofsky function and a numerical code for its computation are discussed. The results of a numerical analysis are compared with the results of an asymptotic analysis for parameter values relevant to the problem of whistler-mode propagation in the Earth's magnetosphere. This comparison allows us to specify the range of applicability of different approximations to the generalized Shkarofsky function, which have been used for the analysis of relativistic effects on whistler-mode propagation and instability.     

Speciation of trace metals in sediments of a tropical estuary

Axial surveys were performed in the two river tributaries of the Cochin estuary, SW India during November 1988. Surficial sediments were subjected to sequential chemical extractions to delineate five metal fractions, namely, exchangeable, carbonate bound, easily reducible, organic/sulfide bound, and residual. The results indicated selective accumulation of Mn and Ni in carbonate bound and organic/sulfide forms, along with marginal amounts of Co in the exchangeable fraction. Large portions of Fe and Cr occurred in the residual fraction, whereas composite fractionation of Zn species was noticed. The exchangeable fractions of Fe and Cr as well as of easily reducible cobalt were below detection limits. The levels of Cr and Zn indicate anthropogenic inputs in this estuary, whereas Co and Ni show regional contamination exceeding natural levels. The analytical speciation procedure helps to deduce the sedimental diagenetic processes in the estuarine environment.