Imagery of the inhomogeneities of currents on the ocean surface state

The influence of inhomogeneities of surface currents on the intensity of breaking wind waves is considered and a model for the relation between whitecap contrasts and the tensor of current gradients is developed. The imagery of typical patterns of ocean currents is discussed. The results of field observations supporting this model are given.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Approaches to the study of cheniers along the coastline of the Soviet Union

With the very extensive coastline in the north and northeast and the relatively shorter coastlines in the south, cheniers in the USSR can occur in a great variety of climatological conditions ranging from subarctic to subtropical. Cheniers in the USSR have been studied since approximately 1900, the investigations being mainly concerned with the palaeogeographical aspects. Since the 1960's, investigations have focussed on contemporary morphodynamics. Chenier formation appears to depend largely on the relative influence that marine and fluvial factors have on the formation of marginal deltaic plains. Research in this field is briefly reviewed.     

Evidence for slope instability and current-induced sediment transport,the RMSTitanic wreck search area,Newfoundland rise

The first map of the sea bed morphology and sedimentary features within the RMSTitanic search area is proposed from the interpretation of SAR side-scan sonar images. Downslope sedimentary features such as erosional furrows and crown scarps constitute a 7 km wide instability corridor. A large field (15 km²) of asymmetrical sediment waves indicating a downslope transport is identified. Current-induced features corresponding to associated sand ribbons and barchan dunes resulting from the Western Boundary Undercurrent action are mapped. The morphology of theTitanic Canyon is also precised from the SAR images. Finally, the origin of the sea bed features is discussed in an attempt to link each bed form to a sedimentary process.     

Sea-structure interaction for tripod-type steel gravity platform

The paper deals with a numerical integrated procedure to calculate the effects of the interaction between sea waves and a tripod-type steel gravity platform. The main aspects to be taken into account for a reliable wave loading analysis of such a new type of platform are emphasized. Among them, the field perturbation effect due to the large bodies presence is analysed. Finally, some principal results in terms of structure global loads obtained by the numerical integrated procedure are presented.     

An application of a Markov-chain model of shore erosion for describing the dynamics of sediment flux

Acquisition of coastline retreat rate time sequences (RRTS) is an important component of Arctic coastal monitoring. These data can be used not only to estimate sediment input into the sea during a fixed time period, but also to dynamically simulate sediment flux intensity. The RRTS were investigated at the Marre-Sale (Kara Sea) and Malii Chukochii Cape (East Siberian Sea) key sites. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the RRTS possess Markov characteristic. This allowed coastline dynamics to be described using a Markov-chain model. A model is discussed that combines Markov characteristic and information about the composition and structure of the permafrost sediments to describe sediment flux dynamics.     

Impact of sediment organic matter quality on the fate and effects of fluoranthene in the infaunal brittle star Amphiura filiformis

Hydrophobic contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) readily adsorb to organic matter. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of the quality of sedimentary organic matter for the uptake, biotransformation and toxicity of the PAH, fluoranthene (Flu), in the infaunal brittle star Amphiura filiformis. Brittle stars were exposed to a base sediment covered by a 2 cm Flu-spiked top layer (30 microg Flu/g dry wt. sed.), enriched to the same total organic carbon content with either refractory or labile organic matter. The labile carbon source was concentrated green flagellate: Tetraselmis spp. The refractory carbon source was lignin from a paper mill. Tissue concentrations of Flu both in disk and arm-fractions were determined as total Flu, parent Flu (i.e. untransformed), aqueous Flu-metabolites, polar Flu-metabolites and tissue residue Flu (i.e. unextractable). Our results showed that sediment particle ingestion is a pathway by which Flu can enter benthic food webs. Flu toxicity (measured as arm-regeneration), but not net accumulation, was dependent on the nutritional quality of the ingested sediment particles. Flu bioaccumulation could not be attributed solely to equilibrium partitioning between organism lipid content and organic content of the sediment. Biotransformation of Flu by brittle stars was very limited and unaffected by organic matter quality. A. filiformis contributed to the downward transport of Flu from the surface sediment to the burrow lining. The limited breakdown of parent Flu by brittle stars and/or microorganisms was relatively higher in burrows compared to surface sediment, and highest in the presence of labile organic matter. Tissue concentrations were higher in disk than in arms, but the proportion of metabolic products relative to parent Flu was higher in arms than in the disk fraction. We estimate that the yearly mobilization of sediment-associated Flu by arm-regeneration in A. filiformis is in the range of 3.8-29.4 microg total Flu eq. m(-2) year(-1) at a sediment concentration of 30 microg Flu/g dry wt. sed.     

Using ocean ambient noise for array self-localization and self-synchronization

Estimates of the travel times between the elements of a bottom hydrophone array can be extracted from the time-averaged ambient noise cross-correlation function (NCF). This is confirmed using 11-min-long data blocks of ambient noise recordings that were collected in May 1995 near the southern California coast at an average depth of 21 m in the 150-700 Hz frequency range. Coherent horizontal wavefronts emerging from the time derivative of the NCF are obtained across the array's aperture and are related to the direct arrival time of the time-domain Green's function (TDGF). These coherent wavefronts are used for array element self-localization (AESL) and array element self-synchronization (AESS). The estimated array element locations are used to beamform on a towed source.     

Degradation in Cemented Marine Clay Subjected to Cyclic Compressive Loading

The influence of cyclic loading on the strength and deformation behavior of cemented marine clay has been studied. This marine clay is of recent Pleistocene origin and deposited in a shallow water marine environment. Open pits were dug in sheeted enclosures and from these pits, undisturbed samples were taken for strength testing. A series of standard triaxial shear tests and stress controlled one-way cyclic load tests were conducted at consolidation stress ranges below and above the preconsolidation pressure. For the stress levels below the preconsolidation pressure, the cyclic loading has brought about the collapse of the cementation bond through an increase in strains, and at higher pressure ranges, the soil behaves like typical soft clay. This experiment studied the rate of development of strain and pore water pressure and shows that rate is a function of number of cycles, applied stress, and stress history. In addition, soil degradation during cyclic loading is studied in terms of Degradation Index. Attempt has been made to predict stain, pore water pressure, and degradation index through an empirical model.     

Multi-bioindicator study of a small estuary in Vendée (France)

Surficial sediment (about 5 mm) was scraped off in 15 stations selected in the Vie Estuary, a small estuary on the French Atlantic coast. The samples, prepared using the suitable methods, were used for comparing the behaviour of periphytic algae, sporopollinic and other palynologic material, ostracoda and foraminifera for proposing a synthetic evaluation of the information provided by each of them. Dinoflagellate cysts, which are found in an almost monospecific assemblage in low-salinity water, are dispersed by tidal currents, but the location of tintinnids in only the lower reaches shows a limited inward transport. Sporopollinic material is clearly related to the adjacent vegetation, indicating a local origin, and then little influence of transport on the microbenthos, even if fragments of freshwater crustaceans and of Pediastrum alga are found down to the mouth in the sporopollinic deposits. This limited transport of microbenthos allows the use of periphytic algae, benthic ostracoda and benthic foraminifera as indicators of local environmental conditions. It was then possible to determine the extent of marine influence in the estuary, to discriminate between the main channel and adjacent basins, and between different stages of evolution of the basins, from a recently dug basin to a eutrophicated one.