Influence of discrete step size on wind setup component of storm surge

Open coast storm surge water levels consist of wind setup due to wind shear at the water surface; a wave setup component caused by wind induced waves transferring momentum to the water column; an atmospheric pressure head component due to the atmospheric pressure deficit over the spatial extent of the storm system; a Coriolis forced setup or setdown component due to the effects of the rotation of the earth acting on the wind driven alongshore current at the coast; a possible seiche component due to resonance effects initiated by moving wind system, and, if astronomical tides are present, an astronomical tide component (although the tide is typically considered to be a forced astronomical event and not really a direct part of the external wind-driven meteorological component of storm surge). Typically the most important component of a storm surge is the wind setup component, especially on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico shorelines. In many approaches to storm surge modeling, a constant depth approximation is invoked over a limited step size in the computational domain. The use of a constant depth approximation has received little attention in the literature although can be very important to the resulting magnitude of the computed storm surge. The importance of discrete step size to the wind setup storm surge component is considered herein with a simple case computation of the wind setup component on a linear slope offshore profile. The present study findings show that the constant depth approximation to wind setup storm surge estimation is biased on the low side (except in extremely shallow water depths) and can provide large errors if discrete step size is not sufficiently resolved. Guidance has been provided on the error that one might encounter for various step sizes on different slopes.     

Taguchi design-based seismic reliability analysis of geostructures

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the seismic reliability of geostructures in an optimal way. Taguchi design of experiments are adopted to find the most efficient and cost-effective combination of material properties in the uncertainty domain. Twelve uniform and mixed design models are tested. A polynomial-based response surface meta-model is built for each one and the accuracy of perdition is examined using 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations. A two-dimensional gravity dam is used as a vehicle for probabilistic transient analyses. The ground motion record-to-record variability is added as well using over one hundred earthquake records selected based on probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. Dynamic sensitivity of epistemic random variables are evaluated for the first time. Finally, an efficient and practical procedure is proposed in order to determine the reliability index of the geostructures. This approach, in fact, can be generalised for any type of engineering structures dealing with multi-hazard problems.     

Vertical Variability of Primary Production and Chlorophyll a in the Kara Sea in the Middle of Summer: Contribution of Subsurface Maxima to the Water Column Values

Oceanology - Spatial and vertical variability of primary production (PP) and Chl a were studied in the framework of the 76th cruise of R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh to the Kara Sea from July 7 to...     

Seasonal Dynamics of Red Blood Parameters in Healthy People in Regions with Different Types of Climate: a Meta-Analysis

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - It is known that in mammals living in climates other than tropical, hemoconcentration is usually observed in winter. The average modern person actively...     

Comparative toxicities of chlorinated biphenyls on sea urchin egg fertilisation and embryogenesis

The aim of this study was to compare the biological actions of selected chlorinated biphenyls (CB's) (with different degrees of chlorine substitution), using the sea urchin test system, for their ability to affect fertilisation, embryogenesis and mitotic activity. Sea urchin embryos were exposed to the test agents throughout larval development or for shorter intervals (e.g. before or after hatching). Sperm or eggs were exposed before fertilisation, thereafter the contaminants were removed from embryo cultures. The results showed maximal activities from medium-chlorinated (tetra- and hexachloro-substituted) compounds, as compared to low- and high-chlorinated biphenyls (mono-, di- and octachloro-substituted), at nominal levels ranging from 10⁻⁶m to 10⁻⁵m. This held true for the different parameters and treatment schedules. Developmental defects were only detected following post hatching exposure of embryos to CB's, whereas pre-hatching exposure failed to reveal any embryological or cytogenetic abnormalities.     

Wave drift enhancement effects in multi column structures

A theoretical assessment is made of mean wave drift forces on groups of vertical circular cylinders, such as the columns of a floating offshore platform. A complete analytical solution is obtained for two cylinders extending from seabed to free surface, and a long wave approximation is found to provide reliable predictions of the drift force in line with the waves at low frequencies. For moderate separation between the two cylinders, this force is found to tend at low frequencies to a value four times the force on an isolated cylinder.A numerical method is employed to study two surface piercing cylinders truncated below the free surface, and an arrangement of four vertical cylinders characteristic of a floating offshore platform. The mean vertical drift force is found to be reasonably well approximated, over the frequency range of practical interest, by the force on an individual cylinder considered in isolation multiplied by the number of cylinders in the group. Interaction effects, however, have a profound influence on the total horizontal drift force. At low frequencies this force is found to tend to the force on an isolated cylinder multiplied by the squate of the number of cylinders in the group.     

A note on the seafloor coupling characteristics of the new ONR ocean-bottom seismometer

A series of transient tests were conducted to determine the seafloor coupling characteristics of a new ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) developed for the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR). The OBS comprises a large recording package and a separate sensor package that is deployed from the recording package. In addition to the coupling characteristics of both the sensor and the recording packages, the seismic energy radiated from the main recording package as a result of motion of the recording package was measured. The observed vertical coupling resonances of both the recording package and the sensor package are in good agreement with those predicted by a simple model of soil-structure interaction. The most important result of this study is that significant energy is radiated from the recording package in response to horizontal motions of the recording package. When the sensor package is 1 m from the recording package, the amplitude of the recorded signal is similar to that recorded in the recording package. In the field, this effect will result in distortion of seismic signals and increased background noise recorded by the sensor package if the recording package is disturbed by seafloor currents or biological activity. The amplitude of this signal attenuates by approximately a factor of two as sensor/recorder separation is increased from 1 to 6 m, suggesting that an improved response can be achieved by increasing the separation between the recording package and the sensors. This effect is much less severe for vertical disturbances of the recording package.