一种近岸区波浪破碎模型

从波浪破碎的能量关系入手,以紊流能量方程为基础,考虑破碎区内单个波在不同破碎阶段所提供的紊动能量强度的变化过程,提出了一种波浪破碎模式.通过将这一模型引入Boussinesq方程中,初步建立了一种近岸区波浪变形数学模型,并用波浪水槽实验资料对模型模拟波高和平均水位的情况进行了初步验证,得到了良好的结果.     

Deep water observations of extreme waves with moored and free GPS buoys

Point-positioning GPS-based wave measurements were conducted by deep ocean (over 5,000 m) surface buoys moored in the North West Pacific Ocean in 2009, 2012, and 2013. The observed surface elevation bears statistical characteristics of Gaussian, spectrally narrow ocean waves. The tail of the averaged spectrum follows the frequency to the power of ?4 slope, and the significant wave height and period satisfies the Toba’s 3/2 law. The observations compare well with a numerical wave hindcast. Two large freak waves exceeding 13 m in height were observed in October 2009 and three extreme waves around 20 m in height were observed in October 2012 and in January 2013. These extreme events are associated with passages of a typhoon and a mid-latitude cyclone. Horizontal movement of the buoy revealed that the orbital motion of the waves at the peak of the wave group mostly exceed the weakly nonlinear estimate. For some cases, the orbital velocity exceeded the group velocity, which might indicate a breaking event but is not conclusive yet.     

Direct PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene from single microbial cells isolated from an Antarctic iceberg using laser microdissection microscopy

Here, we describe a technique that allows the genetic linage analysis of 16S rRNA genes in bacteria observed under a microscope. The technique includes the isolation of microbial cells using a laser microdissection microscope, lysis of the cells, and amplification of the 16S rRNA genes in the isolated cells without interference by bacterial DNA contamination from the experimental environment or reagents. Using this technique, we successfully determined 15 16S rRNA gene sequences in cells isolated from an Antarctic iceberg. These sequences showed 94%–100% identity to their closest strains, which included bacteria that occur in aqueous, marine, and soil environments.     

Explosive volcanic eruptions triggered by cosmic rays: Volcano as a bubble chamber

Volcanoes with silica-rich and highly viscous magma tend to produce violent explosive eruptions that result in disasters in local communities and that strongly affect the global environment. We examined the timing of 11 eruptive events that produced silica-rich magma from four volcanoes in Japan (Mt. Fuji, Mt. Usu, Myojin-sho, and Satsuma-Iwo-jima) over the past 306 years (from AD 1700 to AD 2005). Nine of the 11 events occurred during inactive phases of solar magnetic activity (solar minimum), which is well indexed by the group sunspot number. This strong association between eruption timing and the solar minimum is statistically significant to a confidence level of 96.7%. This relationship is not observed for eruptions from volcanoes with relatively silica-poor magma, such as Izu-Ohshima. It is well known that the cosmic-ray flux is negatively correlated with solar magnetic activity, as the strong magnetic field in the solar wind repels charged particles such as galactic cosmic rays that originate from outside of the solar system. The strong negative correlation observed between the timing of silica-rich eruptions and solar activity can be explained by variations in cosmic-ray flux arising from solar modulation. Because silica-rich magma has relatively high surface tension (~ 0.1 Nm^?1), the homogeneous nucleation rate is so low that such magma exists in a highly supersaturated state without considerable exsolution, even when located relatively close to the surface, within the penetration range of cosmic-ray muons (1–10 GeV). These muons can contribute to nucleation in supersaturated magma, as documented by many authors studying a bubble chamber, via ionization loss. This radiation-induced nucleation can lead to the pre-eruptive exsolution of H₂O in the silica-rich magma. We note the possibility that the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption was triggered by the same mechanism: an increase in cosmic-ray flux triggered by Typhoon Yunya, as a decrease in atmospheric pressure results in an increase in cosmic-ray flux. We also speculate that the snowball Earth event was triggered by successive large-scale volcanic eruptions triggered by increased cosmic-ray flux due to nearby supernova explosions.     

Effect of translate speed of typhoon on wind waves

Natural Hazards - Quantitative assessments on the effect of translate speed of typhoons on wind waves were carried out. A WRF-SWAN coupled model that used observed meteorological data was applied...     

Propagating tsunami wave and subsequent resonant response signals detected by HF radar in the Kii Channel,Japan

Signals from the tsunami waves induced by the March 11, 2011 moment magnitude (M_w) 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and from subsequent resonances were detected as radial velocity variability by a high-frequency ocean surface radar (HF radar) installed on the eastern coast of the Kii Channel, at a range of about 1000 km from the epicenter along the eastern to southern coasts of Honshu Island. A time–distance diagram of band-passed (9–200 min) radial velocity along the beam reveals that the tsunami waves propagated from the continental shelf slope to the inner channel as progressive waves for the first three waves, and then natural oscillations were excited by the waves; and that the direction of the tsunami wave propagation and the axis of the natural oscillations differed from that of the radar beam. In addition, spectral analyses of the radial velocities and sea surface heights obtained in the channel and on the continental shelf slope suggest complex natural oscillation modes excited by the tsunami waves.     

Disastrous sediment discharge due to typhoon-induced heavy rainfall over fossil periglacial catchments in western Tokachi,Hokkaido, northern Japan

In August 2016, Typhoon 1610 (Lionrock) caused heavy rainfall in Hokkaido, which led to the discharge of a large volume of sediment and water from catchments on the eastern slope of the northern Hidaka Range. The eight catchments examined in this study are characterized by granitic lithology and late Pleistocene periglacial landforms with weakly cohesive, low-resistance periglacial debris thickly covering the weathered bedrocks. This characteristic of the landscape presumably provided a transport-limited condition where some debris flows were initiated by shallow landslides. As they moved, the debris flows grew larger through mobilization and erosion of sediment in channel beds and sidewalls. This sediment mobilization and erosion continued for an extensive distance along the course of the river. Morphological changes induced by channel aggradation and bank erosion were considerable and distinctive from upstream to downstream. Granitic periglacial sediments are amply present on the mountain slopes, river channels, and river banks in the area, likely due to the rarity of intensive rainfall events. These distinctive features of fossil periglacial catchments are important for disaster prevention and catchment-scale sediment management in sub-boreal areas, particularly in the context of climate change, which may generate more frequent and intensive rainfall events.     

Field observation and numerical simulation of past and future storm surges in the Bay of Bengal: case study of cyclone Nargis

Natural Hazards - Storm surges are one of the most important risks to coastal communities around the Bay of Bengal, and it is feared that the threat they pose will increase with climate change in...