Dynamics of estuarine residual circulation in a narrow channel including tidal-nonlinear effects

Numerical modeling of a semienclosed narrow channel demonstrates the dynamical dependency of an estuarine residual circulation (ERC) on tidal amplitudes. The ERC is defined by tidally-averaged current field. The tidally-averaged fields show that the ERC-strength variation is classified into highly stratified, partially stratified and weakly stratified ranges, respectively. The ERC becomes weaker as the tidal amplitude (and hence vertical mixing) increases in the highly and weakly stratified ranges. However, the ERC becomes stronger oppositely in the partially stratified range. The nonlinear forces induced by tides significantly affect the ERC as well as the pressure gradient force due to the freshwater flux and the vertical stress divergence (vertical eddy viscous force). In particular, the tidal stress and tidally-oscillating component of vertical stress divergence are quite important in ERC dynamics. The latter causes the enhancement of ERC in proportion to the vertical mixing in the partially stratified range.     

New polar ring galaxies in rich clusters of galaxies

Four polar ring galaxies discovered in rich clusters of galaxies are presented. Brief comments on their structural properties are given.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Uranium in coastal sediments of Tokyo Bay and Funka Bay

The sediment cores from Tokyo Bay and Funka Bay were analyzed for U and its isotopic ratio,²³⁴U/²³⁸U, after dissolving them in 0.1 M HCl, and 30% H₂O₂ in 0.05 M HCl. A small fraction of U in the anoxic sediments was dissolved in 0.1M HCl and even the added yield tracer,²³²U, was lost. The isotopic ratio of H₂O₂ soluble U in the sediments was equal to that of seawater, suggesting that the H₂O₂ soluble U in the sediments is authigenic. The 6M HCl solution dissolved part of the lithogenic U besides the authigenic U. The depth profiles of U from the two bays resembled each other. The authigenic U comprised more than half of the total U even at the surface and increased with depth down to 70 cm, showing small maxima at about 20 cm. The concentration of refractory U was nearly constant with depth and similar to that of the pelagic sediments. The highest U concentration, 6 µg g^–1 which was about 5 times that of the pelagic sediments, was observed in the layer between 70 and 160 cm depth in Tokyo Bay. The annual sedimentation rates of U in the Tokyo Bay sediments were 2.6 tons at the surface and 7.0 tons at the 70–160 cm depth. The increase in U with depth should be due to the deposition of interstitial U either diffusing downward from the surface indicating the trapping of seawater U, or otherwise diffusing upward from the deeper layer indicating the internal cycling of U within the sediments.