Propagation of storm microseisms at the ocean-continent boundary

Several anomalous phenomena related to the measurement of storm microseisms in northwestern Europe and on Greenland have been considered. It has been indicated that these phenomena can be explained by analyzing the microseism propagation in oceanic waveguides in the regions of abyssal plains and transformation on continental slopes of different steepness. A model of the oceanic waveguide with an inclined elastic bottom has been presented. An analysis of the family of dispersion dependences for such a model makes it possible to find an explanation for the specific features of microseism field transformation at the ocean-continent boundary into Rayleigh waves propagating on the land.     

On the mechanism of wind-induced transformation of a river runoff water lens in the Kara Sea

The paper describes a possible mechanism for the transformation of a desalinated water lens in the Kara Sea under the action of vertical turbulent mixing induced by wind. Using a simple one-dimensional model, we show that the strongest transformation occurs at the edge of the lens—its frontal zone, where the thickness of the desalinated layer is the smallest. Because of the strong (cubic) nonlinear dependence of the turbulent energy flux on the wind speed, significant transformation of the frontal zone of the lens occurs during storm events. A series of consecutive storms can cause horizontal lens fragmentation into several zones in which the salinity increases spasmodically towards the edge of the lens.     

Simulation of modern climate with the new version of the INM RAS climate model

The INMCM5.0 numerical model of the Earth’s climate system is presented, which is an evolution from the previous version, INMCM4.0. A higher vertical resolution for the stratosphere is applied in the atmospheric block. Also, we raised the upper boundary of the calculating area, added the aerosol block, modified parameterization of clouds and condensation, and increased the horizontal resolution in the ocean block. The program implementation of the model was also updated. We consider the simulation of the current climate using the new version of the model. Attention is focused on reducing systematic errors as compared to the previous version, reproducing phenomena that could not be simulated correctly in the previous version, and modeling the problems that remain unresolved.     

Sharks caught in the KwaZulu-Natal bather protection programme,South Africa. 14. The smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus)

The current study provides long-term catch-rate, biological and feeding data for smooth hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna zygaena, caught in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal bather protection programme. In total, 2 512 S. zygaena were caught in net installations between 1978 and 2014, and 72 S. zygaena were caught on drumlines between 2007 and 2014. There was no significant log-linear year trend in the net catch rate over time (slope = 0.0054, t = 1.808, p = 0.07). However, there was a significant temporal increase in mean size of the captured sharks (slope = 0.0012, t = 3.502, p < 0.001). A quasi-Poisson generalised additive mixed model showed that increasing latitude, winter months, colder sea temperatures and the deployment of drumlines all had a significant positive effect on the catch rate of sharks in nets. The size frequency of the catch was unimodal, with significantly more females caught in the nets and more males on the drumlines. The majority (93.1%) of all sharks caught were immature and measured between 80 and 120 cm precaudal length. Teleosts and cephalopods dominated the sharks’ diet in terms of all dietary indices. The prey species consumed indicate that immature S. zygaena are feeding primarily within the pelagic zone of shallow coastal habitats.     

Numerical study of the Azov Sea level seiche oscillations

Seiche oscillations of the Azov Sea level are studied on the basis of the developed two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic model grounded on the shallow water theory and recent data on the morphometric characteristics of the Sea of Azov. Frequency and spatial characteristics of the first five modes corresponding to seiche oscillations of the Azov Sea level are computed. It is shown that the frequency and spatial characteristics of the first five modes obtained for the Sea of Azov level changes correspond to seiche oscillations. The calculated parameters are compared with the field observations, which show their realistic character.     

Long-term numerical evolution of the nitrogen bulk content in the Mediterranean Sea

The behavior of the Mediterranean ecosystem in response to realistic riverine inputs and dissolved matter exchange is investigated. The strategy is to evaluate the stability of the ecosystem subjected to various atmospheric inputs.     

Developing a conceptual model of marine farming in New Zealand

Survey and Geographic Information System (GIS) data analysis describes the relative influence of biophysical and human variables on site choices made by marine farmers in New Zealand. Community conflicts have grown in importance in determining farm location and different government planning strategies leave distinct signature patterns. Recent legislation empowers local governments to choose among three strategies for future regional aquaculture development. This paper suggests each strategy could result in different spatial outcomes. Simulation modelling of the type described here can provide a better understanding of farmer responses to management approaches and the range of futures that could result from planning choices made today.     

A temporally second-order accurate Godunov-type scheme for solving the extended Boussinesq equations

A numerical scheme for solving the class of extended Boussinesq equations is presented. Unlike previous schemes, where the governing equations are integrated through time using a fourth-order method, a second-order Godunov-type scheme is used thus saving storage and computational resources. The spatial derivatives are discretised using a combination of finite-volume and finite-difference methods. A fourth-order MUSCL reconstruction technique is used to compute the values at the cell interfaces for use in the local Riemann problems, whilst the bed source and dispersion terms are discretised using centred finite-differences of up to fourth-order accuracy. Numerical results show that the class of extended Boussinesq equations can be accurately solved without the need for a fourth-order time discretisation, thus improving the computational speed of Boussinesq-type numerical models. The numerical scheme has been applied to model a number of standard test cases for the extended Boussinesq equations and comparisons made to physical wave flume experiments.     

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.