Marine tether dynamics: retrieval and deployment from a heaving platform

A tether management system of a winch module in a marine environment is proposed. For the purpose of this study the subsea body is considered as a mass attached at the free end of a long tether which is wrapped around a circular drum controlled by an external torque. The winch is considered mounted on a heaving platform. The effect of the heaving platform on the motions of the drum, tether and attached mass are studied with respect to the longitudinal vibrations of the tether in one dimension. The hydrodynamic effects are considered on the deployed portion of the tether and the tethered mass, both of which are assumed submerged in otherwise still water. The resulting nonlinear system of equations of motion is developed and solved numerically for an example of a marine tether system. The effect of the tether extensibility on the operation threshold of the system is identified. Comparison with an inextensible tether case is provided. The numerical results and their analysis for the retrieval/deployment of the system are presented.     

Modern sediment supply to the lower delta plain of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh

Vibracores and auger samples collected from the lower (tidal) delta plain of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh were examined to determine whether the area is a significant sink for riverine sediments. Measurements of ¹³⁷Cs activity and radiocarbon in the sediments indicate sediment accumulation is taking place on decadal and millennial time scales at rates reaching 1.1 cm/year. The sediment of the lower delta plain is primarily derived from an offshore source after having originally been supplied by the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, carried westward by prevailing currents and advected inland by monsoonal coastal setup and cyclonic events.     

A hypothesis for the formation of a mud bank in the Gulf of Papua

The riverine mud that escapes retention in the estuaries and enters the Gulf of Papua appears to be transported southeastward, across depth contours, by the prevailing currents in a series of wind-driven events. The mud deposits to the southeast of the rivers, at the mid-shelf region within a depth range of 40–60 m. Mud transported farther eastward is carried down the continental rise. Coarser riverine sediment (silt and sand) is deposited closer inshore. On the outer shelf (depth >60 m) relict carbonate debris dominates. The area of mud has maximum rates of pelagic and benthic productivity in the gulf.     

Spatial structure and variability of fields of currents, attenuation factor of light, and temperature in the surface layer of the northwest part of the Black Sea

On the basis of the results of simultaneous observations of parameters of currents, attenuation factor of light, and temperature performed aboard a moving vessel, we established the main characteristics and features of the circulation of waters and the structure of transparency and temperature fields in the surface layer of the northwest part of the Black Sea. We investigate the correlation between the variability of fluid dynamics and redistribution of transparency and temperature fields. The measured currents are compared with those calculated using the actual field of atmospheric pressure during the time of observation. It is shown that the results obtained in the areas of steady currents in the west and central regions are in good agreement. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Physical and hydrological characteristics of climatic frontal zones in the Tropical Atlantic

Climatic frontal zones are selected in the thermohaline fields of the Tropical Atlantic by analyzing the many-year-average seasonal database reduced to the nodes of a one-degree grid. We determine physical characteristics of the frontal zones, study their spatial and temporal variability, and reveal basic regularities of the appearance of frontal zones in the fields of thermohaline characteristics. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

High-resolution seafloor mapping using the DSL-120 sonar system: Quantitative assessment of sidescan and phase-bathymetry data from the Lucky Strike segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

High-resolution, side-looking sonar data collected near the seafloor (100 m altitude) provide important structural and topographic information for defining the geological history and current tectonic framework of seafloor terrains. DSL-120 kHz sonar data collected in the rift valley of the Lucky Strike segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 37° N provide the ability to quantitatively assess the effective resolution limits of both the sidescan imagery and the computed phase-bathymetry of this sonar system. While the theoretical, vertical and horizontal pixel resolutions of the DSL-120 system are <1 m, statistical analysis of DSL-120 sonar data collected from the Lucky Strike segment indicates that the effective spatial resolution of features is 1–2 m for sidescan imagery and 4 m for phase-bathymetry in the seafloor terrain of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rift valley. Comparison of multibeam bathymetry data collected at the sea-surface with deep-tow DSL-120 bathymetry indicates that depth differences are on the order of the resolution of the multibeam system (10–30 m). Much of this residual can be accounted for by navigational mismatches and the higher resolving ability of the DSL-120 data, which has a bathymetric footprint on the seafloor that is 20 times smaller than that of hull-mounted multibeam at these seafloor depths (2000 m). Comparison of DSL-120 bathymetry with itself on crossing lines indicates that residual depth values are ±20 m, with much of that variation being accounted for by navigational errors. A DSL-120 survey conducted in 1998 on the Juan de Fuca Ridge with better navigation and less complex seafloor terrain had residual depth values half those of the Lucky Strike survey. The quality of the bathymetry data varies as a function of position within the swath, with poorer data directly beneath the tow vehicle and also towards the swath edges.Variations in sidescan amplitude observed across the rift valley and on Lucky Strike Seamount correlate well with changes in seafloor roughness caused by transitions from sedimented seafloor to bare rock outcrops. Distinct changes in sonar backscatter amplitude were also observed between areas covered with hydrothermal pavement that grade into lava flows and the collapsed surface of the lava lake in the summit depression of Lucky Strike Seamount. Small features on the seafloor, including volcanic constructional features (e.g., small cones, haystacks, fissures and collapse features) and hydrothermal vent chimneys or mounds taller than 2 m and greater than 9 m² in surface area, can easily be resolved and mapped using this system. These features at Lucky Strike have been confirmed visually using the submersible Alvin, the remotely operated vehicle Jason, and the towed optical/acoustic mapping system Argo II.     

Description of possible causes of the formation of anomalies of the cloud field over the Atlantic-European sector in the spring of 1996

We describe one of possible mechanisms of the formation of anomalies of the cloud field over the North Atlantic and Europe by using, as an example, the processes developed in the Atlantic-European sector during the natural synoptic season in the spring of 1996. It is shown that the anomalies of the cloud field can be classified with the use of the index of the North Atlantic oscillation and the latitude of the center of the Azorean maximum. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev