Pacific decadal oscillation and European climatic anomalies

By using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data sets for 1951–2001, we study the characteristics of Pacific cyclones. It is shown that the northeast-southwest direction is predominant in the displacements of cyclones in the North Pacific. We study the variability of the field of surface atmospheric pressure in different phases of the Pacific decadal oscillation characterizing the temperature anomalies on the surface of the ocean in the region bounded by 20 and 60°N. It is shown that the decadal variations of the North Atlantic Oscillation supported by the large-scale anomalies of the Pacific decadal oscillation is the most important cause of natural decadal oscillations in the European region. We study and evaluate the regional response to the Pacific decadal oscillation by using, as an example, the analysis of variations of the discharge of European rivers. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 13–23, July–August, 2007.     

Solution of an unstable axisymmetric Cauchy–Poisson problem of dispersive water waves for a spectrum with compact support

 It has been known that the axisymmetric Cauchy–Poisson problem for dispersive water waves is well posed in the sense of stability. Thereby time evolution solutions of wave propagation depend continuously on initial conditions. However, in this paper, it is demonstrated that the axisymmetric Cauchy–Poisson problem is ill posed in the sense of stability for a certain class of initial conditions, so that the propagating solutions do not depend continuously on the initial conditions. In order to overcome the difficulty of the discontinuity, Landweber–Fridman's regularization, famous and well known in applied mathematics, are introduced and investigated to learn whether it is applicable to the present axisymmetric wave propagation problem. From the numerical experiments, it is shown that stable and accurate solutions are realized by the regularization, so that it can be applicable to the determination of the ill-posed Cauchy–Poisson problem.     

Nannoplankton of the Atlantic Ocean from sediment trap samples

Calcareous nannoplankton from sediment trap samples collected at six sites in the Atlantic Ocean from 23° S to 73° N (cruise 20 of R/V Vityaz’ and cruise 33 and 34 of R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh). Those samples were studied with a scanning electron microscope. In the coastal and open-sea regions of the North and South Atlantic and in the subarctic region of the Norwegian Sea, the conditions are significantly different. In the shelf area of the Benguela upwelling, 11 species were recognized; some of them were agglutinated by diatoms and tintinnides or covered the surface of pellets. The Broken Spur and TAG pelagic areas of the North Atlantic contained up to 43 coccolith species. They included holococcoliths, large pelagic, and delicate easily soluble species distributed over the entire water column. The presence of coccoliths in the high-latitude area of the Norwegian Sea is related to their supply with the warmer North Atlantic waters. These assemblages are distinguished by a low species diversity and an enhancement of the coccolith solubility with the depth increase.     

Bottom foraminiferal assemblages in the Deryugin Basin (Sea of Okhotsk) during the past 26000 years

Benthic foraminifers from a core of bottom sediments obtained in the Deryugin Basin at a depth of 1750 m were examined. Three distinct benthic foraminiferal assemblages that replaced one another throughout the last 26000 years were recognized. The assemblage dominated by Alabaminella weddellensis, Uvigerina auberiana, and Cassidulina translucens dwelled here from 26 to 24 ky B.P. The sediments of the glacial period between 26 and 12.18 ky B.P. contain no benthic foraminifers. The composition of the sediments suggests the existence of active bottom vents of gas-bearing fluids during that time. The dominance of Brizalina spissa, Uvigerina peregrina, and Cassidulina laevigata is characteristic of the period from 12.18 to 7 ky B.P., when the productivity of the surface waters in the region was high, and warm, poorly oxygenated waters spread over the bottom of the basin. During the past 7 000 years, the bottom conditions in the sea were similar to the present-day conditions and an assemblage with the dominance of Gyroidina orbicularis, Uvigerina auberiana, and Cassidulina teretis developed in the region.     

First results from the North Iceland experiment

Between June 2004 and September 2004 a temporary seismic network was installed on the northern insular shelf of Iceland and onshore in north Iceland. The seismic setup aimed at resolving the subsurface structure and, thus, the geodynamical transition from Icelandic crust to typical oceanic crust along Kolbeinsey Ridge. The experiment recorded about 1,000 earthquakes. The region encloses the Tjörnes Fracture Zone containing the Husavik–Flatey strike-slip fault and the extensional seismic Grimsey Lineament. Most of the seismicity occurs in swarms offshore. Preliminary results reveal typical mid-ocean crust north of Grimsey and a heterogeneous structure with major velocity anomalies along the seismic lineaments and north–south trending subsurface features. Complementary bathymetric mapping highlight numerous extrusion features along the Grimsey Lineament and Kolbeinsey Ridge. The seismic dataset promises to deliver new insights into the tectonic framework for earthquakes in an extensional transform zone along the global mid-ocean ridge system.     

Guidelines for navigation and overflight in the exclusive economic zone

Several significant international incidents in Asian exclusive economic zones (EEZs) have underscored the ambiguity and lack of agreement regarding the regime governing foreign military activities in coastal States’ EEZs. A group of senior officials and analysts participated in their personal capacities in a dialogue from 2002–2005 that discussed the issues with a view to improving mutual understanding of the regime and finding areas of agreement. The Tokyo meeting in September 2005 reached consensus on some voluntary, non-binding guidelines that are presented here. The guidelines are based selectively on the 1982 UNCLOS, State practice and emerging ‘soft’ law, and attempt to balance the interests of coastal States and user States. It is hoped that they may serve as the basis for discussion and eventual agreements between governments.     

A numerical experiment on the calculation of the tropical Atlantic circulation in 1982–1983, with the real wind considered

This paper discusses the results obtained through numerical modelling of the annual course of circulation and thermohaline field evolution in the tropical Atlantic under the impact of real wind forcing (from March 1982 to March 1983) and compares them with the calculation of seasonal variability induced by the climatic wind. Changes in the pattern of the equatorial currents and related temperature fields induced by the specific peculiarities in the wind field are analysed.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

The importance of bioturbation to continental slope sediment structure and benthic processes off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Even though the continental slope off Cape Hatteras has sediment accumulation rates on the order of 1 cm/year, large areas of soft sediment are intensively reworked by infaunal organisms. Primary sedimentary structures have been completely replaced with biogenic structures. Surface sedimentary structures are dominated by the bioturbational activities of a deep burrowing infauna (to at least 30 cm). The layer actively mixed by the benthos, as evidenced by sediment profile and X-ray images, is estimated to range from 5 to 20 cm, with the residence time for particles within the surface mixed layer ranging from about 4.5 to 18 years. The biological mixing parameter (G) ranges from 0.4 to 5.5, which indicates moderate to strong biological mixing relative to accumulation and strata formation. Bioturbation contributes to the dynamic forces affecting the surface sediments by decreasing compaction of sediment layers and dilating sediment fabrics by sediment mixing, and introducing large water-filled burrows and voids to subsurface sediments. The sediment profile images captured numerous subsurface feeding voids, and worms in the process of making deep burrows, many of which extended below the 5 to 10 cm average depth of the apparent color redoxpotential discontinuity layer. High rates of accumulation of organic-rich sediment lead to high standing stocks of benthos and intensive feeding/burrowing activity that result in organic rich stratagraphic sequences that are thoroughly mixed. Cape Hatteras is a apparent focusing point for the transport of shallow water sediments to the deep sea. Sediments across other areas of the continental slope just 100's of kilometers south of Cape Hatteras are not as thoroughly mixed or biologically active.     

Building capacity for integrated coastal management in developing countries

The need for building human and institutional capacity has been identified in Agenda 21 of the UNCED conference as well as by a number of international environmental institutions as essential for integrated coastal management (ICM) and sustainable development in developing coastal states. There is a growing need for coastal management practitioners and organizations with expertise in planning and implementation for ICM. The application of strategies for institutional development and building human capacity in coastal management and other fields shows that short-term intensive training efforts and long-term institutional strengthening programs are appropriate to address the issues and needs of ICM. An overview of the experience of the URI/USAID International Coastal Resources Management Program in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ecuador presents lessons learned for strengthening ICM efforts in developing countries.     

Effects of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons on lysosomal membranes in molluscs

Lysosomal sequestration of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PNAHs), a major class of environmental contaminant, is a well-established phenomenon;¹ considerably less is known about their pathological effects on lysosomes. Marine molluscs contain a number of lysosome-rich tissues and PNAHs are known to induce deleterious alterations in lysosomal structure and latency of lysosomal enzymes.² The latter are presumed to involve destabilisation of the lysosomal membrane, resulting in increased permeability and reduced enzyme latency. If lysosomal injury involves derangement of membrane-lipid structure due to the interaction of PNAHs then it would be expected that membrane damage would be closely linked to the structural characteristics of the intruding molecule. Our results show that the effects of the isomeric PNAHs phenanthrene and anthracene on digestive cell lysosomal stability were markedly different in the marine mussel (Mytilus edulis) over the same range of tissue concentrations. Lysosomal membrane stability was determined using a cytochemical test for enzyme latency.³