Seasonal dynamics in pelagic fish abundance in a Baltic Sea coastal area

The spring-spawning Baltic Sea herring spawn in coastal areas that also serve as nursery areas for the young fish during their first summer. In a bay known as a herring spawning and nursery area, the pelagic fish abundance was quantified using hydroacoustics every second week from late spring to autumn in 2000 and 2001. A dense system of survey transects allowed determination of the acoustic index (the nautical area scattering coefficient) for fish abundance with high precision. The variation, expressed as the geostatistical coefficient of variation, was on average 5% both years and ranged from 3–11% (2000) and 3–8% (2001). Through the hydroacoustic data intra-annual dynamics in acoustic fish abundance, densities and size composition could be followed, which showed similar trends in both years. In spring and early summer acoustic fish densities were low, followed by a drastic, 20-fold increase in late summer. Hydroacoustic data and biological samples suggest that the increase was caused mainly by the recruitment of young-of-the-year herring to the acoustically assessable pelagic fish community. This age class is commonly not well represented in catches when using traditional sampling gears such as gill nets and trawls, and hydroacoustics may help to improve quantitative estimates of small juvenile fish in order to increase the understanding of biological processes in coastal nursery areas.     

Vertical distribution of the macrobenthic community and its relationships to trace metals and natural sediment characteristics in the lower Douro estuary, Portugal

Vertical distribution (0–15 cm) of the macrobenthic community and its relationships to natural sediment characteristics and trace metal contents and bioavailability were studied at five locations in the lower Douro estuary, Portugal. An analysis of vertical metal distribution, for the interpretation of anthropogenic impact on the estuarine sediments, was also investigated. Sediment characterisation included organic matter, grain size, metals (Al, Fe, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cd, Zn and Mn), acid volatile sulphide (AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals (SEM). The macrobenthic community had low diversity (14 species), was dominated by small size opportunists and seemed to be controlled mainly by natural factors such as grain size distribution, Al and Fe contents and sediment depth. The vertically heterogeneous distribution of macrobenthic community appears to affect redox status of the sediments and consequently metal bioavailability. Despite anthropogenic contamination in terms of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr and Ni having already been detected in the north bank, the analysis of vertical distribution was essential for the identification of current anthropogenic contamination in terms of Zn, Pb and Cd in the south bank.     

Record-breaking chemical destruction of ozone in the arctic during the winter of 2004/2005

The extremely cold winter of 2004/2005 was accompanied by an intensive formation of polar stratospheric clouds and a significant chemical destruction of ozone. The results of calculating chemical losses of ozone in the polar cyclone from the SAGE-III satellite data are given. Over the period January 1–March 25, 2005, at the isentropic levels 450–500 K, about 60% of ozone was destroyed. During that winter, the zone of formation of polar stratospheric clouds went down to levels with very low values of potential temperature (down to 350 K), thus resulting in a noticeable destruction of ozone at low altitudes. By March 25, 2005, the chemical losses of total ozone attained 116 ± 10 DU (128 ± 10 DU at the cyclone boundary), which is a recordbreaking value of the Arctic.     

Assessment of the impact of the planetary scale on the decay of blocking and the use of phase diagrams and enstrophy as a diagnostic

It was shown that abrupt changes in the large-scale structure of atmospheric flows may lead to the rapid decay of blocking. Analysis of phase diagrams made it possible to identify when sharp changes occurred in the dynamics of the system. The connection of these changes to the decay of blocking was estimated for three blocking events in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition to phase diagrams, enstrophy was used as a diagnostic tool for the analysis of blocking events. From the results of this analysis, four scenarios for the decay mechanisms were determined: (i) decay with a lack of synoptic-scale support, (ii) decay with an active role for synoptic processes, and (iii–iv) either of these mechanisms in the interaction with an abrupt change in the character of the planetary-scale flow.     

Determination of temperature and humidity of air,wind speed,and sensible and latent heat fluxes on the ocean surface according to the satellite data

Formulas for the evaluation of temperature and humidity of air, wind speed, and sensible and latent heat fluxes on the ocean surface according to the satellite data on the sea-surface temperature and cloudiness are deduced on the basis of the analysis of many-year radiosonde, meteorological, shipborne, and satellite data. The proposed formulas can also be used for the interpretation of the results of remote sensing of the ocean and atmosphere by radiometers in the visible, infrared, and microwave regions. The transformations of radiation and sensible and latent heat fluxes are described depending on the sea-surface temperature for various cloudiness conditions. The computed values of the amount of water in the atmosphere agree with the radiosonde data obtained throughout the Earth, including the data of research vessels and stationary weather ships, as well as the data obtained in the ATEP test ranges and in the Arctic. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 2, pp. 56–70, March–April, 2007.     

Method and results of assimilation of climatic data on temperature,salinity, and sea level into a numerical model of the Black Sea

A method for combined assimilation of climatic hydrologic fields of temperature, salinity, and the climatic dynamic level of the Black Sea into a model of sea dynamics is proposed. The monthly mean fields of the dynamic sea level were obtained from the results of assimilation of satellite altimetry data into the model. The statistical characteristics of errors in the forecasts of the level, salinity, and temperature were assumed to be proportional to the statistical characteristics of the differences between monthly mean climatic fields of temperature, salinity, and sea level calculated by means of assimilating altimetry observations of the sea level and analogous climatic hydrologic fields. The climatic fields of currents are reconstructed and analyzed. The assimilation of the climatic altimetry level allows the reproduction (in current fields) of quasi-stationary synoptic anticyclonic eddies located along the periphery of the Black Sea Rim Current.     

An experimental study on non-linear progressive wave-induced dynamic stresses in seabed

In this study, the dynamic stresses within the seabed induced by non-linear progressive waves were explored through a series of hydraulic model tests on a movable bed within a wave flume. By comparing Stokes’ 2nd-order wave theory with the theory of wave-induced dynamic stresses within the seabed as proposed by Yamamoto et al. [1978. On the response of a poro-elastic bed to water waves. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 87 (1), 193–206.] and Hsu and Jeng [1994. Wane-induced soil response in an unsaturated anisotropic seabed of finite thickness. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 18, 785–807], the experimental results show that the pressure on the seabed surface, the pore water pressure within the seabed as well as the vertical and the horizontal stresses are all smaller than their theoretical values. If we were to obtain the characteristics of seabed soil, the analytical solution of Hsu and Jeng [1994. Wane-induced soil response in an unsaturated anisotropic seabed of finite thickness. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics 18, 785–807] might agree to the simulation of the wave-induced effective stresses and shear stress in the sandy seabed. A different phase shift exists among all the three soil stresses. Their influences on the three dynamic stresses within seabed soil are important for seabed stability, and can be used in the verification of numerical models. In the whole, the non-linear progressive waves and the naturally deposited seabed are found to have a strong interaction, and the behavior of the induced dynamic stresses within the seabed is very complicated, and should be investigated integrally.     

Study of the seawater transparency field in the Crimea-Caucasus shelf area

This paper discussesin situ observational data on the directed light attenuation index in the near-surface layer, collected in September 1987. The absolute light attenuation index has been evaluated for a near-shore strip of water 10–15 miles in width. When multidisciplinary research is conducted in the open sea, this part of the sea surface remains unstudied, as the observational grid for it is made larger than the spatial-temporal parameters of the biophysical processes producing optical inhomogeneities.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.