Modeling of hydrodynamics and transport processes in the Dnieper–Bug Estuary

A numerical model of baroclinic circulation based on the use of a double sigma coordinate system is presented and its application to the simulation of flows and temperature and salinity fields in the Dnieper-Bug Estuary is described. The model reproduces the salinity and temperature fields surveyed in 1998. The results of simulations reveal the existence of a global influence of the relatively narrow and deep ship channel (through which Black-Sea waters can penetrate deep into the estuary) on the transport processes. Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 6, pp. 66–77, November–December, 2008.     

Tsunami Inundation Modeling and Mapping using ALTM- and CARTOSAT-Derived Coastal Topographic Data

Coastal topography is the principal variable that affects the movement of the tsunami wave on land. Therefore, land surface elevation data are critical to a tsunami model for computing extent of inundation. Elevation data from India's remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-1 are available for the entire Indian coastline, while elevation data collected using Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper (ALTM) are only available for selected sections of the coastline. This study was carried out to evaluate the suitability of CARTOSAT-1 and ALTM elevation data sets in the tsunami inundation modeling. Two areas of the coastal Tamil Nadu that were severely affected during the December 2004 tsunami and surveyed extensively for mapping the extent of inundation were selected as the study areas. Elevation data sets from ALTM, CARTOSAT-1 and field measurement collected using Real-time Kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) were compared for these areas. The accuracy of ALTM and CARTOSAT-1 data, the significance of interpolation methods and data used on model outputs were studied. The analysis clearly revealed that the elevation accuracy of CARTOSAT-1 data (+/?2m) was much lower than ALTM data (+/?0.6m). However, it was found that despite the differing elevation accuracy, both ALTM and CARTOSAT-1 can be used to produce tsunami inundation maps for open coasts with an accuracy of 185 m (2 grid cells) at 75% and 50% confidence level, respectively.     

Storm surge mitigation through vegetation canopies

The paper of Reid and Whitaker (1976) on the effects of a vegetation canopy on flow of water is re-examined. Their assumptions on the equality of various drag coefficients are replaced by more realistic calculations. A new method for calculating wind stress on water is presented for the case when the vegetation extends above the water surface.For the case of vanishingly small water depth, it is shown that the horizontal stress is approximately constant in the vertical. This results in a diagnostic relationship for the water current as a function of the wind stress and bottom roughness.A new expression for the vertically averaged frictional force per unit mass is derived on the assumption that the friction velocity varies linearly with height. The vertical rate of change of friction velocity depends on the mean water current, the wind stress, the bottom roughness, and the water depth. This work has a possible application in the mitigation of storm surges.     

Relationship of atmospheric ozone profiles to solar magnetic activity

The observed relationship between atmospheric vorticity variations and solar magnetic sector boundary passages is examined for a possible connection via ionization changes affecting ozone distributions. A superposed epoch analysis was performed on Umkehr distributions for 18 years from Arosa, Switzerland, with use of more than 500 solar sector boundary passages as keyday zero. No significant responses are observed in any Umkehr level or in total observed ozone amounts. Further analyses on shorter records for Belsk, Poland, and Hohenpeissenberg, West Germany, corroborate these results. Another analysis for Arosa with about 100 type IV solar flares as keyday zero also shows no definitive trend. It is concluded that ozone distribution changes cannot be the primary causative mechanism for vorticity variations.Journal Paper No. J-8838 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 1852.     

Chemistry of snow and lake water in Antarctic region

Surface snow and lake water samples were collected at different locations around Indian station at Antarctica, Maitri, during December 2004–March 2005 and December 2006–March 2007. Samples were analyzed for major chemical ions. It is found that average pH value of snow is 6.1. Average pH value of lake water with low chemical content is 6.2 and of lake water with high chemical content is 6.5. The Na⁺ and Cl^? are the most abundantly occurring ions at Antarctica. Considerable amount of SO ₄ ^2? is also found in the surface snow and the lake water which is attributed to the oxidation of DMS produced by marine phytoplankton. Neutralization of acidic components of snow is mainly done by NH ₄ ⁺ and Mg²⁺. The Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and K⁺ are nearly equally effective in neutralizing the acidic components in lake water. The NH ₄ ⁺ and SO ₄ ^2? occur over the Antarctica region mostly in the form of (NH₄)₂SO₄.     

Felsic tuff from Rutland Island — A pyroclastic flow deposit in Miocene-sediments of Andaman-Java subduction complex

The bedded felsic tuff exposed in Rutland Island, Andaman, consists of two facies:

Changes in the hydrography of Central California waters associated with the 1997–98 El Niño

Oceanographic conditions off Central California were monitored by means of a series of 13 hydrographic cruises between February 1997 and January 1999, which measured water properties along an oceanographic section perpendicular to the California Coast. The 1997–98 El Niño event was defined by higher than normal sea levels at Monterey, which began in June 1997, peaked in November 1997, and returned to normal in March 1998. The warming took place in two distinct periods. During June and July 1997, the sea level increased as a result of stronger than normal coastal warming below 200 dbars and within 100 km of the coast, which was associated with poleward flow of saltier waters. During this period, deeper (400–1000 dbar) waters between 150–200 km from shore were also warmed and became more saline. Subsequently, sea level continued to rise through January 1998, mostly as a result of the warming above 200 dbars although, after a brief period of cooling in September 1997, waters below 200 dbar were also warmer than normal during this period. This winter warm anomaly was also coastally trapped, extending 200 km from shore and was accompanied by cooler and fresher water in the offshore California current. In March and April 1998, sea level dropped quickly to normal levels and inshore waters were fresher and warmer than the previous spring and flowed southward.The warming was consistent with equatorial forcing of Central California waters via propagation of Kelvin or coastally-trapped waves. The observed change in heat content associated with the 1997–98 El Niño was the same as that observed during the previous seasonal cycle. The warming and freshening events were similar to events observed during the 1957–58 and 1982–83 El Niños.     

Effectiveness of post-fire salvage logging stream buffer management for hillslope erosion in the U.S. Inland Northwest Mountains

Active wildfire seasons in the western U.S. warrant the evaluation of post-fire forest management strategies. Ground-based salvage logging is often used to recover economic loss of burned timber. In unburned forests, ground-based logging often follows best management practices by leaving undisturbed areas near streams called stream buffers. However, the effectiveness of these buffers has not been tested in a post-wildfire setting. This experiment tested buffer width effectiveness with a novel field-simulated rill experiment using sediment-laden runoff (25 g/L) released over 40 min at evenly timed flow rates (50, 100 and 150 L/min) to measure surface runoff travel length and sediment concentration under unburned and high and low soil burn severity conditions at 2-, 10- and 22-month post-fire. High severity areas 2-month post-fire had rill lengths of up to 100 m. Rill length significantly decreased over time as vegetation regrowth provided ground cover. Sediment concentration and sediment dropout rate also varied significantly by soil burn severity. Sediment concentrations were 19 g/L for the highest flow 2-month post-fire and reduced to 6.9–14 g/L 10-month post-fire due to abundant vegetation recovery. The amount of sediment dropping out of the flow consistently increased over the study period with the low burn severity rate of 1.15 g L⁻¹ m⁻¹ approaching the unburned rate of 1.29 g L⁻¹ m⁻¹ by 2-year post-fire. These results suggest that an often-used standard, 15 m buffer, was sufficient to contain surface runoff and reduce sediment concentration on unburned sites, however buffers on high burn severity sites need to be eight times greater (120 m) immediately after wildfire and four times greater (60 m) 1-year post-fire. Low burn severity areas 1-year post-fire may need to be only twice the width of an unburned buffer (30 m), and 2-year post-fire these could return to unburned widths.     

Two notes on the modern theory of inverse problems in geophysics

On the basis of comparison of the approaches to the solution of inverse problems in information theory and geophysics, it is shown that results, obtained in information theory, are suitable to supplement the theory of geophysical inverse problems. The conditions of the existence and uniqueness of the solutions of inverse problems in their practical discrete statement are specified. The terms of ɛ-entropy H _ɛ and informational capacity C _ɛ, characterizing “volumes” of unknown and observed data, are introduced. It is shown, that the instability of the solution of the inverse problem decreases with increase in H _ɛ, (increase in the “complexity” of studied section), if the relation H _ɛ ≤ C _ɛ is maintained.     

Large to intermediate-scale aquifer heterogeneity in fine-grain dominated alluvial fans (Cenozoic As Pontes Basin,northwestern Spain): insight based on three-dimensional geostatistical reconstruction

Facies reconstructions are used in hydrogeology to improve the interpretation of aquifer permeability distribution. In the absence of sufficient data to define the heterogeneity due to geological processes, uncertainties in the distribution of aquifer hydrofacies and characteristics may appear. Geometric and geostatistical methods are used to understand and model aquifer hydrofacies distribution, providing models to improve comprehension and development of aquifers. However, these models require some input statistical parameters that can be difficult to infer from the study site. A three-dimensional reconstruction of a kilometer scale fine-grain dominated Cenozoic alluvial fan derived from more than 200 continuously cored, closely spaced, and regularly distributed wells is presented. The facies distributions were reconstructed using a genetic stratigraphic subdivision and a deterministic geostatistical algorithm. The reconstruction is only slightly affected by variations in the geostatistical input parameters because of the high-density data set. Analysis of the reconstruction allowed identification in the proximal to medial alluvial fan zones of several laterally extensive sand bodies with relatively higher permeability; these sand bodies were quantified in terms of volume, mean thickness, maximum area, and maximum equivalent diameter. These quantifications provide trends and geological scenarios for input statistical parameters to model aquifer systems in similar alluvial fan depositional settings.