Application of the Genetic Algorithm to the Problem of Reconstruction of Missing Data

We study the problem of reconstruction (interpolation and extrapolation) of the vertical profiles of hydrochemical and hydrobiological elements according to incomplete sets of data with simultaneous filtration of short-period components based on expansions in empirical orthogonal functions. The genetic algorithm is used to compute the coefficients of expansion of profiles with missing data. We present the results of processing the data arrays on oxygen, chlorophyll A, and biogenic elements collected in the Black Sea in 1982–1993. The mean error of reconstruction of the profiles enables us to conclude that the proposed method has considerable advantages over the conventional approaches.     

Statistical Modeling of Monthly Anomalies of Atmospheric Precipitations for the Region of the Ukraine and Black Sea

The data array accumulated for the period 1946–1995 is used to select the most significant predictor of monthly anomalies of precipitation in the region of the Ukraine and Black Sea, namely, a large-scale circulation in a sector covering the North Atlantic and Europe. Three large-scale predictors (geopotential at a level of 500GPa, sea-level pressure, and the difference between the geopotentials at levels of 500 and 1000GPa) give almost identical results: their correlation with anomalies of precipitation is equal to 0.7–0.8 in winter and 0.4–0.5 in summer. The predominant mechanism of the influence of circulation on precipitations at low frequencies is the response of the trajectories of European cyclones to changes in the upper-tropospheric jet currents in the Atlantic-European sector described as the superposition of the North-Atlantic oscillation and the Eurasian mode. The decomposition of the fields of precipitations and circulation in the eigenmodes of the canonical correlation analysis opens a possibility of direct computation of the monthly average fields of precipitations for the entire territory of the Ukraine and Black Sea region according to the large-scale geopotential fields.     

Release into the environment of metals by two vascular salt marsh plants

Metals in contaminated salt marshes are mainly locked in the anaerobic layer of sediments, where they are tightly bound as sulfides and organic complexes. Vascular plants survive in saturated soils in part by pumping O2 into their root zones, changing their microenvironment to an oxic one. This, along with chelating exudates, mobilizes metals, allowing uptake by the roots. We compared the common reed Phragmites australis and cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in lab and field studies for ways in which they handle trace metals. Both plants store most of their metal burden in their roots, but some is transported to aboveground tissues. Spartina leaves contain approximately 2-3 x more Cr, Pb, and Hg than Phragmites leaves, but equivalent Cu and Zn. Furthermore, Spartina leaves have salt glands, so leaf excretion of all metals is twice that of Phragmites. In-depth studies with Hg indicate that Hg excretion correlates with Na release but not with transpiration, which is 2.2 x higher in Phragmites; and that more Hg accumulates in early-appearing leaves than in upper (i.e. later) leaves in both species. Spartina thus makes more metals available to salt marsh ecosystems than Phragmites by direct excretion and via dead leaves which will enter the food web as detritus.     

Burial and scour around short cylinder under progressive shoaling waves

The results of a laboratory experimental program aimed at better understanding the scour around and burial of heavy cylindrical objects under oscillating flow on a sandy bed are described. This study was motivated by its application to the dynamics of isolated cobbles/mines on a sandy floor under nonlinear progressive waves, such as that occur in shallow coastal waters beyond the wave-breaking region. In the experiments, nonlinear progressive waves were generated in a long wave tank of rectangular cross-section with a bottom slope. Model mines (short cylinders) were placed on the sandy bottom and the temporal evolution of the bed profile and the velocity field in the near field of the object were observed. Experiments were conducted at relatively high Reynolds numbers for a range of flow conditions, which can be characterized by the Keulegan–Carpenter number and Shields parameter. Depending on the values of these parameters, four different scour regimes around the cylinder including periodical burial of cylinder under migrating sand ripples were observed; they were classified as: (i) no scour/burial, (ii) initial scour, (iii) expanded scour, and (iv) periodic burial cases. A scour regime diagram was developed and the demarcation criteria between different regimes were deduced. Semi-empirical formulae that permit estimation of the scour depth with time, the equilibrium maximum scour depth and length, and conditions necessary for the burial of the cylinder as a function of main external parameters are also proposed.     

Continuous Plankton Recorder sampling off the east coast of North America: history and status

The Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey has sampled plankton on 14 routes off the coasts of the northeast United States and Canada between 1959 and 2000. Six of these routes are still operating and are sampled on a monthly basis. Some 2047 CPR tows have been made to the end of 2000 and the resulting database represents the most extensive time series of marine plankton available anywhere in the northwest Atlantic. The location and time span of coverage of each route is presented. In addition selected information is presented on:

1. zooplankton abundance as departures from baselines for the northeast US continental shelf;

2. interannual variation in seasonality of Gulf of Maine phytoplankton;

3. zooplankton relationships to local hydrography of the Gulf of Maine and to the North Atlantic Oscillation;

4. time-space matrices of zooplankton abundance and anomalies southeast of New York City;

5. time series of phyto- and zooplankton on the Scotian Shelf;

6. seasonal cycles of Phytoplankton Colour and of zooplankton on the Scotian Shelf and Georges Bank, and in the Gulf of Maine; and

7. monthly abundance of zooplankton in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.

     

Upstream dams and downstream clams: growth rates of bivalve mollusks unveil impact of river management on estuarine ecosystems (Colorado River Delta, Mexico)

We studied how the extensive diversion of Colorado River water, induced by dams and agricultural activities of the last 70 years, affected the growth rates of two abundant bivalve mollusk species (Chione cortezi and Chione fluctifraga) in the northern Gulf of California. Shells alive on the delta today (‘Post-dam’ shells) grow 5.8–27.9% faster than shells alive prior to the construction of dams (‘Pre-dam’ shells). This increase in annual shell production is linked to the currently sharply reduced freshwater influx to the Colorado River estuary. Before the upstream river management, lower salinity retarded growth rates in these bivalves. Intra-annual growth rates were 50% lower during spring and early summer, when river flow was at its maximum. Growth rates in Chione today are largely controlled by temperature and nutrients; prior to the construction of dams and the diversion of the Colorado River flow, seasonal changes in salinity played an important role in regulating calcification rates.Our study employs sclerochronological (growth increment analysis) and geochemical techniques to assess the impact of reduced freshwater influx on bivalve growth rates in the Colorado River estuary. A combination of both techniques provides an excellent tool to evaluate the impact of river management in areas where no pre-impact studies were made.     

Esterases as biomarkers in Nereis (Hediste) diversicolor exposed to temephos and Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis used for mosquito control in coastal wetlands of Morbihan (Brittany,France)

Since 1998, a biomonitoring programme has been implemented to assess the potential impact of chemical mosquito control on macroinvertebrates of the coastal wetlands of Morbihan (Brittany, France). Acetylcholinesterase and carboxylesterases were used as biomarkers to assess the effects of Abate 500e (a.i. temephos) and Vectobac 12 AS (a.i. endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis, Bti) in Nereis (Hediste) diversicolor. Esterase inhibition revealed a marked impact of temephos, suggesting preferential contamination of the worms through the food. In Bti-exposed N. diversicolor, random variations of esterase activities were observed, that could not be attributed to the larvicide. However, esterases only reflected indirect physiological effects of Bti, and further investigations are needed to identify biomarkers more specific of Bti endotoxins.     

墨西哥湾西北部陆坡气体水合物资源评价

气体水合物是一种似冰状的结晶物质 ,烃类和非烃类气体赋存于水分子笼形格架内。全球海底气体水合物储集层可能含有２×１０１４（Ｓｏｌｏｖｉｅｗ，２０００）～７．６×１０１７ ｍ３（Ｄｂｒｙｎｉｎ等，１９８１）的甲烷。目前 ,在墨西哥湾西北部陆坡水深４４０～＞２４００ｍ处采集了５０个热成因和细菌成因的气体水合物样品。通过活塞柱状取样和科学考察深潜器 ,研究者已经从海底取到细菌成因Ⅰ型构造的甲烷水合物和热成因Ⅱ型和Ｈ型的气体水合物。近年来 ,ＧＯＭ (墨西哥湾 )深水区已经成为对石油勘探具有重要意义的地区。１９９９…     

Relationship between the depth of visibility of Secchi disk and biooptical characteristics of the Black-Sea waters

We present the parameters of empirical relationships between the depth of visibility of Secchi disk and optical and biological characteristics of the Black-Sea surface waters. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev