Wave diffraction through submerged flexible breakwaters

This paper presents an analytical, computationally efficient method for the wave reflection and dynamic displacement of a submerged flexible breakwater. The solution of the two-dimensional linearized hydrodynamic problem introduced is based on the eigenfunction expansion technique. The breakwater is assumed to be thin, impermeable, flexible, moored to the bed through tethers and kept in tension by means of a floating buoy at its tip. The beam structure is considered to be either clamped or hinged at the sea bed, situated in an arbitrary water depth and subjected to normal linear waves. Numerical examples presented by this method are compared with those obtained by the Boundary Integral Equation Method, presented by Williams et al. Comparisons show an excellent agreement over a wide range of parameters for the wave reflection and the dynamic displacement. Numerical results are presented, mainly to show the effect of the breakwater rigidity and the method of fixation on the wave reflection and the structural displacement over a wide range of wave frequencies.     

Characterization of marine and terrestrial DOM in seawater using excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy

High-resolution fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize dissolved organic matter (DOM) in concentrated and unconcentrated water samples from a wide variety of freshwater, coastal and marine environments. Several types of fluorescent signals were observed, including humic-like, tyrosine-like, and tryptophan-like. Humic-like fluorescence consisted of two peaks, one stimulated by UV excitation (peak A) and one by visible excitation (peak C). For all samples, the positions of both excitation and emission maxima for peak C were dependent upon wavelength of observation, with a shift towards longer wavelength emission maximum at longer excitation wavelength and longer wavelength excitation maximum at longer emission wavelength. A trend was observed in the position of wavelength-independent maximum fluorescence () for peak C, with maximum at shorter excitation and emission wavelengths for marine samples than for freshwater samples. Mean positions of these maxima were: rivers = nm; coastal water = nm; marine shallow transitional = nm; marine shallow eutrophic = nm; and marine deep = nm. Differences suggest that the humic material in marine surface waters is chemically different from humic material in the other environments sampled. These results explain previous conflicting reports regarding fluorescence properties of DOM from natural waters and also provide a means of distinguishing between water mass sources in the ocean.     

Near-surface seismic facies at the Korea Strait shelf margin and trough region

High-resolution seismic profiles across the shelf margin and trough region of the Korea Strait reveal five shallow, near-surface facies units. These are relict coastal deposits, relict delta deposits, slumps and slides, and trough lag deposits. Most deposits represent a lowstand systems tract, formed during the last lowstand of sea level. Relict coastal deposits represent a linear sediment body along the present shelf margin at water depths of 120–150 m, whereas relict delta deposits occur on the gentle, southwestern slope of the trough at water depths of about 150–200 m. Slumps and slides are dominant at the base of slope in the central trough region. Sediments on the central trough floor were partly eroded and redistributed by strong currents, resulting in lag deposits.     

Generation of long barotropic waves by moving baric disturbances in a system of basins connected by a channel

We consider long barotropic waves in a system of two rectangular basins connected by a channel in the case where waves are generated by the moving region of disturbances of atmospheric pressure passing above one of the basins. By using a numerical model, we compute the characteristics of the wave process for various values of the parameters of this system. The results of numerical calculations are compared with the corresponding characteristics obtained for the case of a closed basin. We also analyze the distinctive features of long-wave processes induced in the presence of the channel. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Monthly Variations of Water Masses in the Yellow and East China Seas, November 6, 1998

The monthly water mass variations in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are investigated using over 40 years of historical temperature and salinity observations via a cluster analysis that incorporates geographical distance and depth separation in addition to the temperature and salinity. Results delineate monthly variations in the major water masses and provide some insight into formation mechanisms and intermixing. The major water masses include the Kuroshio-East China Sea water (KE), the Yellow Sea surface water (YSS) and bottom cold water (YSB), mixed water (MW), and coastal water (CW). The distribution of the KE water mass reveals the intrusion pattern into the area west of Cheju. A separate mixed water type appears between the KE water mass and the Yellow Sea water masses during winter. The formation mechanism of the YSB appears to be the surface cooling and active mixing in winter. In the East China Sea, during summer, surface water is differentiated from the subsurface water while there is no differentiation during winter. In the Yellow Sea, a three layer system exists in the summer and fall (May–November) while a two layer system exists during the rest of the year. A fresh water mass generated by Yangtze River discharge (YD) is present over the northern East China Sea and the southern Yellow Sea during summer. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cenozoic tectonics of Amazon Mouth Basin

 The Cenozoic shelf margin of the Amazon Mouth Basin is characterized by a thick prograding prism of siliciclastic sediments. This prism, composed mainly of Upper Miocene and younger sediments, overlies a Lower Tertiary carbonate shelf. Two tectonic–sedimentary models for the area were developed with the aid of new deep-reflection seismic data. Gravitational tectonics dominate the regional geological framework. Tensional stresses are created near the shelf margin, and compressional features dominate at the base of the slope. The morphology of this compressional zone is closely associated with the St. Paul Fracture Zone and the boundary between continental and oceanic crusts. Received: 20 August 1996 / Revision received: 11 June 1998