Circulation

Low-frequency current and temperature variability on the southeast US continental shelf during summer conditions of weak wind forcing and vertical stratification was found to be similar in many aspects to previous findings for winter, when stronger wind forcing and vertical homogeneity prevails. Subtidal variability in the outer shelf is dominated by the weekly occurrence of Gulf Stream frontal eddies and meanders. These baroclinic events strongly affect the balance of momentum in the outer shelf, but not at mid-shelf. A negative alongshore sea level slope of order −10⁻⁷ is required to balance mean along-shelf momentum at the shelf edge, similar to oceanic estimates, and can contribute to the observed northward mean flow over the shelf.Low-frequency flow at mid-shelf and coastal sea level fluctuations appear to occur as a forced wave response to local alongshore wind stress events that are coherent over the shelf domain. Momentum balances indicate a trapped wave response similar to the arrested topographic wave found in the mid-Atlantic Bight (CSANADY, 1978). Density driven currents from river discharge do not appear to be significant at mid-shelf. Cold, subsurface intrusions of deeper, nutrient rich Gulf Stream waters can occasionally penetrate to mid- and inner-shelf regions north of Cape Canaveral, causing strong phytoplankton and zooplankton responses. These events were observed following the simultaneous occurrence of upwellings from northward winds and Gulf Stream frontal eddies at the shelf break during periods when the Stream was in an onshore position. Subsurface Gulf Stream intrusions to mid-shelf occur only during the summer, when the shelf is vertically stratified and cross-shelf density gradients do not present a barrier as in winter.     

Upwelling in the Black Sea by the results of numerical experiments and satellite data

The paper analyses results of the numerical simulation of upwelling events in the north-western part of the Black Sea, mostly near the South Crimea. The calculations were performed using a numerical model based on primitive hydrodynamics equations. Emphasis is laid on the case when a salinity front simulating the Black Sea rim current is prescribed in the initial conditions. The interaction of the Black Sea rim current's stream with the coastline and bottom topography leads to the development of an upwelling near the Crimea's coast, even in the absence of wind forcing. The paper discusses the structure of the three-dimensional circulation of waters in the shelf area of the NW Black Sea. Numerical modelling results are matched up with the satellite data obtained by the HRPT receiving station. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

The effect of currents on the generation of internal waves by a barotropic tide near an underwater ridge

In the frame of the linear theory for long waves, the paper studies long waves generated by a barotropic tide running at an arbitrary angle over a bottom ridge. The ocean is assumed to be two-layered. In the area of a ridge with a rectangular cross section, geostrophic flows are considered, coupled with the inclinations of the free surface and interface. Wave amplitudes are shown to depend on the angle of an onrunning tide and this allows us to reach a conclusion about the influence of a geostrophic current on the generation of internal waves. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Sound velocity,density, and related properties along a transect across the Bay of Bengal

Physical properties, sound velocity and density of 95 core samples from ten locations along a transect (parallel to 15°N latitude) across the Bay of Bengal were measured. Results indicate that sound velocities range from 1,482 to 1,679 m/s (av: 1,583 m/s) and densities from 1,338 to 1,757 kg/m³ (av: 1,527 kg/m³). It has been observed that dark colored clays and sandy clays show higher values of sound velocity and density than the average values. A comparative study of the same with that of the sediment cores collected from the Norwegian basin, Mediterranean Sea, and Hatteras, Nares Abyssal plains, western North Atlantic Ocean was done.     

Estimates of the characteristics of the horizontal turbulent exchange in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean

Estimates of the characteristics of the horizontal turbulent exchange (coefficients of horizontal exchange, scales of deviations of the velocity of geostrophic currents from the background flows, and horizontal scales of perturbations) in the upper ocean layer were obtained on the basis of the data of expeditions held in 1978 and 1980 in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. It is shown that the characteristics of the horizontal turbulent exchange strongly depend on the structure of the background flows, and one of the causes of their variability is related to tropical cyclones. A tendency to a decrease (to different degrees) of the turbulent coefficients in the wake of a tropical cyclone is noted.     

On the use of poorly soluble hygroscopic substances for modification of warm clouds and fogs

From analysis of the relationships between the equilibrium state of condensation nuclei and the relative humidity, a conclusion is made concerning the preferred use of poorly soluble substances for the generation of artificial condensation nuclei (ACN) designed for modification of warm clouds and fogs with the purpose of their dissipation and precipitation formation. The advantage of poorly soluble substances over commonly used soluble salts is that the finely dispersed part of the spectrum of the poorly soluble ACN does not deliquesce and so is not involved in the formation of cloud droplets. For experimental testing of the conclusions, preference was given to cement, whose main soluble substance is calcium oxide with a solubility of about 1 g/l. The spectrum of dispersed cement particles was measured and compared with the spectra of pyrotechnic flares widely used for modification at present. The process of formation of the cloud droplet spectra was simulated in the aerosol chamber of the Institute of Experimental Meteorology by decreasing the preliminarily generated excess pressure. It was found in these experiments that, compared to the spectra of particles formed on background condensation nuclei, the introduction of dispersed cement leads to the broadening of spectra and to a decrease in the concentration of droplets. Even at the early stage of condensation, droplets with radii of ∼20 μm appear. In this case, no “overseeding” phenomenon is observed, which, for soluble substances, manifests itself in an increase in the concentration of cloud droplets with a large ACN concentration. These effects indicate that, according to the existing concepts about the mechanism of warm-cloud modification with hygroscopic substances, the introduction of poorly soluble ACN (in particular, dispersed cement) below the base of cumulus clouds should stimulate coagulation processes and accelerate rain-formation processes. Considerations are given that the introduction of poorly soluble ACN into the already existing cumulus or stratocumulus clouds or fogs should also result in the acceleration of precipitation-formation processes or cloud dispersal. Comparison of cement powder with the well-known means of warm-cloud and fog modification is carried out. Original Russian Text ? N.P. Romanov, A.S. Drofa, N.S. Kim, A.V. Savchenko, G.F. Yaskevich, 2006, published in Izvestiya AN. Fizika Atmosfery i Okeana, 2006, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 80–91.     

Estimation of the long-term variability of hydrophysical characteristics of the Black Sea based on the assimilation of the climatic hydrological fields L and altimetry data

To study the long-term variability of the thermohaline and dynamic characteristics of the Black Sea, we use three versions of climatic fields, namely, the fields reconstructed in the model according to the old (1903–1982) and new (1903–2003) hydrological climatic data arrays of temperature and salinity and according to the data of satellite altimetry. The analysis of the altimetry-based climatic fields confirms the distinctions (established earlier according to the old and new data arrays) in the seasonal variability of the integral characteristics of temperature and salinity and in the structures of hydrophysical fields in the sea. It is shown that, in the winter-spring season, the thermohaline fields reconstructed according to the new and altimetry data arrays are characterized by a small elevation of the halocline (pycnocline) and the upper boundary of the cold intermediate layer. In all seasons, the altimetry-based surface geostrophic currents contain numerous mesoscale eddies with different signs of rotation. Moreover, in all seasons, the Rim Current reconstructed according to the altimetry data is characterized by a narrower jet almost along the entire its length. This jet is especially intense near the coasts of West Anatolia. __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 4, pp. 3–17, July–August, 2006.     

Modeling drift currents in a shallow basin with allowance for variations in tangential stresses induced by wind waves

A coupling model for calculating wind-driven currents and waves in a shallow basin with allowance for current-wave interactions is introduced. The model is constructed on the basis of the three-dimensional σ-coordinate model of currents [3] and the SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore) spectral wave model [4]. The effect of waves on currents is taken into account in the coefficients of surface and bottom friction through roughness parameters. Results of combined modeling of stationary fields of currents and waves generated by spatially homogeneous wind are correlated with the corresponding results of separate modeling for a cylindrical basin of constant depth and the water area of Lake Donuzlav (the northwestern coast of the Crimea). The allowance for the effect of waves during calculation of tangential wind stresses in the model of currents is shown to be among major factors intensifying water circulation and forming spatial inhomogeneities of the vortex type. In addition, some cases of local decreases in tangential wind stresses are revealed; they appear when the lake is penetrated from the side of the open sea by relatively long waves, which significantly decrease the roughness of the water surface.     

Study of the mutual influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation processes and the North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillations

On the basis of the nonlinear techniques for the estimation of coupling between oscillatory systems from time series, we investigate the dynamics of climatic modes characterizing global and Northern Hemisphere (NH) processes. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation indices and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices are analyzed in terms of the most reliable data from 1950 through 2004 and earlier data since the 19th century. These indices characterize changes in NH atmospheric pressure (specifically, sea-level pressure in the North Atlantic and NH extratropical latitudes as a whole) and in equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature and sea-level pressure to which the strongest variations of global surface temperature and global climate on interannual time scales and of regional climatic anomalies in the NH are linked. The methods used are based on phase-dynamics modeling and nonlinear prediction models (a nonlinear version of Granger causality). From both methods and various ENSO indices, the inference about the ENSO effect on the NAO during the latter half of the 20th century and in the early 21st century is made with confidence probability of at least 0.95. The influence is characterized by a time delay of about two years. No inverse influence is found with a similar degree of reliability. Results of estimating the coupling between the ENSO and the NAO depend on the type of index that is used to describe the NAO. The ENSO effect on the NAO is detected with sufficient confidence when the NAO index is chosen to be a larger scale characteristic. However, when a more local index of the NAO is used, no statistically significant coupling to the ENSO is found. Increasing the length of the analyzed ENSO and NAO series (over more than 100 yr) does not lead to any more reliable detection of coupling. Analysis of the data for different time intervals during 1950–2004 has revealed a strengthening of the ENSO effect on the NAO, although this inference is not reliable.