Biodiversity patterns of free-living marine nematodes in a tropical bay: Cienfuegos, Caribbean Sea

Spatial and temporal biodiversity patterns of free-living marine nematodes were studied in Cienfuegos Bay, a tropical semi-enclosed basin in the Caribbean Sea. Taxonomic (to species level) and functional (biological trait) approaches were applied for describing the assemblage structure and relating it to abiotic environment based on a sampling scheme in six subtidal stations and three months. Biological trait approach added relevant information to species pattern regarding relationships between diversity patterns and the abiotic environment. The most common morphotypes were deposit feeding nematodes, with colonising abilities of 2–3 (in a scale from 1 to 5), tail conical cylindrical or filiforme and body slender; and their abundance were correlated with depth, organic matter and silt/clay fraction. In spite of a high turnover of species, functional diversity of assemblages did not change notably in space and time. A result probably due to sampling of the habitat pool of species and to low heterogeneity of the studied muddy bottoms. Chemical pollution (organic enrichment and heavy metals) and hydrodynamic regime possibly drove the biodiversity patterns. Spatial distribution of assemblages support the existence of two well differentiated basins inside the bay, the northern basin more polluted than the southern one. The low hydrodynamic regime would determine a poor dispersion of nematodes resulting in high spatial variance in the assemblage structure; and also the associated hypoxic conditions and pollutants in sediments can explain the dominance of tolerant nematode species such as Daptonema oxycerca, Sabatieria pulchra, Terschellingia gourbaultae, and Terschellingia longicaudata. A comparison of spatial–temporal patterns of biodiversity between Cienfuegos Bay and other semi-enclosed bays in temperate regions suggests several similarities: nematode assemblages are strongly influenced by anthropogenic disturbance, temporal trends are weak or overridden by spatial ones, and few cosmopolitan genera/species tolerant to pollution and hypoxic conditions are dominant.     

Observations of the North Equatorial Current,Mindanao Current,and Kuroshio current system during the 2006/07 El Niño and 2007/08 La Niña

Two onboard observation campaigns were carried out in the western boundary region of the Philippine Sea in December 2006 and January 2008 during the 2006/07 El Niño and the 2007/08 La Niña to observe the North Equatorial Current (NEC), Mindanao Current (MC), and Kuroshio current system. The NEC and MC measured in late 2006 under El Niño conditions were stronger than those measured during early 2008 under La Niña conditions. The opposite was true for the current speed of the Kuroshio, which was stronger in early 2008 than in late 2006. The increase in dynamic height around 8°N, 130°E from December 2006 to January 2008 resulted in a weakening of the NEC and MC. Local wind variability in this region did not appear to contribute to changes in the current system.     

Modal Wave Number Tomography for South China Sea Front

1 .IntroductionTheSouthChinaSealiestothesoutheastpartoftheChinesecontinent.TheKuroshioflowsbytheeastsideoftheLuzonStraitfromsouthtonorthinwinter ,spring ,andautumn .TheKuroshioaf fectsnearcurrentfieldsandtemperaturefields,changingtheoceanenvironmentparametersandsoundpropagation .Thus ,theoceanacoustictomographytechniqueisofpotentialtolong term ,largescalemonitoringoftheocean .Themodalwavenumbertomographymethod (Rajanetal.,1 987;Frisketal.,1 989)isusedtoobtainthesoundspeedprofileinwatercol…     

IGR J17445-2747—Yet another X-ray burster in the galactic bulge

The discovery of a type I X-ray burst from the faint unidentified transient source IGR J17445-2747 in the Galactic bulge by the JEM-X telescope onboard the INTEGRAL observatory is reported. Type I bursts are believed to be associated with thermonuclear explosions of accreted matter on the surface of a neutron star with a weak magnetic field in a low-mass X-ray binary. Thus, this observation allows the nature of this source to be established.     

Meridional Motion and Reynolds Stress from Debrecen Photoheliographic Data

The Debrecen Photoheliographic Data catalogue is a continuation of the Greenwich Photoheliographic Results providing daily positions of sunspots and sunspot groups. We analyse the data for sunspot groups focussing on meridional motions and transfer of angular momentum towards the solar equator. Velocities are calculated with a daily shift method including an automatic iterative process of removing the outliers. Apart from the standard differential rotation profile, we find meridional motion directed towards the zone of solar activity. The difference in measured meridional flow in comparison to Doppler measurements and some other tracer measurements is interpreted as a consequence of different flow patterns inside and outside of active regions. We also find a statistically significant dependence of meridional motion on rotation velocity residuals confirming the transfer of angular momentum towards the equator. Analysis of horizontal Reynolds stress reveals that the transfer of angular momentum is stronger with increasing latitude up to about \(40^{\circ}\), where there is a possible maximum in absolute value.     

Geomagnetic Effects of Corotating Interaction Regions

We present an analysis of the geoeffectiveness of corotating interaction regions (CIRs), employing the data recorded from 25 January to 5 May 2005 and throughout 2008. These two intervals in the declining phase of Solar Cycle 23 are characterised by a particularly low number of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). We study in detail how four geomagnetic-activity parameters (the Dst, Ap, and AE indices, as well as the Dst time derivative, \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\)) are related to three CIR-related solar wind parameters (flow speed, \(V\), magnetic field, \(B\), and the convective electric field based on the southward Geocentric solar magnetospheric (GSM) magnetic field component, \(\mathit{VB}_{s}\)) on a three-hour time resolution. In addition, we quantify statistical relationships between the mentioned geomagnetic indices. It is found that Dst is correlated best to \(V\), with a correlation coefficient of \(\mathrm{cc}\approx0.6\), whereas there is no correlation between \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) and \(V\). The Ap and AE indices attain peaks about half a day before the maximum of \(V\), with correlation coefficients ranging from \(\mathrm{cc}\approx0.6\) to \(\mathrm{cc}\approx0.7\), depending on the sample used. The best correlations of Ap and AE are found with \(\mathit{VB}_{s}\) with a delay of 3 h, being characterised by \(\mathrm{cc}\gtrsim 0.6\). The Dst derivative \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) is also correlated with \(\mathit{VB}_{s}\), but the correlation is significantly weaker \(\mathrm{cc}\approx 0.4\)?–?0.5, with a delay of 0?–?3 h, depending on the employed sample. Such low values of correlation coefficients indicate that there are other significant effects that influence the relationship between the considered parameters. The correlation of all studied geomagnetic parameters with \(B\) are characterised by considerably lower correlation coefficients, ranging from \(\mathrm{cc}=0.3\) in the case of \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) up to \(\mathrm{cc}=0.56\) in the case of Ap. It is also shown that peak values of geomagnetic indices depend on the duration of the CIR-related structures. The Dst is closely correlated with Ap and AE (\(\mathrm{cc}=0.7\)), Dst being delayed for about 3 h. On the other hand, \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) peaks simultaneously with Ap and AE, with correlation coefficients of 0.48 and 0.56, respectively. The highest correlation (\(\mathrm{cc}=0.81\)) is found for the relationship between Ap and AE.     

Chemical signature of intermediate water masses along western Portuguese margin

Although the circulation of intermediate water masses in the eastern North Atlantic remains poorly defined, the presence of fresher intermediate waters, the Sub-Artic (SAIW) and the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), as well the saline intermediate Mediterranean Water (MW), has been tracked using biogeochemical properties. Here we assess the hydrographic and chemical structures of intermediate waters along the western Portuguese margin by examining the vertical distributions and property-property plots of chemical tracers (oxygen and nutrients). AAIW was traced by low oxygen and high nutrients, while SAIW was recognized by low nutrients. The Mediterranean Water (MW) undercurrent is shown to spread towards the eastern flank of Gorringe bank. Concurrently, the fresher waters gained salt by direct incorporation of MW, while this water was enriched in nutrients on its way northward and westward owing, to a great extent, to the entrainment of an AAIW branch. The distributions of nutrients and apparent oxygen utilization are discussed in terms of regional ocean circulation. Our analysis suggests a circulation pattern of the various intermediate waters along the western Portuguese margin: MW extends all over the area, but its presence is more pronounced around cape St. Vincent; SAIW apparently moves southward, reaching the Gorringe bank region, and AAIW flows northward along the coast and around the bank.     

Study on Flow Field Around Vertical Breakwater Under Different Overtopping Conditions Based on Numerical Simulation

A numerical wave flume is constructed based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with turbulence closure by a modified k-ε model to study the viscous interactions of waves with vertical breakwaters for different overtopping cases. The governing equations,the turbulence model,boundary conditions,and solution method for the numerical wave flume are introduced briefly. The reliability of the numerical wave flume is examined by comparing the numerical results with the experimental measurement...     

Analysis of Manning coefficient for small‐depth flows on vegetated beds

The limitations of Manning's formula are analysed when it is in extreme conditions, and more specifically with small‐depth flows on natural‐vegetation beds. A thorough analysis is made of research carried out on macro‐rough beds, placing particular emphasis on vegetated beds. Research carried out to date on the roughness of vegetated beds and macro‐roughness is commented on, including that carried out at the Laboratory of Hydraulics and Hydrology of the Forestry Engineering Faculty (Polytechnic University of Madrid). The work was done in two phases, the first in a laboratory channel with artificial vegetation and the second in natural beds. The results of the experimental research allow the development of a new approximate method of determining Manning coefficient according to the Froude number. This method may be applied in extreme conditions, both in small depths and steep slopes. It was proved that the Manning coefficient depends not only on roughness height, but also on depth and slope values; thus, it is advisable to choose the appropriate method for its calculation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.