Tidal currents,energy flux and bottom boundary layer thickness in the Clyde Sea and North Channel of the Irish Sea

A high-resolution three-dimensional model of the Clyde Sea and the adjacent North Channel of the Irish Sea is used to compute the major diurnal and semidiurnal tides in the region, the associated energy fluxes and thickness of the bottom boundary layer. Initially, the accuracy of the model is assessed by performing a detailed comparison of computed tidal elevations and currents in the region, against an extensive database that exists for the M₂, S₂, N₂, K₁ and O₁ tides. Subsequently, the model is used to compute the tidal energy flux vectors in the region. These show that the major energy flux is confined to the North Channel region, with little energy flux into the Clyde Sea. Comparison with the observed energy flux in the North Channel shows that its across-channel distribution and its magnitude are particularly sensitive to the phase difference between elevation and current. Consequently, small changes in the computed values of these parameters due to slight changes of the order of the uncertainty in the open-boundary values to the model, can significantly influence the computed energy flux. The thickness of the bottom boundary layer in the region is computed using a number of formulations. Depending upon the definition adopted, the empirical coefficient C used to determine its thickness varies over the range 0.1 to 0.3, in good agreement with values found in the literature. In the North Channel, the boundary layer thickness occupies the whole water depth, and hence tidal turbulence produced at the sea bed keeps the region well mixed. In the Clyde Sea, the boundary layer thickness is a small fraction of the depth, and hence the region stratifies.Responsible Editor: Phil Dyke     

Instabilities of the tidally induced bottom boundary layer in the rotating frame and their mixing effect

To investigate the stability of the bottom boundary layer induced by tidal flow (oscillating flow) in a rotating frame, numerical experiments have been carried out with a two-dimensional non-hydrostatic model. Under homogeneous conditions three types of instability are found depending on the temporal Rossby number Ro_t, the ratio of the inertial and tidal periods. When Ro_t < 0.9 (subinertial range), the Ekman type I instability occurs because the effect of rotation is dominant though the flow becomes more stable than the steady Ekman flow with increasing Ro_t. When Ro_t > 1.1 (superinertial range), the Stokes layer instability is excited as in the absence of rotation. When 0.9 < Ro_t < 1.1 (near-inertial range), the Ekman type I or type II instability appears as in the steady Ekman layer. Being much thickened (100 m), the boundary layer becomes unstable even if tidal flow is weak (5 cm/s). The large vertical scale enhances the contribution of the Coriolis effect to destabilization, so that the type II instability tends to appear when Ro_t > 1.0. However, when Ro_t < 1.0, the type I instability rather than the type II instability appears because the downward phase change of tidal flow acts to suppress the latter. To evaluate the mixing effect of these instabilities, some experiments have been executed under a weak stratification peculiar to polar oceans (the buoyancy frequency N²  10⁻⁶ s⁻²). Strong mixing occurs in the subinertial and near-inertial ranges such that tracer is well mixed in the boundary layer and an apparent diffusivity there is evaluated at 150–300 cm²/s. This suggests that effective mixing due to these instabilities may play an important role in determining the properties of dense shelf water in the polar regions.     

海底热流长期观测系统研制进展

浅海和俯冲海沟等海域,不仅是矿产和油气资源主潜力区,也是构造地震频发区,其浅表热流和深部温度信息对于了解板块俯冲和岩浆活动等过程至关重要.这些区域浅层地温场和热流场受到底水温度波动(BTV)强烈扰动,其背景热流需由长期观测来获取.在全面分析了国内外海底热流长期观测技术特点后,我们提出了系缆式海底热流长期观测方案,201...     

Influence of Bottom Stress on the Two-layer Flow Induced by Gravity Currents in Estuaries

Baroclinic circulation in highly stratified and partially stratified estuaries is characterised by a two-layer flow: a bottom salt- water inflow and a surface brackish-water outflow. Tidal period variation of the thicknesses of a two-layer flow is observed to be associated with mixing, bottom stress and hydraulic characteristics of superposed tidal and gravity currents. Here, both analytical two-layer hydraulic equations with weak friction and a numerical model including a turbulence closure were utilised to understand the mechanism of the layer tendency within a two-layer flow under different barotropic flow conditions. It has been found that in the weak bottom friction case, a gravity current has two critical solutions at the layer thickness equal to 0·5Hand 0·292H. The layer thickness towards a particular critical solution is dependent on the sign of the bottom stress, i.e. when the bottom stress is opposite (favor) to the bottom gravity current, its layer thickness converges to 0·5H(0·292H). In the case of strong bottom stress and mixing opposing the gravity current, the solutions of the gravity current layer thickness at 0·5Hand 0·292Hwill not be valid. Both mixing and vorticity produced by bottom stress erode the halocline, and produce a high velocity core in the mid-depth, which leads to the thickness of a bottom gravity current greater than 0·5H. These internal hydraulic tendency and mixing processes, varying with time-dependent barotropic tidal current forcing, determine the tidal period variation of the gravity current structure.     

海底可控源电磁接收机及其水合物勘查应用

海洋可控源电磁法在国外已成为海底天然气水合物调查的有效手段之一.为实现我国海域深水条件下水合物的海洋可控源电磁探测,本文从方法原理出发,采用低功耗嵌入式控制、前端低噪声斩波放大、高精度时间同步和水声通讯等技术,设计并开发了由承压舱、玻璃浮球、采集电路、电场与磁场传感器、姿态测量装置、声学释放器、USBL定位信标、测量臂、水泥块等部件组成的海底可控源电磁接收机,实现了海洋微弱电磁场信号的高精度采集.海底可控源电磁接收机具有高可靠性、低噪声、低功耗和低时漂的特点.利用研制的海底可控源电磁接收机,在琼东南海域进行水合物勘查,采集得到了可靠的人工源电磁场数据.通过数据处理及反演,获得了研究区海底的电阻率模型,结合地震资料,对高阻异常体进行推断解释,其结果为天然气水合物钻探井位布置提供了电性依据.     

国产海底地震仪的时间记录与原始数据精细校正

海底地震仪(OBS)的时间记录对数据处理是至关重要的.实践发现,部分国产便携式OBS的数据记录存在较大的内部时间误差,并且实测地震剖面异常的同相轴"断阶"、"倾斜"现象时有发生.我们通过自激自收试验,对这些异常现象进行了验证,确认其来源于OBS数据文件内部时间漂移,以及数据处理程序存在的缺陷.统计表明,A、B型OBS内部时间漂移量在250Hz的预设采样率下为0～40ms,L、S型OBS在100Hz下为0～90ms.这个量级的时间漂移,会对OBS数据处理、计算模拟产生影响.进一步,我们采用计算实际采样间隔、调整采样间隔、数据重采样的方法,对这种误差进行校正,并且改进了相关的OBS数据处理程序.本文的研究加深了对OBS数据时间记录误差的认识,得到了OBS数据文件内部时间漂移的分布规律,使得中等及较大程度的内部时间漂移的精细校正得到重视,进而完善了OBS数据处理步骤和流程,对OBS数据的有效利用进行了重要补充,为国产OBS的广泛使用、仪器研发提供了重要参考.     

Floc size variability under strong turbulence: Observations and artificial neural network modeling

The flocculation of cohesive sediment in the presence of waves is investigated using high-resolution field observations and a newly-developed flocculation model based on artificial neural networks. Vertical profiles of suspended sediment concentration and turbulent intensity are estimated using measurements of current profile and acoustic backscatter. The vertical distribution of floc size is estimated using an artificial neural network (ANN) that is trained and validated using floc size measurements at one vertical level. Data analysis suggests a linear correlation between suspended sediment concentration and turbulence intensity. Observations and numerical simulations show that floc size is inversely related to sediment concentration, turbulence intensity and water temperature. The numerical results indicate that floc growth is supported by low concentration and low turbulence. In the vertical direction, mean size of flocs decreases toward the bottom, suggesting floc breakage due to increasing turbulence intensity toward the bed. A significant decrease in turbulent shear could occur within the bottom few-cm, related to increased damping of turbulence by sediment induced density stratification. The results of the numerical simulations presented here are consistent with the concept of a cohesive sediment particle undergoing aggregation-fragmentation processes, and suggest that the ANN can be a precise tool to study flocculation processes.     

Climate driven changes in subtidal kelp forest communities in NW Spain

Reconstructions suggest a massive decline of nearly 1400 ha of kelp forest in North Western Spain in 2007. In line with global rising temperatures, we hypothesized that Sea Surface Temperature (SST) surpassed a lethal threshold for kelp. We examined whether changes in SST correlated to the proposed decline in kelp forest. All investigated SST characteristics suggested to affect kelp abundance increased significantly during the past thirty years, reaching extreme values during the last decade. In addition over the past two decades, the landscape formerly dominated by both cold and warm temperate canopy forming and understory species changed to one dominated by warm temperate understory species, resulting in a loss of vertical community structure. Fisheries landing data of kelp associated species was used to support the suggested change in kelp abundance. Subsequent recovery of the kelp appears to be occurring in deeper waters.     

珠江口盆地深水区晚中新世以来构造沉降与似海底反射（BSR）分布的关系*

2007年中国在南海北部神狐海域通过钻探首次获得天然气水合物样品,证实了珠江口盆地深水区是水合物富集区。通过对珠江口盆地深水区构造沉降史的定量模拟研究,发现晚中新世以来区内构造沉降总体上具有由北向南、自西向东逐渐变快的演化趋势;从晚中新世到更新世,盆地深水区经历了构造沉降作用由弱到强的变化过程：晚中新世(11.6～5.3 Ma),平均构造沉降速率为67 m/Ma;上新世(5.3～1.8 Ma),平均构造沉降速率为68 m/Ma;至更新世(1.8～0 Ma),平均构造沉降速率为73 m/Ma。而造成这些变化的主因是发生在中中新世末-晚中新世末的东沙运动和发生在上新世-更新世早期的台湾运动。东沙运动（10～5 Ma）使盆地在升降过程中发生块断升降,隆起剥蚀,自东向西运动强度和构造变形逐渐减弱,使得盆地深水区持续稳定沉降;台湾运动（3 Ma）彻底改变了盆地深水区的构造格局,因重力均衡调整盆地深水区继续沉降,越往南沉降越大。将似海底反射（BSR）发育区与沉降速率平面图进行叠合分析,发现80％以上的BSR分布趋于构造沉降速率值主要在75～125 m/Ma之间、沉降速率变化迅速的隆坳接合带区域。     

Impacts of a bottom trawling exclusion zone on Snow Crab abundance and fish harvester behavior in the Labrador Sea, Canada

The Hawke Box trawling exclusion zone off southern Labrador is a 8610 km² closed area implemented in 2003 to protect soft-shelled pre-recruit Snow Crab and juvenile cod from mortality imposed by shrimp trawling and other bottom-impact fisheries. This study utilizes survey, logbook, and observer data from the Snow Crab and Northern Shrimp fisheries to assess the effectiveness of the Hawke Box in protecting and possibly enhancing the Snow Crab resource off southern Labrador. The results indicate that the exclusion zone has failed to protect pre-recruit crabs largely due to a redistribution and intensification of directed Snow Crab effort inside the Box in the years following closure. This unexpected outcome resulted in a high level of fishery-induced mortality to pre-recruit crabs and masked any potential positive outcomes from the cessation of trawling. The shortcomings that contributed to the failure of this exclusion area are discussed in relation to the current state of knowledge on the effectiveness of marine protected areas in general as management tools for conserving aquatic resources.