Spatial variability in the partial pressures of CO2 in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas

In the summers of 1999 and 2003, the 1st and 2nd Chinese National Arctic Research Expeditions measured the partial pressure of CO₂ in the air and surface waters (pCO₂) of the Bering Sea and the western Arctic Ocean. The lowest pCO₂ values were found in continental shelf waters, increased values over the Bering Sea shelf slope, and the highest values in the waters of the Bering Abyssal Plain (BAP) and the Canadian Basin. These differences arise from a combination of various source waters, biological uptake, and seasonal warming. The Chukchi Sea was found to be a carbon dioxide sink, a result of the increased open water due to rapid sea-ice melting, high primary production over the shelf and in marginal ice zones (MIZ), and transport of low pCO₂ waters from the Bering Sea. As a consequence of differences in inflow water masses, relatively low pCO₂ concentrations occurred in the Anadyr waters that dominate the western Bering Strait, and relatively high values in the waters of the Alaskan Coastal Current (ACC) in the eastern strait. The generally lower pCO₂ values found in mid-August compared to at the end of July in the Bering Strait region (66–69°N) are attributed to the presence of phytoplankton blooms. In August, higher pCO₂ than in July between 68.5 and 69°N along 169°W was associated with higher sea-surface temperatures (SST), possibly as an influence of the ACC. In August in the MIZ, pCO₂ was observed to increase along with the temperature, indicating that SST plays an important role when the pack ice melts and recedes.     

Modified mild slope equation and open boundary conditions

A numerical model to compute wave field is developed. It is based on the Berkhoff diffraction-refraction equation, in which an energy dissipation term is added, to take into account the breaking and the bottom friction phenomena. The energy dissipation function, by breaking and by bottom friction, is introduced in the Berkhoff equation to obtain a new equation of propagation.The resolution is done with the hybrid finite element method, where lagrangians elements are used.     

Analysis of seabed instability using element free Galerkin method

Wave-induced seabed instability, either momentary liquefaction or shear failure, is an important topic in ocean and coastal engineering. Many factors, such as seabed properties and wave parameters, affect the seabed instability. A non-dimensional parameter is proposed in this paper to evaluate the occurrence of momentary liquefaction. This parameter includes the properties of the soil and the wave. The determination of the wave-induced liquefaction depth is also suggested based on this non-dimensional parameter. As an example, a two-dimensional seabed with finite thickness is numerically treated with the EFGM meshless method developed early for wave-induced seabed responses. Parametric study is carried out to investigate the effect of wavelength, compressibility of pore fluid, permeability and stiffness of porous media, and variable stiffness with depth on the seabed response with three criteria for liquefaction. It is found that this non-dimensional parameter is a good index for identifying the momentary liquefaction qualitatively, and the criterion of liquefaction with seepage force can be used to predict the deepest liquefaction depth.     

Baroclinic Buoyancy-Inertia Joint Stability Parameter

At present, the barotropic buoyant stability parameter has been derived from a vertical virtual displacement of a water parcel. The barotropic inertial stability parameter in the eccentrically cyclogeostrophic, basic current field was derived in 2003 from a horizontal cross-stream virtual displacement of a parcel. By expressing acceleration of a parcel due to a virtual displacement, which is arbitrarily sloping within a vertical section across the basic current, in terms of natural coordinates, we derived the vertical component of baroclinic buoyant stability parameter B ₂ ², the horizontal component of baroclinic inertial stability parameter I ₂ ², the baroclinic joint stability parameter J ², its buoyant component B ² and its inertial component I ². B ² is far greater than I ₂ ², and when neglecting relative vorticity except for vertical shear, a downward convex curve of J ² plotted against the slope of a virtual displacement follows a trend of B ² curve. If a parcel displaces along a horizontal surface or an isopycnal surface, however, B ² vanishes, and J ² becomes equal to I ². Actual parcel is apt to displace not only along the bottom slope, but also along the sea surface and an isopycnal interfacial surface, which is approximately equivalent to an isentropic surface, preferred by lateral mixing and exchange of momentum. Such actual displacement makes B ² vanishing, and grants I ² an important role. The present analysis of I ² examining effects due to curvature and horizontal and vertical shear vorticities are useful in deepening our understanding of baroclinic instability in actual oceanic streams.     

Preconditioned Optimizing Utility for Large-dimensional analyses (POpULar)

I present the derivation of the Preconditioned Optimizing Utility for Large-dimensional analyses (POpULar), which is developed for adopting a non-diagonal background error covariance matrix in nonlinear variational analyses (i.e., analyses employing a non-quadratic cost function). POpULar is based on the idea of a linear preconditioned conjugate gradient method widely adopted in ocean data assimilation systems. POpULar uses the background error covariance matrix as a preconditioner without any decomposition of the matrix. This preconditioning accelerates the convergence. Moreover, the inverse of the matrix is not required. POpULar therefore allows us easily to handle the correlations among deviations of control variables (i.e., the variables which will be analyzed) from their background in nonlinear problems. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of POpULar, we illustrate two effects which are often neglected in studies of ocean data assimilation before. One is the effect of correlations among the deviations of control variables in an adjoint analysis. The other is the nonlinear effect of sea surface dynamic height calculation required when sea surface height observation is employed in a three-dimensional ocean analysis. As the results, these effects are not so small to neglect.     

Response-based method for determining the extreme behaviour of floating offshore platforms

The accurate prediction of extreme excursion and mooring force of floating offshore structures due to multi-variete environmental conditions which requires the joint probability analysis of environmental conditions for the worst case situation is still impractical as the processing of large amount of met-ocean data is required. On the other hand, the simplified multiple design criteria (e.g. the N-year wave with associated winds and currents) recommended by API known as traditional method does lead neither to the N-year platform response nor to the N-year mooring force. Therefore, in order to reduce the level of conservatism as well as uncertainties involved in the traditional method the response-based method can be used as a reliable alternative approach. In this paper this method is described. In order to perform the calculations faster using large databases of sea states, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is designed and employed. In the paper the response-based method is applied to a 200,000 tdw FPSO and the results are discussed.     

Experimental Investigation into the performance of the Axial-Flow-Type Waterjet according to the Variation of Impeller Tip Clearance

The tip clearance inside the duct from the tip of the impeller is very important to the performance of waterjet systems, which fact has been proven in the pump field. The tip clearance is especially important on the model scale because it is very difficult in manufacture to keep the tip clearance constant and minimally small along the inside of the duct. In the present study, a flush-type waterjet propulsion unit (duct, impeller, stator, and nozzle) was designed for an amphibious tracked vehicle. Two impellers of different inner diameter were designed and manufactured in order to investigate the gap effect. Resistance and self-propulsion tests with a 1/5-scale model were conducted in PNU towing tank. The flow rate at the nozzle exit, the static pressure at the various sections along the duct and also the nozzle, the revolution of the impeller, and the torque, thrust, and towing forces at various advanced speeds were measured. Based on these measurements, the performance was analyzed according to the ITTC 96 standard analysis method. Based on this analysis method, the full-scale effective and delivered power of the tracked vehicle was estimated according to the variation of tip clearance.     

Use of an optical oxygen sensor to measure dissolved oxygen in seawater

The use of an optical oxygen sensor to measure dissolved oxygen in seawater was investigated. The sensor is based on the dynamic quenching of an oxygen-sensitive fluorochrome embedded in the tip. Dissolved oxygen in seawater samples collected from eight stations at depths ranging from 3000 to 6000 m was analyzed both with the optical sensor and by the Winkler titration method. The two sets of data did not differ significantly. The stability and simplicity of the method and the good agreement of the results with those of the titration method indicate that the sensor would be useful for fieldwork.     

陀螺经纬仪的读数方法比较研究

介绍了陀螺定向测量中三种不同的数据采集方法，分析了各种方法的优缺点。作者认为传感器采集数据自动化程度高，精度高，特别是运用位置敏感探测器（PSD）采样数据量大，具有一定的抗干扰能力，但在运用传感器采样时必须注意克服非线性误差。