Recovery of thermohaline circulation under CO2 stabilization and overshoot scenarios

In this study we examine the behavior of the thermohaline circulation, as simulated by the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3), for several centuries following CO₂ stabilization for the SRES B1 and A1B scenarios and for an “overshoot” scenario in which CO₂ levels temporarily reach the same level as in the A1B scenario before declining to an ultimate stabilization level that is identical to the B1 case. While we find no evidence for irreversible changes of the thermohaline circulation in the overshoot experiment, the interplay of the different timescales of the temperature response of the surface and interior ocean does lead to a number of differences in the long-term response of the ocean between it and the B1 stabilization scenario where the same GHG levels are approached by different paths. The stronger initial warming and its slow penetration into the deeper ocean, followed by a transient surface cooling in the overshoot scenario leads to lower static stability, deeper mixing, and a more rapid recovery of the thermohaline circulation than in the B1 stabilization scenario. While the overshoot scenario recovers surface conditions (e.g. SST, sea ice extent) very similar to the B1 scenario shortly after reaching the same GHG levels, the additional accumulation of heat in the interior ocean during the period of higher forcing causes the global mean ocean temperature and steric sea level to remain higher than in the B1 stabilization scenario for at least another several centuries.     

Seasonal variations of water system distribution and flow patterns in the southern sea area of Hokkaido,Japan

Hydrographic data and composite current velocity data (ADCP and GEK) were used to examine the seasonal variations of upper-ocean flow in the southern sea area of Hokkaido, which includes the “off-Doto” and “Hidaka Bay” areas separated by Cape Erimo. During the heating season (April–September), the outflow of the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) from the Tsugaru Strait first extends north-eastward, and then one branch of TWC turns to the west along the shelf slope after it approaches the Hidaka Shelf. The main flow of TWC evolves continuously, extending eastward as far as the area off Cape Erimo. In the late cooling season (January–March), part of the Oyashio enters Hidaka Bay along the shallower part of the shelf slope through the area off Cape Erimo, replacing almost all of the TWC water, and hence the TWC devolves. It is suggested that the bottom-controlled barotropic flow of the Oyashio, which may be caused by the small density difference between the Oyashio and the TWC waters and the southward migration of main front of TWC, permits the Oyashio water to intrude along the Hidaka shelf slope.     

东南沿海海堤现状调研报告（福建部分）

这部分是福建省正在建设中的四大海堤现状调研，包括达标设计各项指标及其加高加固的技术经验。同时调研了围海工程堵口海堤的施工过程，并对灌砂防渗措施加以评述。最后介绍了兴化湾的莆田海堤试验站和木兰陂水利工程     

A Zonal Pathway for NADW in the South Atlantic

Several large deployments of neutrally buoyant floats took place within the Antarctic Intermediate (AAIW), North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), and the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) of the South Atlantic in the 1990s and a number of hydrographic sections were occupied as well. Here we use the spatially and temporally averaged velocities measured by these floats, combined with the hydrographic section data and various estimates of regional current transports from moored current meter arrays, to determine the circulation of the three major subthermocline water masses in a zonal strip across the South Atlantic between the latitudes of 19°S and 30°S. We concentrate on this region because the historical literature suggests that it is where the Deep Western Boundary Current containing NADW bifurcates. In support of this notion, we find that a net of about 5 Sv. of the 15–20 Sv that crosses 19°S does continue zonally eastward at least as far as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Once across the ridge it takes a circuit to the north along the ridge flanks before returning to the south in the eastern half of the Angola Basin. The data suggest that the NADW then continues on into the Indian Ocean. This scheme is discussed in the context of distributions of dissolved oxygen, silicate and salinity. In spite of the many float-years of data that were collected in the region a surprising result is that their impact on the computed solutions is quite modest. Although the focus is on the NADW we also discuss the circulation for the AAIW and AABW layers.     

Spatial Modeling and Analysis for Shoreline Change Detection and Coastal Erosion Monitoring

Coastal erosion presents a serious problem throughout U.S. coastal areas. The Ohio Geological Survey estimates that more than 3,200 acres of Ohio's Lake Erie shore have been lost to erosion since the 1870s, resulting in economic losses exceeding tens of millions of dollars per year. This article presents research results of a project that monitors shoreline erosion using high-resolution imagery and examines erosion causes. Spatial modeling and analysis methods are applied to the project area along the south shore of Lake Erie. The shoreline is represented as a dynamically-segmented linear model that is linked to a large amount of data describing shoreline changes. A new method computes an instantaneous shoreline using a digital water level model, a coastal terrain model, and bathymetric data. This method provides an algorithm for deriving the Mean-Lower Low Water (MLLW) and the Mean High Water (MHW) shorelines that are essential to navigation charts. The results describe a part of our effort towards a coastal spatial information infrastructure to support management and decision-making in the dynamic coastal environment.     

Trace metals in the Western Pacific: temporal and spatial variability in the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Mn and Ni

Profiles of total dissolvable Cd, Cu, Mn and Ni are reported for samples collected from the southwest Pacific in 1989, from the western equatorial Pacific along 155°E at 5°S, 0° and 5°N in 1990 and 1993, and along the equator from 143°E to 152°E and in the Bismarck Sea in 1997 and 2000. Profiles of Cd along 155°E in 1990 and along the equator were essentially the same but, in 1993, Cd values at 5°N were higher by a factor of about 1.5–2 than at 5°S over the depth range 500–1500 m. Similar, but less pronounced, differences were observed for PO₄ and Ni. Cd and Ni were both strongly correlated with PO₄, and an even stronger correlation was found between Ni and Cd. The concentration of Ni did not fall below ≈2 nmolkg⁻¹, even in the nitrate-depleted waters of the western equatorial Pacific, where primary production is strongly dependent on recycled nitrogen (mainly ammonia and urea). It is proposed that this residual Ni is not bioavailable and that Ni could be biolimiting, since the metabolism of urea requires the nickel-containing enzyme urease. The impact of the Sepik River on Cd, Cu and Ni concentrations was small but elevated concentrations of Mn were observed near the Sepik River and close to the coast suggesting that the rivers and sediments on the north coast of New Guinea are a significant local source of Mn to the Bismarck Sea. Simple mass balance calculations show that the elevated levels of Mn observed in the Equatorial Undercurrent cannot be due to input from the rivers of New Guinea and they were attributed to the trapping of particulate matter due to strong current shear. A strong hydrothermal source of Mn was observed in the central Bismarck Sea.     

海岸工程中海浪数值模拟和环境参数选取的进展

主要介绍了我国近的来在海岸工程设计，建设中有关海浪数值模拟及环境参数选取方面的研究进展。     

Anomalous change of the Antarctic sea ice and global sea level change

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Circulation and Brackish Water Dispersal in a Coastal Lagoon of Southwest Taiwan

Modest observations and numerical experiments were conducted to investigate circulation and brackish water dispersal in a coastal lagoon southwest of Taiwan. The Chi-Ku Lagoon, partially shielded from the sea by a string of sandbar barriers with two entrances among them, receives modest and episodic runoff from Chi-Ku Stream. Flood and ebb tidal streams entering and leaving the two entrances are found to converge and diverge in a flow stagnation area inside the lagoon. Under weak wind conditions, brackish water is preferentially retained in the flow stagnation area. Besides the observations, scenario runs using a three-dimensional numerical model also indicate strong modulation by monsoon winds. Both summer southwest monsoon and winter northeast monsoon reduce brackish water retention; the latter is found to be more effective. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.