Mean and eddy motion in the Skagerrak/northern North Sea: insight from a numerical model

Insight regarding the mean and eddy motion in the Skagerrak/northern North Sea area is gained through an analysis of model-simulated currents, hydrography, kinetic energy and relative vorticity for the 2 years 2000 and 2001. In this a -coordinate ocean model is used. Since the tidal currents are generally strong in the area, care is exercised to distinguish the mesoscale (eddy) motion from higher-frequency motion such as tides, before computing the mean and eddy kinetic energy. The model-simulated response is first compared with available knowledge of the circulation in the area, and when available, also with sea-surface temperature obtained from satellite imagery. It is concluded that the model appears to faithfully reproduce most of what is known, in particularly the upper mixed layer circulation. An analysis of the mean and eddy kinetic energy reveals that many of the mesoscale structures found in the area are recurrent. This is particularly true for the structures off the southern tip of Norway. Also in general, areas of strong mean and eddy kinetic energy are co-located. The exception is the area off the southern tip of Norway, where the eddy kinetic energy is much larger than its mean counterpart. An analysis of the relative vorticity reveals that the variability found is due to the occurrence of recurrent anticyclonic eddies. It is hypothesized that these eddies are generated due to an offshore veering of the Norwegian coastal current (NCC) as it reaches the eastern end of the Norwegian Trench plateau. Here it becomes a free jet, which is then vulnerable to either barotropic instability caused by the horizontal shear in the jet-like structure of the NCC at this point, or a baroclinic (frontal) instability. The latter may come into play when the NCC veers offshore and its relatively fresh water meets the inflowing saline water of Atlantic origin, a frontogenesis that may become strong enough for cyclogenesis to take place. Due to the depth-independent nature of the model-generated eddies, the barotropic instability is the most likely candidate. It remains to resolve the reason for the offshore veering of the NCC. The most likely candidate mechanisms are vortex squeezing or simply that the coastline curvature is large enough for the NCC to separate from the coast in a hydraulic sense.Responsible Editor: Phil Dyke     

Multicomponent ionic diffusion in porewaters: Coulombic effects revisited

The diffusion of an ion in porewaters cannot occur independently of the other ions in solution as a result of Coulombic coupling, as well as from other effects not considered here. Unfortunately, a longstanding disagreement exists about the correct form and meaning of the equations that describe Coulombic coupling in porewaters, i.e., Ben-Yaakov [Am. J. Sci. 281 (1981) 974] vs. Lasaga [Am. J. Sci. 281 (1981) 981]. This paper re-examines this controversy by reformulating the problem starting from fundamental concepts of mass and charge conservation. We show that these antagonistic formulations are both valid and, in fact, equivalent, when the different interpretations of charge balance are resolved. Most of the disagreements between Ben-Yaakov and Lasaga are then shown to result from differing methods of solution, not fundamental disparities in their models. We note, however, that the explanation for the concept of “stationary” gradients of nonreacting ions as given Ben-Yaakov is inaccurate, and such gradients do lead to diffusive fluxes that are counterbalanced by electrochemical migrational fluxes to produce no net flux (excluding advective flux). We further find that the bicarbonate diffusive flux will not balance the diffusional charge flux of sulfate during its reduction if advection is present. This latter imbalance generates compensating fluxes in the other nonreacting ions. We have applied our theory to a simplified case of sulfate reduction in a marine sediment. The results show that nonreacting ions do diffuse and that with normally expected values of porewater advection, the ratio of the bicarbonate to the sulfate flux can be far different than the ideal value of −2.     

Sorption-desorption kinetics and toxic cell concentration in marine phytoplankton microalgae exposed to Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate

Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonates (LAS) are ubiquitous surfactants. Traces can be found in coastal environments. Sorption and toxicity of C₁₂-LAS congeners were studied in controlled conditions (2-3500 μg C₁₂LAS/L) in five marine phytoplanktonic species, using standardized methods. IC₅₀ values ranged from 0.5 to 2 mg LAS/L. Sorption of ¹⁴C₁₂-6 LAS isomer was measured at environmentally relevant trace levels (4 μg/L) using liquid scintillation counting. Steady-state sorption on algae was reached within 5 h in the order dinoflagellate > diatoms > green algae. The sorption data, fitted a L-type Freundlich isotherm, indicating saturation. Desorption was rapid but a low LAS fraction was still sorbed after 24 h. Toxic cell concentration was 0.38 ± 0.09 mg/g for the studied species. LAS toxicity results from sorption on biological membranes leading to non-specific disturbance of algal growth. Results indicate that LAS concentrations in coastal environments do not represent a risk for these organisms.     

盆地基底岩性的综合地球物理预测方法——以松辽盆地滨北地区基底岩性预测为例

预测盆地基岩岩性不仅对于研究盆地的深部地质结构及盆地的形成演化具有重要的意义,而且也对基岩风化壳油气藏的勘探具有一定的指导作用.本文通过对盆地重、磁异常成因的综合分析,提出了一系列盆地基底岩性综合预测研究的综合地球物理资料处理解释方法技术.指出在地震构造界面的约束下采用重力剥皮技术可以较为可靠地获取基底岩性重力异常并分析了界面密度差对剥皮后基底岩性重力异常的影响,给出了等效密度差的求取方法.分析了基底起伏对基岩岩性磁异常的影响,指出采用"平化曲"将磁异常归化到与基底同一高度,可以有效地提高对基底岩性体的刻画能力.通过综合分析认为:应用基底的相对视密度、相对视磁化率及两者的相关系数可以有效地刻画基底岩性的特征.神经网络是基底岩性判别与分类的有效方法技术.通过对松辽盆地北部滨北地区的基底岩性的综合预测显示了本文系列预测基底岩性方法的有效性,预测结果反映了松辽盆地基底岩性的分布特征.该系列方法技术可为其他盆地的基底地质填图提供了可借鉴的综合预测方法技术.     

Application of snowmelt runoff model for water resource management

Snow‐covered areas (SCAs) are the fundamental source of water for the hydrological cycle for some region. Accurate measurements of river discharge from snowmelt can help manage much needed water required for hydropower generation and irrigation purposes. This study aims to apply the snowmelt runoff model (SRM) in the Upper Indus basin by the Astore River in northern Pakistan for the years 2000 to 2006. The Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) data are used to generate the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the region. Various variables (snow cover depletion curves (SCDCs), temperature and precipitation) and parameters (degree‐day factor, recession coefficient, runoff coefficients, time lag, critical temperature and temperature lapse rate) are used as input in the SRM. However, snow cover data are direct and an important input to the SRM. Satellite data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are used to estimate the SCA. Normalized difference snow index (NDSI) algorithm is applied for snow cover mapping and to differentiate snow from other land features. Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient of determination (R²) and volume difference (D_V) are used for quality assessment of the SRM. The results of the current research show that for the study years (2000–2006), the average value of R² is 0·87 and average volume difference D_V is 1·18%. The correlation coefficient between measured and computed runoff is 0·95. The results of the study further show that a high level of accuracy can be achieved during the snowmelt season. The simulation results endorse that the SRM in conjunction with MODIS snow cover product is very useful for water resource management in the Astore River and can be used for runoff forecasts in the Indus River basin in northern Pakistan. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accuracy of numerical simulations of contaminant transport in heterogeneous aquifers: A comparative study

This work deals with a comparison of different numerical schemes for the simulation of contaminant transport in heterogeneous porous media. The numerical methods under consideration are Galerkin finite element (GFE), finite volume (FV), and mixed hybrid finite element (MHFE). Concerning the GFE we use linear and quadratic finite elements with and without upwind stabilization. Besides the classical MHFE a new and an upwind scheme are tested. We consider higher order finite volume schemes as well as two time discretization methods: backward Euler (BE) and the second order backward differentiation formula BDF (2). It is well known that numerical (or artificial) diffusion may cause large errors. Moreover, when the Péclet number is large, a numerical code without some stabilising techniques produces oscillating solutions. Upwind schemes increase the stability but show more numerical diffusion. In this paper we quantify the numerical diffusion for the different discretization schemes and its dependency on the Péclet number. We consider an academic example and a realistic simulation of solute transport in heterogeneous aquifer. In the latter case, the stochastic estimates used as reference were obtained with global random walk (GRW) simulations, free of numerical diffusion. The results presented can be used by researchers to test their numerical schemes and stabilization techniques for simulation of contaminant transport in groundwater.     

Crop evapotranspiration in the Nile Delta under different irrigation methods

Eddy correlation measurements within the Nile Delta allowed the determination of evapotranspiration (E) for seven crops (rice, maize, cotton, sugar beet, berseem, wheat and fava beans) using basin irrigation (BI), furrow irrigation (FI), BI with increased intervals (BI_i), FI with increased intervals (FI_i), strip irrigation (SI) and drip irrigation (DI). Total E values over the cropping season for rice (BI, BI_i) were the highest (>600 mm), while those for sugar beet (DI), maize (SI and DI) and berseem (BI_i) were the lowest (<250 mm). The differences were due to a combination of atmospheric demand, soil moisture, the presence of surface standing water, root depth, and the length and timing of the cropping season. The DI and SI methods had the advantage for water saving, while the FI_i and BI_i methods were effective for crops with shallow root lengths. Estimated annual E was 566–828 mm/year (water-saving irrigation) and 875–1225 mm/year (conventional irrigation).     

three-dimensional sensitivity coefficients of apparent resistivity and preliminary application

We calculate three-dimensional sensitivity coefficients distribution of apparent resistivity observation when Schlumberger array is used by using finite element method. Analysis results suggest that for the situation of one-dimensional positive or minus coefficient of surface medium, three-dimensional sensitivity coefficients distribution at surface shows similar patterns, and sensitivity coefficients distributions of different layered electric structures are also similar. There are two approximate ellipses at the two-dimensional surface plane between current electrodes and potential electrodes, where sensitivity coefficients are minus, and sensitivity coefficients at other areas are positive. Sensitivity coefficients at two approximate ellipses between current electrodes and potential electrodes are minus at the vertical section along monitoring line, while others are positive. From the three-dimensional view, minus sensitivity coefficients are at the two approximate half ellipsoids between current electrodes and potential electrodes when arrays are applied at surface. And coefficients near the electrodes are much greater than other areas. When resistivity of local areas at surface changes, we can qualitatively analyze the disturbing effects caused by the areas using three dimensional sensitivity coefficients distribution, and the analysis result can serve as reference for further experiment and numerical model quantitative analysis.     

陇东黄土高原下垫面不均匀性指标的建立及其对大孔径闪烁仪(LAS)观测感热通量的影响

目前定量研究下垫面不均匀性对大孔径闪烁仪(LAS)、涡动相关仪(ECS)观测感热通量差异的影响还比较少.本文利用黄土高原庆阳观测站2012年6、7月典型晴天两主风向范围E-SE和SW-W的陆面过程数据,在建立了下垫面不均匀性定量化指标的基础上,分析了下垫面不均匀性与地表温度变率的关系及其对LAS、ECS观测感热通量差异的影响.结果表明:庆阳站下垫面不均匀性大小η和地表温度变率г具有很好的相关性,相关系数达到0.566以上,证明了新建立指标的合理性.下垫面不均匀性大小η和LAS、ECS观测的感热通量差异HLAS-HECS具有很好的一致性,相关系数达到0.634.下垫面不均匀性对LAS和ECS的感热通量差异影响显著,下垫面越不均匀LAS和ECS测量的感热通量差异越大.对两主风向分别进行分析,在E-SE风向范围η和HLAS-HECS的相关系数为0.430,HLAS和HEC拟合的线性趋势系数为1.279,在SW-W风向范围η和HLAS-HECS的相关系数为0.680,HLAS和HEC拟合的线性趋势系数为1.297.下垫面不均匀性的影响程度越大,LAS和ECS观测的感热通量差异越大.     

Spectral Simulation and Conditioning to Local Continuity Trends in Geologic Modeling

Spectral simulation has gained application in building geologic models due to the advantage of better honoring the spatial continuity of petrophysical properties, such as reservoir porosity and shale volume. Distinct from sequential simulation methods, spectral simulation is a global algorithm in the sense that a global density spectrum is calculated once and the inverse Fourier transform is performed on the Fourier coefficient also only once to generate a simulation realization. The generated realizations honor the spatial continuity structure globally over the whole field instead of only within a search neighborhood, as with sequential simulation algorithms. However, the disadvantage of global spectral simulation is that it traditionally cannot account for the local information such as the local continuity trends, which are often observed in reservoirs and hence are important to be accounted for in geologic models. This disadvantage has limited wider application of spectral simulation in building geologic models. In this paper, we present ways of conditioning geologic models to the relevant local information. To account for the local continuity trends, we first scale different frequency components of the original model with local-amplitude spectrum ratios that are specific to the local trend. The sum of these scaled frequency components renders a new model that displays the desired local continuity trend. The implementation details of this new method are discussed and examples are provided to illustrate the algorithm.