ANALYSIS OF A CASE OF EAST ASIA COASTAL CYCLOGENESIS*

The evolution of an explosive cyclone off the East Asia coast in March 1979 is described.A shortwave trough in the southern branch of upper-level westerlies initiated the incipient cyclone.Later,a polar trough in the north amplified and became in phase with the southern shortwave to form a major trough.This major trough was responsible for the rapid intensification of the surface cyclone.In the early development stage,warm and moist air was transported northward to the developing area by a strong low-level jet.The ageostrophic wind associated with the low-level jet contributed to the frontogenesis,creating a favorable low-level environment for the rapid deepening.A low-level positive potential vorticity anomaly was created prior to the onset of rapid deepening.It was a result of frontal cloud condensation.The cyclone intensified rapidly when stratospheric air with high potential vorticity penetrated to the mid-troposphere.The rapid deepening took place at a location under the left-exit region of an amplifying jet streak behind the major trough and the right-entrance region of another anticyclonically-curved subtropical jet streak in a quasi-stationary ridge overJapan.Due to the blocking effect of the Tibetan Plateau,two shortwave disturbances were observed in the upper-level westerlies on the north and south sides of the Plateau.The southern disturbance initiated the incipient surface cyclone,while the amplifying northern disturbance was responsible for the rapid deepening.Thus,the evolution of the explosive cyclone in this case can be regarded as consecutive Petterssen's "type-B" cyclogenesis in two separate stages.     

The role of bathymetry and directional wave conditions on observed crescentic bar dynamics

Nearshore sandbars are important features in the surf zone of many beaches because they strongly influence the mean circulation and evolving morphology. Due to variations in wave conditions, sandbars can experience cross-shore migration and vary in shape from alongshore uniform (shore-parallel) to alongshore rhythmic (crescentic). Sandbar dynamics have been studied extensively, but existing observational studies usually do not quantify the processes leading to crescentic bar formation and straightening. This study analyses the dynamics of crescentic bar events at the fetch-limited beach of Castelldefels (northwestern Mediterranean Sea, Spain) using 7.5 years of hourly time-exposure video images and detailed wave conditions. The results show that, despite the generally calm wave conditions, the sandbars were very dynamic in the cross-shore and longshore directions. They often migrated rapidly offshore during storms (up to 70 m in one day) and more slowly onshore during post-storm conditions. Crescentic bars were often present at the study site (48% of the time), but only when the sandbar was at least 10 m from the shoreline. They displayed a large variability in wavelengths (100–700 m), alongshore migration speeds (0–50 m/day) and cross-shore amplitudes (5–20 m). Wavelengths increased for larger bar–shoreline distances and the alongshore migration speeds were strongly correlated with the alongshore component of the radiation stresses. Crescentic patterns typically developed during low–medium energetic waves with limited obliquity ( $\theta \lesssim 20$° at 10 m depth), while bar straightening occurred during medium–high energetic waves with strong oblique angles of incidence ( $\theta \gtrsim 15$°). Overall, this study provides further proof for the important role of wave direction in crescentic bar dynamics and highlights the strong dependence of crescentic bar development on the initial bathymetric configuration.     

New paleomagnetic results from the Aegean extensional province

Various Oligocene formations from NE Greece (ignimbrites from the Medousa area, rhyolites from Zagradenia, granodiorites from Elatia) show discordant paleomagnetic signatures, in each case indicating small cw (clockwise) rotation and also inclination flattening. Marls from Pithion were partly remagnetized in a present-day field. Samples that contain ancient magnetization components also indicate small cw rotation and inclination flattening. However, the magnetization of andesites from Peplos reflects a considerably larger rotation, likely owing to local tectonics. In the context of previous work in the area, these results are used to propose a subdivision of NE Greece into four structural zones of distinctive rotational behaviour (from east to west): sites in zone 1, east of the Kavala-Xanthi-Komotini fault (KXK), show various cw and ccw (counterclockwise) rotation angles owing to complex kinematics resulting from the interaction of the KXK and the north-Anatolian fault zone. However, zone 2, between the KXK and the Strymon valley, is structurally homogeneous ( 10° cw rotation). The paleomagnetic signature of the Vertiskos massif (zone 3) implies a larger (> 30°) cw rotation, whereas sites in the Vardar basin (zone 4) contain a paleomagnetic signature similar to that of zone 2. This suggests a motion of the Vertiscos massif, a meta-ophiolitic nappe, relative to underlying strata. Indeed, zones 2 and 4 may be parts of the same structural unit which underlies this nappe.     

A Bay–River Coupled Model for Storm Surge Prediction Along the Andhra Coast of India

The paper describes a two-dimensional bay–river coupled numerical model for storm surges along the Andhra coast of India. The effect of the Krishna and Godavari rivers on the surge development is analysed. A comparative study of the surge generated by a tropical cyclone with and without the inclusion of rivers is done in detail. Three cyclones that struck the Andhra coast in November 1977, May 1990 and November 1996 were used for the simulation studies. It is found that the idealized model without a river overestimates the sea-level elevation as compared to a more realistic bay–river coupled model. The temporal variation of surge values at the mouth of the rivers is also studied for all three cyclone cases. It is found that the effect of the presence of rivers depends on the strength of the cyclone, its point of landfall and the location of the rivers with respect to the landfall point.     

Berriasian (Lower Cretaceous) brachiopods from the Crimea

Four successive assemblages of Berriasian brachiopods distinguished for the first time in the Crimea are correlated with concurrent subdivisions of the ammonoid scale. Berriasian brachiopods are represented by 44 species of 27 genera and 14 families, which are most complete in terms of taxonomic composition as compared to other concurrent brachiopod faunas known elsewhere. The assemblages are dominated by local species. As is proved, the Berriasian brachiopods studied are appropriate for age determination, subdivision and correlation of their host deposits. Their geographic distribution that has been analyzed elucidates connections of the Berriasian sea basins within the Mediterranean paleozoogeographic region.     

影响华东地区热带气旋年频数与热带对流场的关系

利用由美国NOAA系列卫星观测的OLR资料研究了影响华东地区热带气旋年频数（记为ATC）与热带对流场的关系，结果表明两者存在密切的联系：（1）当华东地区热带气旋年频数ATC为异常偏多（少）时，ITCZ位置累积距平为正（负）值，即ITCZ位置异常偏北（南）；（2）利用OLR设计了Walker综合指数WI，该指数的强弱可以反映ATC的异常情况，即当ATC为异常偏多（少）时，walker环流圈异常强（弱）；（3）OLR距平累积量场能较好的表征ATC异常年份所对应的低纬度及中高纬地区大气环流的配置，其可以作为预测影响华东地区热带气旋年频数的强信号。     

影响我国北方的台风相似预报系统

普查建国以来影响我国北方的所有台风个例 ,建立了影响我国北方的台风详细历史资料库 ,对台风位置、形成季节、移向、天气形势等进行相似分析 ,并在MICAPS平台上 ,建立了短期和中期台风相似预报系统。     

African monsoon variability during the previous interglacial maximum

Little is known about centennial- to millennial-scale climate variability during interglacial times, other than the Holocene. We here present high-resolution evidence from anoxic (unbioturbated) sediments in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that demonstrates a sustained ∼800-yr climate disturbance in the monsoonal latitudes during the Eemian interglacial maximum (∼125 ka BP). Results imply that before and after this event, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) penetrated sufficiently beyond the central Saharan watershed (∼21°N) during the summer monsoon to fuel flooding into the Mediterranean along the wider North African margin, through fossil river/wadi systems that to date have been considered only within a Holocene context. Relaxation in the ITCZ penetration during the intra-Eemian event curtailed this flux, but flow from the Nile - with its vast catchment area - was not affected. Previous work suggests a concomitant Eurasian cooling event, with intensified impact of the higher-latitude climate on the Mediterranean basin. The combined signals are very similar to those described for the Holocene cooling event around 8 ka BP. The apparent type of concurrent changes in the monsoon and higher-latitude climate may reflect a fundamental mechanism for variability in the transfer of energy (latent heat) between the tropics and higher latitudes.