Structure of Subsurface Intrusion of the Oyashio Water into the Kuroshio Extension and Formation Process of the North Pacific Intermediate Water

In order to understand the actual formation process of the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), structure of subsurface intrusions of the Oyashio water and the mixing of the Oyashio and the Kuroshio waters in and around the Kuroshio Extension (KE) were examined on the basis of a synoptic CTD observation carried out in May-June 1992. The fresh Oyashio water in the south of Hokkaido was transported into KE region through the Mixed Water Region (MWR) in the form of subsurface intrusions along two main paths. The one was along the east coast of northern Japan through the First Branch of the Oyashio (FBO) and the other along the eastern face of a warm streamer which connected KE with a warm core ring through the Second Branch of the Oyashio (SBO). The fresh Oyashio water extended southward through FBO strongly mixed with the saline NPIW transported by the Kuroshio in the south of Japan (old NPIW) in and around the warm streamer. On the other hand, the one through SBO well preserved its original properties and extended eastward beyond 150°E along KE with a form of rather narrow band. The intrusion ejected Oyashio water lens with a diameter of 50–60 km southward across KE axis and split northward into the MWR involved in the interaction of KE and a warm core ring, which were supposed to be primary processes of new NPIW formation.     

Testing taxonomic resolution,data transformation and selection of species for monitoring macroalgae communities

The Water Framework and Habitats Directives require the evaluation of both the conservation and ecological status of macroalgae communities at water body or habitat level. However, assessments of macroalgal communities are highly time-consuming, both in terms of sampling effort and laboratory processing. These constraints have brought about their oversight in many marine monitoring programs, especially in subtidal environments. By using data from intertidal and subtidal macroalgae assemblages of Mouro Island (North coast of Spain) we wanted to identify possible cost-effective methods for monitoring this biological indicator, based on both high taxa levels and use of representative taxa. Multivariate analyses were applied using different data transformations. The results show that macroalgal communities are robust to aggregation to genus or even family level. Moreover, the outcomes show that transformation types introduce higher variation in the multivariate pattern of samples than the taxonomic level to which organisms are identified. Also, the study supports the use of representative taxa as a surrogate to overall community structure. Therefore, we conclude that a rapid-assessment by means of field evaluations, based on coverage of representative taxa, is a reliable alternative for the assessment of macroalgae status. In addition this procedure allows evaluation at a broader spatial scale (water body or habitat level) than traditional quantitative sampling procedure does.     

Soft computing approach for real-time estimation of missing wave heights

This paper presents soft computing approach for estimation of missing wave heights at a particular location on a real-time basis using wave heights at other locations. Six such buoy networks are developed in Eastern Gulf of Mexico using soft computing techniques of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Genetic Programming (GP). Wave heights at five stations are used to estimate wave height at the sixth station. Though ANN is now an established tool in time series analysis, use of GP in the field of time series forecasting/analysis particularly in the area of Ocean Engineering is relatively new and needs to be explored further. Both ANN and GP approach perform well in terms of accuracy of estimation as evident from values of various statistical parameters employed. The GP models work better in case of extreme events. Results of both approaches are also compared with the performance of large-scale continuous wave modeling/forecasting system WAVEWATCH III. The models are also applied on real time basis for 3 months in the year 2007. A software is developed using evolved GP codes (C++) as back end with Visual Basic as the Front End tool for real-time application of wave estimation model.     

Semi-analytical solution for the water wave diffraction by arrays of truncated circular cylinders in front of a vertical wall

The present study investigates the combined wave field that is induced by the continuous interaction of plane waves with an array of truncated circular cylinders in front of a rigid wall. The long-term goal of the study is the investigation of possible increase in the efficiency of cylindrical Wave Energy Converters (WECs) by putting in the vicinity of the array a barrier to propagation, a wall, that could assist the reflection of the incoming waves. The main task is to develop a generic solution method that is free of conceptual simplifications employed, e.g. by the method of images and the assumption of “pure” wave reflection. To cope with the set task, the proposed method relies on the semi-analytical formulation of the velocity potentials, while the solution is sought by combined expressions that involve polar and elliptical harmonics. The wall is represented as an elliptical cylinder with zero semi-minor axis. This assumption has eventually a beneficial effect to the underlying formulation given that it simplifies significantly the expansions of the involved diffraction potentials.     

The ICZM Balanced Scorecard: A tool for putting integrated coastal zone management into action

Coastal areas are characterised by the choice of performance measures and/or reference points which may be critical in the environmental management process, determining the success of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) plan. The tools for the strategic control of ICZM plans are particularly important, although they are still not widely used at the local level. The following paper proposes the use of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method of Kaplan and Norton (1992), which is a holistic management performance tool that can be used by managers to put into action their business strategy. In particular the methodology has focused on the use of a BSC process, inspired by the Niven (2003) approach for public bodies. The BSC suggests the creation of a framework for the strategic assessment of plans and projects based on the Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean (Protocol). An analysis of the Protocol has been carried out according to the BSC model, and it shows how it can be integrated with assessment and environmental management tools, such as the Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses (DPSIR) framework. The proposed process has suggested a novel framework for analysing the ICZM plans of coastal managers and stakeholders. The analytical framework facilitates the examination of Drivers and causes of the ICZM strategy, the possible impact on society and coastal communities, the most appropriate measures to achieve the objectives and the practicalities of implementing such measures given the institutional context of where these are developed.     

地震海洋学研究进展

传统船舶调查获取海洋水体温盐资料的方法在水平方向上分辨率较低,而用反射地震探测海洋水体特性的方法--地震海洋学,能有效提高海水温盐资料在水平方向上的分辨率.概述了近5年来地震海洋学的发展过程,重点介绍了地震海洋学方法在海洋锋面观测、水团边界划分、海洋内波分析、中尺度涡旋等方面的研究成果,以及AVO、全波形反演等反射地震处理方法在海洋水体特性研究中的应用.比较了地震海洋学方法与声层析技术、高频声技术等声学方法应用于海洋水体特性研究的异同.并展望了下一步研究工作的重点:①有关地震反射剖面的各种参数与海洋水体温盐结构物理模型的联系及其定量分析;②以研究海洋水体特性为目标的地震反射剖面的处理方法;③海洋地震调查历史数据的应用.     

注水诱发地震的成因及影响因素探讨

根据胜利油田东营凹陷深井注水所监测到的破裂信号特征分析,结合位于同一凹陷内的角7井注水诱发地震特征,对注水诱发地震的成因进行了探讨.注水过程中地层有无先存破裂面对所诱发的地震产生较大影响,认为诱发地震的震级与注采比和注水井的构造位置密切相关.     

基于飞机观测资料的石家庄秋季对流层CH4垂直分布特征

为研究石家庄秋季对流层内CH₄垂直分布特征,2018年9月使用“空中国王350”飞机搭载Picarro温室气体在线观测仪和气象要素观测设备,对石家庄上空（600—5500 m）CH₄浓度进行探测。探测期间共飞行7架次,取得7条CH₄浓度廓线数据。结果表明: 石家庄上空近地面层（1000 m以下）CH₄平均浓度与同时间段区域背景站上甸子站CH₄浓度呈显著正相关（r=0.81,P < 0.03）。探测到的CH₄浓度最小值为1898×10^-9摩尔分数,最大值为2219×10^-9摩尔分数,平均浓度为1981×10^-9摩尔分数。观测得到的7条廓线均有较好的一致性,2000 m以上,浓度均随高度呈先增大后减小的趋势。利用后向轨迹模式（HYSPLIT）对探测时段内石家庄上空不同高度层主要气流传输路径进行统计分析表明,600 m高度输送路径较短,CH₄浓度受本地排放影响较大; 3000 m受输送作用影响较大,偏西和西南路径可能将较高CH₄浓度气团输送至石家庄上空; 5000 m气团传输对CH₄浓度影响较小,浓度相对较稳定,对传输路径的变化不敏感。     

不同分辨率BCC_AGCM模式对东亚区域垂直云量的模拟

基于ISCCP(International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project)和NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction)资料分析了BCC_AGCM2.1(Beijing Climate Center_Atmospheric General Circulation Model 2.1)和BCC_AGCM2.2模拟的云在东亚的垂直分布特点,并探讨了误差来源。两个模式大体上模拟出了总云量的分布形势,较好地模拟出了垂直方向上云量大值带随地形的变化特点,但模拟的总云量偏少。AGCM2.2模拟的云量整体上小于AGCM2.1,除复杂地形外AGCM2.2没有体现出高分辨率的优势。模式对中国东部环流场的模拟效果差导致模拟的云量偏少,尤其是AGCM2.2。模拟的对流层高层相对湿度明显偏大导致高层云量偏大。模式在近海面模拟的相对湿度偏小,四川盆地及周围地区冷季模拟的水汽含量偏少,因而模拟的云量偏少。模式云量对相对湿度的响应能力较好,模拟出了云量对垂直速度和稳定度的响应,但地区差异不明显。模式的云参数化方案中云与相对湿度的关系系数需要调整,应更利于云的生成。     

The influence of grain-size analysis methods and sediment mixing on curve shapes and textural parameters: Implications for sediment trend analysis

To this day, deterministic physical models capable of explaining the evolution of grain-size distributions in the course of transport are still lacking. For this reason, various attributes of particle frequency distributions, in particular curve shapes and textural parameters, have for many decades been investigated for potential information about transport behaviour and size-sorting processes of sediments in numerous environments. Such approaches are essentially conceptual and hence rely heavily on the validity of the assumptions on which they are based. A factor which has to date been largely ignored in this context, is the fact that different methods of grain-size analysis (e. g. sieving, laser absorption and diffraction, settling velocity measurements), when applied to the same sample material, produce variable curve shapes, and hence incongruous textural data. This is illustrated by selected examples showing the differences between sieving and settling results, conversion of settling velocities into equivalent settling diameters (psi-phi-transformations), and the influences of particle shape, particle density, and water temperature. It is demonstrated that particle-size distributions are not only method-dependent but also dependent on the adopted post-processing procedure. As a result, only frequency curves generated by the same method and subsequently processed by identical computational procedures can be meaningfully compared. Furthermore, the computation of textural parameters from bi- or multimodal size distributions produces spurious results which are unrelated to the processes leading to the mixing of different size populations frequently observed in nature. In such cases, only the decomposition of such distributions into individual populations and the spatial comparison of such populations makes any sense. Because a physical explanation for the generation of size distributions is lacking, a particular curve shape of a grain-size population has no meaning on its own. Only a systematic comparison of progressively changing curve shapes (and associated textural parameters) of sediments collected on a closely spaced grid can yield data suitable for sediment trend analysis.