Thermal Stratification in Saldanha Bay (South Africa) and Subtidal, Density-driven Exchange with the Coastal Waters of the Benguela Upwelling System

A study was conducted to understand the mechanisms driving observed subtidal variability in the stratification of Saldanha Bay, located in the southern Benguela system. It was found that the 6–8 day period variability in bay stratification was caused by the inflow and outflow of cold upwelled water driven by changing baroclinic pressure gradients between the coastal and bay domains. The direction and magnitude of the pressure gradients were governed by coastal upwelling activity and a lag in the response of the bay to changes in density structure in the coastal ocean. When the pressure gradients were bayward and cold water was being driven into the bay the cycle was termed to be in an ‘ active phase ’ and the reverse was termed the ‘ relaxation phase ’. The upwelling-favourable equatorward wind stress impacted the bay stratification in two ways: on the regional scale, wind drives upwelling and governs the inflow–outflow of cold upwelled bottom water, which strengthens stratification; conversely, on the local bay scale, wind drives vertical mixing, which weakens stratification. A four-phase model is used to describe the observed variability in stratification in the bay. The associated density-driven exchange flows are capable of flushing the bay in 6–8 days, about one-third of the time for tidal exchange alone (c. 25 days). These inflows of cold bottom water are ecologically critical as they supply nutrients to the bay and thus impose a control on new production within the bay environment. Further ecological implications of this bay–ocean exchange include export of phytoplankton new production to the coast, limitation of the risk of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the division of the system into two distinct ecosystems (bay and lagoon).     

莱州湾夏季环流垂向结构及其影响机制的研究

完善莱州湾三维环流结构,对进一步认识莱州湾海域的物质输运和生态环境保护具有重要科学意义,但前人对于莱州湾环流三维结构的研究相对较少。本文基于一套高分辨率的海洋数值模式,从三维角度研究了莱州湾夏季8月份环流的气候态特征及其影响机制。数值研究表明,莱州湾夏季环流垂向结构呈现双层环流特征,其中在跨等深线方向,环流的双层结构环流特征比较显著且存在显著的密度锋面结构。动量诊断的结果进一步表明,这种双层结构环流的形成与底层密度锋面所导致的斜压梯度力密切相关。此外,通过量化温盐场对于密度锋面的贡献,本文证实了温度梯度是莱州湾顶的密度锋面的主要影响因素,其对斜压梯度力的贡献占比达到99%,而盐度梯度对于莱州湾中部区域的密度锋面十分重要,对斜压梯度力的贡献占比达到58%,这与夏季黄河所带来的淡水通量密切相关。     

Influence of condensation and latent heat release upon barotropic and baroclinic instabilities of vortices in a rotating shallow water f-plane model

Analysis of the influence of condensation and related latent heat release upon developing barotropic and baroclinic instabilities of large-scale low Rossby-number shielded vortices on the f-plane is performed within the moist-convective rotating shallow water model, in its barotropic (one-layer) and baroclinic (two-layer) versions. Numerical simulations with a high-resolution well-balanced finite-volume code, using a relaxation parameterisation for condensation, are made. Evolution of the instability in four different environments, with humidity (i) behaving as passive scalar, (ii) subject to condensation beyond a saturation threshold, (iii) subject to condensation and evaporation, with three different parameterisations of the latter, are inter-compared. The simulations are initialised with unstable modes determined from the detailed linear stability analysis in the “dry” version of the model. In a configuration corresponding to low-level mid-latitude atmospheric vortices, it is shown that the known scenario of evolution of barotropically unstable vortices, consisting in formation of a pair of dipoles (dipolar breakdown) is substantially modified by condensation and related moist convection, especially in the presence of surface evaporation. No enhancement of the instability due to precipitation was detected in this case. Cyclone-anticyclone asymmetry with respect to sensitivity to the moist effects is evidenced. It is shown that inertia-gravity wave emission during the vortex evolution is enhanced by the moist effects. In the baroclinic configuration corresponding to idealised cut-off lows in the atmosphere, it is shown that the azimuthal structure of the leading unstable mode is sensitive to the details of stratification. Scenarios of evolution are completely different for different azimuthal structures, one leading to dipolar breaking, and another to tripole formation. The effects of moisture considerably enhance the perturbations in the lower layer, especially in the tripole formation scenario.     

Baroclinically-driven flows and dynamo action in rotating spherical fluid shells

The dynamics of stably stratified stellar radiative zones is of considerable interest due to the availability of increasingly detailed observations of Solar and stellar interiors. This article reports the first non-axisymmetric and time-dependent simulations of flows of anelastic fluids driven by baroclinic torques in stably stratified rotating spherical shells – a system serving as an elemental model of a stellar radiative zone. With increasing baroclinicity a sequence of bifurcations from simpler to more complex flows is found in which some of the available symmetries of the problem are broken subsequently. The poloidal component of the flow grows relative to the dominant toroidal component with increasing baroclinicity. The possibility of magnetic field generation thus arises and this paper proceeds to provide some indications for self-sustained dynamo action in baroclinically-driven flows. We speculate that magnetic fields in stably stratified stellar interiors are thus not necessarily of fossil origin as it is often assumed.     

大直径钢管桩土塞效应的拟静力判断方法

钢管桩在贯入过程中土塞效应的正确判断对打桩阻力及承载力的预测有重要影响,常用的静力平衡土塞效应判断方法主要适用于小直径钢管桩。随着海洋平台工作水深的不断增加及海上风电工程的建设,直径大于2m的大直径钢管桩被广泛采用,管桩直径的增加改变了桩管内土体的受力与变形特征。通过数值模拟方法获得砂土中不同径长比的钢管桩在打桩过程中桩周土体的破坏模式,确定采用梅耶霍夫公式计算打桩过程中桩端土体阻力,同时分析锤击惯性力对桩管内土塞的影响,提出采用拟静力平衡法判断大直径钢管桩的土塞闭塞效应。开展不同径长比管桩的室内小比尺打桩模型试验,并对实际工程中的土塞闭塞效应进行判断,验证拟静力平衡法对判断大直径钢管桩土塞效应的适用性。     

The role of salinity in fluvio-deltaic morphodynamics: A long-term modelling study

Salinity difference between terrestrial river discharge and oceanic tidal water plays a role in modifying the local flow field and, as a consequence, estuarine morphodynamics. Although widely recognized, recent numerical studies exploring the long-term morphological evolution of river-influenced estuaries with two-dimensional, depth-averaged models have mostly neglected salinity. Using a three-dimensional morphodynamic model, we aim to gain more insight into the effect of salinity on the morphodynamics of fluvio-deltaic systems. Model results indicate that the resultant estuarine morphology established after 600 years differs remarkably when a salinity gradient is included. A fan-shaped river-mouth delta exhibits less seaward expansion and is cut through by narrower channels when salinity is included. The inclusion of salinity tends to generate estuarine circulation, which favours landward sediment transport and hence limits the growth of the delta while enhancing the development of intertidal areas. The formation of deltaic channel–shoal patterns resulting from morphodynamic evolution tends to strengthen salinity stratification, which is characterized by an increased gradient Richardson number. The direction of the depth-averaged residual sediment transport over a tide may be opposite to the direction of residual velocity, indicating the significant influence of baroclinic effects on the net sediment transport direction (and hence morphological change). The effect of salinity on morphological evolution becomes less profound when the strength of tidal or fluvial forcing is dominant over the other. The effects of sediment type and flocculation, which are particularly important when salinity gradients are present, are also discussed. Overall, this study highlights that neglecting salinity to simulate long-term estuarine morphodynamics requires more careful justification, particularly when the environment is characterized by fine sediment types (favouring suspended transport), and relatively large river discharge and estuarine depth (favouring baroclinic effects). © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太湖流域南区湿地磷状况及其滞留能力

选取太湖流域南区29个典型湿地采样点进行土-水磷素状况调查,并采集杭州西湖茅家埠、湖州德清下渚湖、湖州长兴包漾河等泥样进行静态柱和稳流水槽模拟实验,研究区域湿地底泥含TP 0.169-1.200g/kg,Olsen-P 7.08-67.08mg/kg,最大吸附量为269.5-824.5mg/kg,NaOH+EDTA-P占底泥TP的52.O%±11.6%,且伴随其积累会提高Olsen-P含量,相应上覆水含TP 0.036-0.944mg/L,总颗粒态磷占TP含量的70.9%±13.2%,DRP相对较低,静态柱实验中的DRP初始阶段缓慢下降,之后快速下降并维持在稳定水平,稳流水槽实验的DRP动态表现出准U型曲线特征,经验证,底泥的磷素吸附能力在Langmuir吸附实验及室内模拟实验中表现一致.     

舟山海域风暴潮特征及数值模拟研究

选择20个对舟山海域有较大影响的历史台风案例,开展定海站实测潮位数据的分析与归纳,总结得出20个台风中风暴潮过程增水最大值为5612号台风的207.1 cm,风暴潮高潮位最大值为9711号台风的283.7 cm。同时,在三维斜压水动力模型SELFE的基础上加入台风气压场和风场模块,建立了一个采用非结构三角形网格的天文潮-风暴潮耦合模型,模拟表明定海站的斜压效应较为明显,非线性耦合作用相对较弱,但两潮耦合风暴潮增水结果仍优于风暴潮单因子增水结果,与实际增水更为接近。在此基础上,以一定间隔在5612号台风原路径南北两侧各设计了2条平行路径,分别模拟两潮耦合风暴潮增水,结果表明5612号台风参数沿其原路径偏南1个最大风速半径距离的S1路径运动时可模拟得到定海站可能最大风暴潮增水为243.9 cm。最后,在S1路径下模拟可能最大风暴潮增水分别遭遇天文高、中、低潮位时的风暴潮高潮位,结果表明天文潮高潮时可得到可能最大风暴潮高潮位约为400 cm,天文中潮时次之,而天文低潮时风暴潮高潮位最低。     

似水准椭球

提出了“似水准椭球”概念,给出了“似水准椭球”的“匀质分层”、“整体纬向”和“内匀外纬”3种模式的密度分布方式。针对“似水准椭球”密度分布的合理性和稳定性问题,初步提出了求解“似水准椭球”的拉格朗日函数和哈密顿积分的设想。     

Application of a self adaptive method to the simulation of the tidal front in the Huanghai Sea

A self adaptive three-dimensional baroclinic model is designed. A horizontal temperature gradient is used to control the grid size, which can improve computational precision in the fronts without inordinately increasing computation in the whole area. A simulation of the development and disappearance of the front in the Huanghai Sea is conducted with this model. Simulations of temperature distribution throughout the year are also conducted. The computational result agrees well with the observation.