Decadal Variability of Subsurface Temperature in the Central North Pacific

Decadal variability of subsurface temperature in the North Pacific has been investigated. Two dominant regions were found; the central subarctic region (CSa) and the north-eastern subtropical region (NESt). In CSa, cooling (warming) of wintertime subsurface temperature corresponds to the large (small) temperature gradient and southward (northward) shift of subsurface temperature front, associated with the increase (decrease) of positive wind stress curl and the southward (northward) shift of curl τ zero line with 2 years delay. It is suggested that the relocation of subtropical-subarctic boundary plays an important role. In NESt, importance of heat flux through the sea surface and heat divergence in the Ekman layer is also discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

沃克环流上升区赤道低空强西风带的分析

采用ＴＯＧＡ／ＣＯＡＲＥ国际合作考察期间（１９９２年１０月─１９９３年２月）获得的２６７次定点（２°Ｓ，１５５°Ｅ）定时高空大气探测资料，进行计算分析，发现１９９２年１２月─１９９３年２月低空存在一支西风急流，有两次分别持续半月之久，而１９９２年１１月的两次赤道西风急流，因无赤道高空急流配合，仅持续２ｄ便消失。本文还指出：（１）赤道低空西风急流是各种海－气指数产生ＥＮＳＯ异常的重要信息；（２）赤道高空急流有滞后赤道低空急流２ｄ左右的响应关系；（３）赤道低空急流是纬向水汽输送的狭窄通道。     

Measurements of higher harmonic wave forces on a vertical truncated circular cylinder

Wave forces on a vertical truncated circular cylinder in Stokes waves with the wave slopes ranging from 0.06 to 0.24, are measured in a wave tank. The higher harmonic wave forces are compared with the available values from theories of the FNV (Faltisen–Newman–Vinje) model and Varyani solution. The first harmonic horizontal forces measured are much larger than the theoretical values from the FNV model, while the first harmonic vertical forces are well predicted by the Varyani theory. It was also found that the FNV model significantly overpredicts the second harmonic horizontal forces in high frequency waves, but under predicts the third harmonic forces. The differences between the actual measurement and the theory, in the second and third harmonic horizontal forces, become smaller at low wave frequencies as the wave slope increases. In addition, the transverse instabilities in the incoming waves with high wave slope were observed, which is due to the nonlinear modulation. Measurements were, thus, carried out before the instability occurred.     

A climatology of mesoscale model simulated low-level wind jets over Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait, Alaska

Weather in the North Gulf of Alaska is characterized by a high frequency of deep synoptic-scale low-pressure systems, especially during the cold season. The strong pressure gradients of these storms interact with the extremely rugged terrain of the coastal mountains to produce a variety of channeled flows. These surface wind regimes are not well documented in the scientific community, due to the paucity of observations. Modeling of these phenomena in regions of complex terrain is of great interest to those working with hydrodynamic, wave, and pollutant transport models in coastal and shelf areas. Such models, when coupled with ocean and coastal-ecology counterparts, give a broad view of the role surface winds play in shaping local coastal marine ecosystem in this region. This paper presents a climatology of simulated low-level wind jets over the domain of Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait along Alaska's south-central coast. Daily simulations using the RAMS model were conducted in a 36-h forecast mode for the cold-season period 10/1/03 to 3/31/04. Systematic analysis of the resulting simulated low-level wind field makes it possible to characterize these jets and gap flows in spatial and temporal detail. The comparison between the RAMS winds and the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-derived winds when available verifies the existence of these wind jets and the capability of the model to simulate these cases. Clearly, the results of a study in this region depend on the fidelity of the model at these scales (O[5 km]). The SAR comparisons attempt to help establish this. From the 6 months of simulations over Cook Inlet and Shelikof Strait, the low-level wind jets are classified into 10 different regimes by location and orientation. These regimes are categorized into four more general groups: cross-channel westerly, easterly, and up and down Inlet flows. The nature of a particular regime is largely a function of pressure gradient orientation and local topography. Jets in the same group have a similar occurrence distribution with time. Some form of jet occurred in the study region almost daily each month of the period, with December 2003 having the highest frequency of wind jets.     

Vertical Distribution of Meiobenthos in Bathyal Sediments of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Relationship with Labile Organic Matter and Bacterial Biomasses

Abstract. Quantitative information on the vertical distribution of meiofaunal abundances and biomass were obtained from samples collected at 3 bathyal stations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea located at the same depth but characterized by different food supply. Vertical distribution patterns of nieiofauna were investigated in relation to the biochemical composition of the sediment organic matter (proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids) and compared to benthic bacterial standing stocks. No significant relationship between bacteria and meiofauna was found, whereas a significant relationship between protein and lipid concentrations and total meiofauna density was observed. These data suggest that labile organic matter. considered as material readily aVdihbk to benthic consumers, may be an important factor regulating meiofaunal abundance and vertical distribution in deep-sea sediments.     

Estimation of Axial Pile Bearing Capacity According to Shear Strength Parameters of Soil

At pesent,it is very popular to estimate pile bearing capacity by use of empirical formula andphysical indexes of soil provided in the design codes for civil construction in China.This paper attempts toapply mechanical indexes of soil and semi-empirical formulas,which are based on soil mechanical theoriesand were summarized and presented by Meyerhof in 1976,to calculate the axial pile bearing capacity.Lo-ading test results of 24 single piles in Tianjin area have been collected and compared with the proposed cal-ulation approach.     

Shear Failure of a Clamped Dented Tubular Beam Under Lateral Impact

- The shear failure of a rigid-plastic dented clamped tubular beam under the lateral impact of a mass is investigated. Both the denting and the impact point are in the middle span of the beam. It is assumed that denting does not spread during the shear sliding. Numerical results show that the axial force and lateral deflection of the beam are very small at the moment of the occurence of shear failure, which means that the finite deformation effect can be neglected in the shear failure analysis. Also, some aspects of the initial impact energy are investigated.     

Barotropic Response of the Sea of Okhotsk to Wind Forcing

We have examined wind-induced circulation in the Sea of Okhotsk using a barotropic model that contains realistic topography with a resolution of 9.25 km. The monthly wind stress field calculated from daily European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Re-Analysis data is used as the forcing, and the integration is carried out for 20 days until the circulation attains an almost steady state. In the case of November (a representative for the winter season from October to March), southward currents of velocity 0.1–0.3 m s⁻¹ occur along the bottom contours off the east of Sakhalin Island. The currents are mostly confined to the shelf (shallower than 200 m) and extend as far south as the Hokkaido coast. In the July case (a representative for the summer season from April to September), significant currents do not occur, even in the shallow shelves. The simulated southward current over the east Sakhalin shelf appears to correspond to the near-shore branch of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC), which was observed with the surface drifters. These seasonal variations simulated in our experiments are consistent with the observations of the ESC. Dynamically, the simulated ESC is interpreted as the arrested topographic wave (ATW), which is the coastally trapped flow driven by steady alongshore wind stress. The volume transport of the simulated ESC over the shelf reaches about 1.0 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹) in the winter season, which is determined by the integrated onshore Ekman transport in the direction from which shelf waves propagate. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

受陆岸影响浅水区台风风浪的计算方案

在我国港口工程技术规范的波浪成长理论基础上，考虑到台风波浪的基本特点、等效水深的概念、浅水区波浪的折射、不规则波的能量分布特性、受陆岸和岛屿影响角度范围内的有效能量风区长度等因素，提出了受陆岸、岛屿影响浅水区（包括海湾区）台风风浪的计算方案。本方案只需台风中心位置、中心气压和计算点于各方位的风区长度（受陆岸影响部分）等资料，便可快速地得到计算点的波浪要素。经实测资料验证，效果良好。