Dynamics and role of the Durban cyclonic eddy in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight ecosystem

The semi-permanent Durban Eddy is a mesoscale, lee-trapped, cold-core cyclonic circulation that occurs off the east coast of South Africa between Durban in the north and Sezela, some 70 km to the south. When present, strong north-eastward countercurrents reaching 100 cm s^–1 are found inshore. It is hypothesised that the cyclone is driven by the strong south-westward flowing Agulhas Current offshore of the regressing shelf edge near Durban. Analysis of ADCP data and satellite imagery shows the eddy to be present off Durban approximately 55% of the time, with an average lifespan of 8.6 days, and inter-eddy periods of 4 to 8 days. After spin-up the eddy breaks loose from its lee position and propagates downstream on the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current. The eddy is highly variable in occurrence, strength and downstream propagation speeds. There is no detectable seasonal cycle in eddy occurrence, with the Natal Pulse causing more variability than any seasonal signal. A thermistor array deployed in the eddy centre, together with ship CTD data, indicates upward doming of the thermal structure in the eddy core associated with cooler water and nutrients being moved higher in the water column, stimulating primary production. Together with the use of satellite imagery, our findings indicate a second mechanism of upwelling, viz. divergent upwelling in the northern limb of the eddy. Satellite-tracked surface drifters released in the eddy demonstrated the potential for nutrient-rich eddy water to be transported northwards along the inshore regions of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Bight, thus contributing to the functioning of the bight ecosystem, as well as southwards along the KZN and Transkei coasts – both by the eddy migrating downstream and by eddy water being recirculated into the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current itself.     

Natural ring structures on the Baikal ice cover: Analysis of experimental data and mathematical modeling

Hydrophysical studies and mathematical modeling of ring structures during ice cover on Lake Baikal have shown that their existence at the stage of ice cover degradation is due to anticyclonic currents. Such currents can be generated as a result of local upwelling, which we associate with the rise of methane hydrates from the top layer of bottom sediments and their dissociation. Analysis of satellite images shows that the radii of ice rings range from 1300 to 2400 m, which is close to the baroclinic Rossby radius. The measured ice thicknesses in the area of the rings are in agreement with model calculations. Deep water renewal in Lake Baikal can also be associated with the rise of hydrates.     

Gutter casts from the Proterozoic Bijaygarh Shale Formation,India: Their implication for storm-induced circulation in shelf settings

The orientations of elongate gutter casts occurring in inner shelf storm deposits of the Proterozoic Bijaygarh Shale Formation, India reveal a modal population oriented roughly parallel to the average trend of the associated wave ripples. Assuming that the wave ripple trend approximately represents the orientation of the contemporary shoreline, the shore-parallel gutters appear to have been formed by the geostrophic current. Some gutters oriented at high angles to the inferred shoreline presumably represent incision by wave orbital currents in a storm-induced combined flow regime. The gutters also show variations in the style of incision and infill, which may be useful in distinguishing between gutters formed by wave orbital and geostrophic currents, independently of their orientation pattern with respect to the palaeo-shoreline.     

Application of a vanishing, quasi-sigma, vertical coordinate for simulation of high-speed, deep currents over the Sigsbee Escarpment in the Gulf of Mexico

Recent observations over the Sigsbee Escarpment in the Gulf of Mexico have revealed extremely energetic deep currents (near 1 m s⁻¹), which are trapped along the escarpment. Both scientific interest and engineering needs demand dynamical understanding of these extreme events, and can benefit from a numerical model designed to complement observational and theoretical investigations in this region of complicated topography. The primary objective of this study is to develop a modeling methodology capable of simulating these physical processes and apply the model to the Sigsbee Escarpment region. The very steep slope of the Sigsbee Escarpment (0.05–0.1) limits the application of ocean models with traditional terrain-following (sigma) vertical coordinates, which may represent the very complicated topography in the region adequately, can result in large truncation errors during calculation of the horizontal pressure gradient. A new vertical coordinate system, termed a vanishing quasi-sigma coordinate, is implemented in the Navy Coastal Ocean Model for application to the Sigsbee Escarpment region. Vertical coordinate surfaces for this grid have noticeably gentler slopes than a traditional sigma grid, while still following the terrain near the ocean bottom. The new vertical grid is tested with a suite of numerical experiments and compared to a classical sigma-layer model. The numerical error is substantially reduced in the model with the new vertical grid. A one-year, realistic, numerical simulation is performed to simulate strong, deep currents over the Escarpment using a very-high-resolution nested modeling approach. The model results are analyzed to demonstrate that the deep-ocean currents in the simulation replicate the prominent dynamical features of the observed intense currents in the region.     

1997–1998 El Niño off Peru: A numerical study

An eddy-resolving numerical simulation for the Peru–Chile system between 1993 and 2000 is analyzed, mainly for the 1997–1998 El Niño. Atmospheric and lateral oceanic forcings are realistic and contain a wide range of scales from days to interannual. The solution is validated against altimetric observations and the few in situ observations available. The simulated 1997–1998 El Niño closely resembles the real 1997–1998 El Niño in its time sequence of events. The two well-marked, sea-level peaks in May–June and November–December 1997 are reproduced with amplitudes close to those observed. Other sub-periods of the El Niño seem to be captured adequately. Simple dynamical analyses are performed to explain the 1997–1998 evolution of the upwelling in the model. The intensity of the upwelling appears to be determined by an interplay between alongshore, poleward advection (related to coastal trapped waves) and wind intensity, but also by the cross-shore geostrophic flow and distribution of the water masses on a scale of 1000 km or more (involving Rossby waves westward propagation and advection from equatorial currents). In particular, the delay of upwelling recovery until fall 1998 (i.e., well after the second El Niño peak) is partly due to the persistent advection of offshore stratified water toward the coast of Peru. Altimetry data suggest that these interpretations of the numerical solution also apply to the real ocean.     

Observations of wave pump efficiency

Currently available data on wave pump efficiency is reviewed. The obtainable efficiency is an important consideration in the design of practical devices for the extraction of wave energy and the analysis of natural systems (e.g., coral flats and rip currents). We find that the peak efficiency is 0.5 for very steep (∼ 40–45°) ramps where the waves break over the top of the ramp. For flatter (< 30°) ramps, the breaking process is more gradual and the peak efficiency is less than 0.1. We have identified natural atoll lagoon systems where the flushing is wave driven and successfully modeled it as driven by a wave pump. The same is the case for rip currents. For both of these natural systems, the pump efficiency is around 0.035. In addition a numerical swash model is used to estimate wave pump efficiency and is seen to match the experimental results for natural systems or breaking wave scenario.     

The mid-depth circulation of the northwestern tropical Atlantic observed by floats

A comprehensive analysis of velocity data from subsurface floats in the northwestern tropical Atlantic at two depth layers is presented: one representing the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW, pressure range 600–1050 dbar), the other the upper North Atlantic Deep Water (uNADW, pressure range 1200–2050 dbar). New data from three independent research programs are combined with previously available data to achieve blanket coverage in space for the AAIW layer, while coverage in the uNADW remains more intermittent. Results from the AAIW mainly confirm previous studies on the mean flow, namely the equatorial zonal and the boundary currents, but clarify details on pathways, mostly by virtue of the spatial data coverage that sets float observations apart from e.g. shipborne or mooring observations. Mean transports in each of five zonal equatorial current bands is found to be between 2.7 and 4.5 Sv. Pathways carrying AAIW northward beyond the North Brazil Undercurrent are clearly visible in the mean velocity field, in particular a northward transport of 3.7 Sv across 16°N between the Antilles islands and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. New maps of Lagrangian eddy kinetic energy and integral time scales are presented to quantify mesoscale activity. For the uNADW, mean flow and mesoscale properties are discussed as data availability allows. Trajectories in the uNADW east of the Lesser Antilles reveal interactions between the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) and the basin interior, which can explain recent hydrographic observations of changes in composition of DWBC water along its southward flow.     

船载ADCP资料的潮流分离方法在厦门港断面重复走航中的应用

本文运用Candela等提出的潮流分离方法,选用高斯函数作为基函数,采用Matlab程序,首次对厦门港嵩鼓水道的船载ADCP断面重复走航资料进行潮流分离计算．通过对14个计算点的Candela方法计算结果与引进差比关系准调和分析方法计算结果的分析比较可见：（1）两种方法计算所得余流在大、小潮的相关系数分别为0．9882和0．8521,余流相对误差在大、小潮分别为0．065和0．150,而所得余流方向在大、小潮的相关系数分别为0．9982和0．9865,余流方向相对误差在大、小潮分别为0．023和0．027．两种方法计算的余流及其方向的相关性很高（在样本数为14,置信度为α=1％时,相关系数大于0．6610,结果是可信的）,而平均相对误差也很小．（2）对14个计算点的M2、S2、K1、O1、M4和MS4等6个分潮的计算结果（共有84个样本数据）进行分析比较,两种方法计算所得6个分潮的长轴、长轴方向和短轴在大潮的相关系数分别为0．9838、0．8960和0．2335,而在小潮的相关系数分别为0．9656、0．7555和0．2209．这两种方法计算所得6个分潮的长轴、长轴方向和短轴在大潮的平均相对误差分别为0．375、0．071和0．753,而在小潮的平均相对误差分别为0．287、0．254和0．845．两种方法计算的分潮长轴及其方向的相关性很高（在样本数为84,置信度为α=1％时,相关系数大于0．283,结果是可信的）．相应的分潮长轴的相关性略低,但是在样本数为84,置信度为α=5％时,相关系数均大于0．217．可认为在置信度为α=5％时,计算结果是可信的,而平均相对误差则略显较大．综上所述,我们认为采用Candela等的方法对船载ADCP断面重复走航资料进行潮流分离计算是可行的．     

渤海的环流、潮余流及其对沉积物分布的影响

阐明渤海环流和潮余流的分布特征及其与沉积物输运之间的关系。本文根据80年代以来的实测海流资料得到：辽东湾的环流是顺时针向的；黄河三角洲外海存在着一支流向东北偏北向流，与辽东湾西部的东北向海流相接；渤海湾内的环流北部为反时针向，南部为顺时针向回转的双环结构。上述环流趋势与渤海沉积物分布相一致。渤海沿岸主要入海河流的特征矿物分布正是上述环流存在的最好佐证。文中进一步讨论了潮余流分布特征及其对渤海环流的贡献。     

渤海的环流、潮余流及其对沉积物分布的影响

阐明渤海环流和潮余流的分布特征及其与沉积物输运之间的关系。本文根据８０年代以来的实测海流资料得到：辽东湾的环流是顺时针向的；黄河三角洲外海存在着一支流向东北偏北向流，与辽东湾西部的东北向海流相接；渤海湾内的环流北部为反时针向，南部为顺时针向回转的双环结构。上述环流趋势与渤海沉积物分布相一致。渤海沿岸主要入海河流的特征矿物分布正在上述环流存在的最好佐证。文中进一步讨论了潮余流分布特征及其对渤海环流的