Projections of ocean climate for northwestern Pacific Ocean

The long-term adjustment processes of atmosphere and ocean in response to gradually increased atmospheric CO2 concentration have been analyzed in 70 and 140a integrations with NCAR fully-coupled climate system model (CSM). In these experiments the CO2 concentration has been increased to double and quadruples the initial concentration, respectively. After 70a, at the time of CO2 doubling, the model predicts surface air temperature rises by 1.2 and 1.5K for the globe and the northwestern Pacific Ocean, respectively. The behavior of the quadrupling run is similar: each global and regional mean surface air temperatures increase by 2.8 and 3.0K at the time of CO2 quadrupling. From the experiments, surface air temperature changes in the northwestern Pacific Ocean will be more distinctive compared with the global average, mainly due to exceptionally large warming and sea level change near the entrance of the Kuroshio extension.     

Risks of shifting baselines highlighted by anecdotal accounts of New Zealand's snapper (Pagrus auratus) fishery

Anecdotal data sources may constitute an important component of the information available about an exploited species, as record keeping may not have occurred until after exploitation began. Here, we aimed to fill any gaps in the exploitative history of the sparid snapper (Pagrus auratus), using social and historical research methods. Social research consisted of interviews with recreational fishers, focusing on the most and largest snapper they had caught. In addition, the diary‐logs of two recreational fishers were analysed. Historical research consisted of investigation of old books, photos, archives and unpublished sources unconventional to fishery science. Interviews with fishers demonstrated no or weak trends in snapper abundance or size, and were likely impeded by a lack of ability to detect change in a fish stock that may still be considered abundant. The fishers’ perception of change, however, largely reflected recent experiences (last c. 10 years), when biomass is understood to have increased, and mostly did not consider experiences before the 1980s. Alternatively, diary‐logs of fisher catch rates produced a pattern that matched formal stock assessments of snapper biomass, suggesting declines in abundance up until the 1990s and an increase in biomass after that time. Historical research, although more qualitative, had the ability to investigate periods where formal records were not kept and described a fishery vastly different from the current one. Snapper were easily caught, in great abundance and in unusual locations. Localised depletion of snapper was first noticed in the early 20th century, despite spectacular catches of snapper occurring after that time. Snapper behaviour was also likely different, with visual sightings of snapper by onlookers a common occurrence. Although predictions from stock assessment models are consistent with that of the anecdotes listed here (i.e., high biomass in the past), these anecdotes are valuable as they explain lost biomass in a perspective meaningful to all. This perspective may be valuable for managers trying to consider the non‐financial value of a shared fishery but, if unrecognised, represents a shifting baseline.     

Stability Study of a Tide Embankment Subjected to Sea Level Variations Using Centrifugal Model Tests

To investigate the behavior of dredged-sea-sand fill compacted inside tide embankments with a damaged geosynthetic mat, centrifugal model tests and numerical simulation were conducted, both considering variations in sea level. The results from the three centrifugal model tests demonstrate that the subsidence of the dredged-sea-sand fill inside tide embankments with a damaged geosynthetic mat was strongly affected by the loss of dredged-sea-sand into the filter layers with large particles and a decrease in the bearing capacity of the filter layers with small particles. In addition, a comparison of the test and simulation results confirms that the loss of sand into the filter layer and the subsidence of the dredged-sea-sand fill were well reproduced by the numerical simulation.     

板翼动力锚沉贯深度模型试验研究

板翼动力锚是依靠自重完成安装并靠自重和海床土的抗力来锚固的新型动力锚。板翼动力锚高速(15~25 m/s)贯入地基过程中涉及到高应变率、流固耦合、土体软化和大变形等难题,模型试验可避免上述计算困难,能直接得出不同的贯入速度所对应的沉贯深度。本文首先推导了模型相似关系,然后在常规重力条件下,进行了两组26个工况的板翼动力锚在均质黏土中动力安装过程的模型试验,根据试验结果确定了率效应参数的取值范围,并研究了每一项受力对沉贯深度的影响。最后提出了在均质黏土中预测板翼动力锚沉贯深度的经验公式。     

海上溢油油膜厚度实验室模拟和理论模型对比研究

溢油量是衡量溢油规模的关键指标,是处理溢油事故的重要依据。油膜厚度是确定溢油量的基本前提,是一个尚未解决的国际难题。实验室中模拟了不同阶段和不同环境条件下扩展油膜的厚度变化特征。结果表明,实验室模拟与理论模型分析具有基本一致的变化趋势,扩展速度与扩展时间成反比;温度是影响油膜厚度的重要因素,相同条件下,温度越高,油膜厚度越小;海水盐度会影响溢油扩展,但这种影响并未延伸到对油膜厚度的控制上。由于实验室模拟限定在平静海面条件下,并未考虑风和海流等扩展中不容忽视的因素,故与理论构建模型相比系数相差较大。通过对比分析,前期构建的理论模型更能准确地反映海洋溢油的实际情况,加之在实例验证中的较高准确性,该模型具有业务化实施和广泛推广的潜力。     

A simplified approach to design fuzzy logic controller for an underwater vehicle

Fuzzy logic controller (FLC) performance is greatly dependent on its inference rules. In most cases, the more rules being applied to an FLC, the accuracy of the control action is enhanced. Nevertheless, a large set of rules requires more computation time. As a result, an FLC implementation requires fast and high performance processors. This paper describes a simplified control scheme to design a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for an underwater vehicle namely, deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV). The proposed method, known as the single input fuzzy logic controller (SIFLC), reduces the conventional two-input FLC (CFLC) to a single input FLC. The SIFLC offers significant reduction in rule inferences and simplifies the tuning process of control parameters. The performance of the proposed controller is validated via simulation by using the marine systems simulator (MSS) on the Matlab/Simulink^® platform. During simulation, the DSRV is subjected to ocean wave disturbances. The results indicate that the SIFLC, Mamdani and Sugeno type CFLC give identical response to the same input sets. However, an SIFLC requires very minimum tuning effort and its execution time is in the orders of two magnitudes less than CFLC.     

Reconstruction of eddies by assimilating satellite altimeter data into Princeton Ocean Model

An optimal interpolation assimilation model for satellite altimetry data is developed based on Princeton Ocean Model (POM), which is applied in a quasi-global domain, by the method of isotropic correlation between sea level anomaly (SLA) and sea temperature anomaly. The perfor- mance of this assimilation model is validated by the modeled results of SLA and the current patterns. Comparisons between modeling and satellite data show that both the magnitudes and distribution patterns of the simulated SLA are improved by assimilation. The most signiˉcant improvement is that meso-scale systems, e.g., eddies, are well reconstructed. The evolution of an eddy located in the northwest Paciˉc Ocean is traced by using the assimilation model. Model results show that during three months the eddy migrated southwestward for about 6 degrees before merging into the Kuroshio. The three dimensional structure of this eddy on 12 August 2001 is further analyzed. The strength of this warm, cyclonic eddy decreases with the increase of depth. The eddy shows di?erent horizontal patterns at di?erent layers, and the SLA and temperature ˉelds agree with each other well. This study suggests that this kind of data assimilation is economic and reliable for eddy reconstruction, and can be used as a promising technique in further studies of ocean eddies as well as other ˉne circulation structures.     

Circulation and dispersion in a cancellate coast: The rivers,bays and estuaries of central Maine

The glacially carved central coast of Maine is incised by river systems with interconnecting channels, offshore-trending submarine ridges, and narrow passages between nearshore islands and headlands. The tidal range exceeds 3 m, leading to complex and vigorous circulation patterns with strong flows in narrow channels, near river mouths, and between islands. The spongiform coastal morphology allows enhanced exchange between offshore waters, estuaries and internecine bays, resulting in rapid dispersal of nutrients, larvae and contaminants throughout the region. A fine-grid numerical circulation model has been used to examine the influences of the tides, river flows and winds on the dispersion of lobster larvae and pollutants in the nearshore and riverine environment. This paper describes the model application, presents a few salient features of the circulation patterns, and examines some implications for the coastal environment. For example, under realistic tides and variable southwest summer winds, about 80% of neutral near-surface particles introduced near the offshore islands (a proxy for stage IV lobster larvae from offshore sources) remain within a few km of the islands over a two-week period. On the other hand, a persistent, periodic sea breeze can remove more than two-thirds of the particles from the domain over the same period. Tidal mixing disperses pollutants entering the upper Kennebec River to the offshore and through internecine passages in about one week.     

Spectroscopic ellipsometric study of the optical properties of Ag2O film prepared by direct-current magnetron reactive sputtering

The Ag₂O film, as-deposited by direct-current magnetron reactive sputtering at a substrate temperature of 150 °C, clearly shows a preferential orientation (111), and is capable of lowering the threshold value of the thermal decomposition temperature to about 200 °C, which is helpful to its application in optical and magneto-optical storage. This paper fits its optical constants in terms of a general oscillator model by using measured ellipsometric parameters. The fitted oscillator energy 2.487 eV is close to the optical direct interband transition energy value of the Ag₂O film determined by Tauc equation; whereas, the fitted oscillator energy 4.249 eV is far from the fitted plasma oscillator energy 4.756 eV by single-oscillator energy. The photoluminescence spectrum centred at about 2.31 eV indicates a direct-energy gap photoluminescence mechanism of the Ag₂O film.