Application of the Conditional Nonlinear Optimal Perturbation Method to the Predictability Study of the Kuroshio Large Meander

A reduced-gravity barotropic shallow-water model was used to simulate the Kuroshio path variations.The results show that the model was able to capture the essential features of these path variations.We used one simulation of the model as the reference state and investigated the effects of errors in model parameters on the prediction of the transition to the Kuroshio large meander (KLM) state using the conditional nonlinear optimal parameter perturbation (CNOP-P) method.Because of their relatively large uncertainties,three model parameters were considered:the interfacial friction coefficient,the wind-stress amplitude,and the lateral friction coefficient.We determined the CNOP-Ps optimized for each of these three parameters independently,and we optimized all three parameters simultaneously using the Spectral Projected Gradient 2 (SPG2) algorithm.Similarly,the impacts caused by errors in initial conditions were examined using the conditional nonlinear optimal initial perturbation (CNOP-I) method.Both the CNOP-I and CNOP-Ps can result in significant prediction errors of the KLM over a lead time of 240 days.But the prediction error caused by CNOP-I is greater than that caused by CNOP-P.The results of this study indicate not only that initial condition errors have greater effects on the prediction of the KLM than errors in model parameters but also that the latter cannot be ignored.Hence,to enhance the forecast skill of the KLM in this model,the initial conditions should first be improved,the model parameters should use the best possible estimates.     

Evaluating the Characteristics of the Meander Belt Soils of the Niger Delta, Southeastern Nigeria

The morphological, physical, chemical and pedological properties of eight pedons representative of the four physiographic units in the Meander Belt of the Niger Delta were studied. The soils were classified and the constraints to their agricultural and engineering uses evaluated. The soils were generally poorly drained, having an Aquic moisture regime, mottles and Fe and Mn concretions. They belong to the Entisol and Inceptisol USDA soil taxonomy orders. Soil textures were generally clayey, except for the pedons of the levee crest with sandy loam textures. Bulk density, particle density and total porosity were generally low. Total nitrogen and available phosphorus were also low. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) and base saturation were high. Organic matter was low to moderate. Total elements of the clay were generally high. The soils have poor physical conditions. The high clay content, and the presence of 2:1 lattice clay minerals could account for the deterioration of the major east-west interstate road linking southeast and southwest Nigeria that passes through the area. Optimum use of the soils for agriculture would depend on good land evaluation and efficient soil water management.     

湖北荆门下第三系河流性质的分析

本文根据湖北省江汉盆地西北侧下第三系东山组的岩性、沉积构造及其垂直层序,研究了东山组的沉积特征。认为该层为典型的河流沉积,并进一步与河北省滦河低弯曲河段的现代沉积对比,推断了本区的河床类型、河水深度,并运用岩石定向参数判断古水流方向。文章最后指出该河流性质直接影响江汉盆地下第三系下部含油层系的分布。     

Quasiperiodic small meanders of the Kuroshio off Cape Ashizuri and their inter-annual modulation caused by quasiperiodic arrivals of mesoscale eddies

A quasiperiodic variation of 100–110 days in the Kuroshio path off Cape Ashizuri, resulting from the passage of small meanders, was detected by observation with moored current meters during 1993–1995. TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data covering 9 years showed that the quasiperiodic variation period was not persistent and modulated twice, with a ∼110-day period from mid-1993 to late 1996, a ∼150-day period from late 1996 to mid-1999, and a ∼110-day period from mid-1999 to late 2001. The quasiperiodic variations of the Kuroshio path migration were contemporaneous with the quasiperiodic arrivals of mesoscale eddies from the east along 27–32°N over the same ∼110- and ∼150-day period quasiperiodic variations. The periodic arrivals of the eddies configure the periodic variations of the Kuroshio path and its inter-annual modulation.     

Monitoring of generation and propagation of the Kuroshio small meander using sea level data along the southern coast of Japan

The occurrence of the small meander of the Kuroshio, generated south of Kyushu and propagating eastward, was examined using sea level data collected during 1961–1995 along the south coast of Japan. Intra-annual variation of the sea level was expanded by the frequency domain empirical orthogonal function (FDEOF) modes, and it was found that the second and third modes are useful for monitoring the generation and propagation of the small meander. The third FDEOF for periods of 10–100 days has a phase reversal between Hosojima and Tosa-shimizu with significant amplitude west of Kushimoto, and the amplitude of its time coefficient is large during the non-large-meander (NLM) period and has a significant peak when the small meander exists southeast of Kyushu. The second FDEOF for periods of 20–80 days has a phase reversal between Kushimoto and Uragami, and the amplitude of its time coefficient is large when the small meander propagates to the south of Shikoku. The third FDEOF mode allowed us to conclude that the small meander occurred 42 times from July 1961 to May 1995, most of them (38) occurring during the NLM periods. The second FDEOF mode permits the conclusion that half of the 38 small meanders reached south of Shikoku. Of these, five small meanders influenced transitions of the Kuroshio path from the nearshore NLM path; one caused the offshore NLM path and four brought about the large meander. About one-tenth of the total number of small meanders are related to the formation of the large meander.     

黑潮大弯曲时期日本鲭幼体输运数值模拟研究

日本鲭是一种重要的经济鱼类,广泛分布于西北太平洋沿岸海域,其资源和补充很容易受到环境因素的影响,尤其是在鱼类的早期生活阶段,即卵和幼体阶段。本文建立了一个基于个体的模型（Individual-Based Model,IBM）用以研究典型大弯曲期间黑潮主流、周围环流以及中尺度涡对日本鲭早期生命活动的影响。数值模拟及研究结果表明：（1）在深度分布方面,大部分个体（鱼卵或仔稚鱼）位于75 m以浅水层中,只有少部分被垂直湍流带入更深的水域。（2）在产卵场和育幼场之间的连通性方面,3-5月来自主要产卵场的个体随黑潮主流进入黑潮延伸区的渔场;6月份,主要产卵场中的个体受到黑潮大弯曲东侧的小型冷涡的影响,该冷涡阻止了其进入黑潮延伸区的渔场,并留在纪伊半岛和伊豆群岛的沿海水域。在昼夜垂直迁移（Diel Vertical Migration,DVM）这一输运方式的影响下,停留在四国岛和纪伊半岛附近的个体数量增加,处于DVM输运方式下的个体受冷涡的影响更大,增加了在海洋表面漂流的时间,无法跟随黑潮主流输送到更远的育幼场。（3）在输送距离方面,90%以内的个体进行短距离到中距离输运,在DVM输运方式下,长距...     

Length scales and statistical characteristics of outer bank roughness for large elongate meander bends: The influence of bank material properties,floodplain vegetation and flow inundation

This article explores the length scales and statistical characteristics of form roughness along the outer banks of two elongate bends on a large meandering river through investigation of topographic variability of the bank face. The analysis also examines how roughness varies over the vertical height of the banks and when the banks are exposed subaerially and inundated during flood stage. Detailed data on the topography of the outer banks were obtained subaerially using terrestrial LiDAR during low flow conditions and subaqueously using multibeam echo sounding (MBES) during near‐bankfull conditions. The contributions of various length scales of topographic irregularity to roughness for subaerial conditions were evaluated for different elevation contours on the bank faces using Hilbert–Huang Transform (HHT) spectral analysis. Statistical characteristics for discrete areas on the bank faces were determined by calculating the root‐mean‐square of normal distances from a triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface. Results of the HHT analysis show that the characteristics of roughness along bank faces composed primarily of non‐cohesive sediment, and eroding into cropland, vary with bank elevation and exhibit a dominant range of roughness length scales (~15–50 m). However, bank faces composed predominantly of cohesive material and carved into a forested floodplain have relatively uniform topographic roughness characteristics over the vertical extent of the bank face and do not exhibit a dominant roughness length scale or range of length scales. Additionally, comparison between local surface roughness for subaerial versus subaqueous conditions shows that roughness decreases considerably when the banks are submerged, most likely because of the removal of vegetation and eradication of small‐scale erosional features in non‐cohesive bank materials by flow along the bank face. Thus, roughness appears to be linked to the hydraulic conditions affecting the bank, at least relative to conditions that develop when banks are exposed subaerially. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene stratigraphy-of the Lower Ganges-Brahmaputra River delta in Bangladesh

Major part of the Holocene Ganges-Brahmaputra delta occupies the southern and southwestern part of Bangladesh with a smaller part extending beyond the international boundary in the west. Five facies assemblages are documented in the lower deltaic plain in five different depositional environments: levee or levee complex, bil or depression, abandoned meander belt, interdistributary plain and estuarine plain. The thickness of the Holocene sediments ranges from 30 m to 70 m in the deltaic plain, usually floored by the Pleistocene stiff clays, with the exception of the abandoned meander belt deposit where Holocene channel sand deposited directly on the Pleistocene sand. Radiocarbon dates indicate that low-rate sedimentation has occurred in the northern part, where 4-6 m thick sediments were deposited since the mid-Holocene, whereas 10-30 mthick sediments were deposited in the southern part during the same span of time. In addition, significant coastal subsidence (3 mm/a on average), added by sea-level rise (1.5 mm/a, conservative rate) occurs in the study area, which serves as a negative factor in degrading the coastal plain of Bangladesh in the future, while taking into consideration the weaker sedimentation in the area.     

Assessing the oscillation of channel geometry and meander migration cardinality of Bhagirathi River,West Bengal,India

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Lateral migration of the Bhagirathi River temporally creates unavoidable geomorphic hazards in West Bengal, India. The Bhagirathi River flows SW for ~67.30 km...     

伊豆海脊两侧顺时针流涡的若干观测证据

本文对方国洪等（１９９５）有关“西北太平洋环流三维结构的计算结果中显示出当黑潮越过伊豆海脊时，由于海脊的阻塞作用，在伊豆海省两侧出现两个顺时针流涡”的论术，提出若干观测和文献的证据，证实这两个流涡是存在的；还对这些流涡的机理作了初步的分析。