Design analysis of a truss pontoon semi-submersible concept in deep water

Truss pontoon semi-submersible (TPS) is a new offshore structure concept in industry, where a truss spar is used to create the added mass by the heave plates. In the present paper, the effect of the heave plates on the vertical motion of the floating structure is demonstrated. A TPS is analyzed by utilizing the linear diffraction theory as well as the linear part of the Morison equation. The close agreement of the analysis results with the experimental results suggests that the simplified Morison equation can be used for the present analysis without sacrificing the quality of the results. However, good engineering judgment is required for estimating the values of the hydrodynamic coefficients as well as the amount of damping introduced in the structure. It is also found that the heave plates indeed introduce large added mass and considerable damping in the system motion in the vertical direction such that the resonant oscillation becomes less of a problem. This suggests that the TSP concept may have merits as a heave-controlled floating production structure in the deepwater development.     

Benthic Front and the Yamato Basin Bottom Water in the Japan Sea

Hydrographic observations have revealed detailed structure of the Bottom Water in the Japan Sea. The Yamato Basin Bottom Water (YBBW) exhibits higher temperatures and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations than those found in the Japan Basin Bottom Water (JBBW). Both Bottom Waters meet around the boundary region between the Yamato and the Japan Basins, forming a clear benthic front. The structure of the benthic front suggests an estuary-like water exchange between both Basins, with the inflow from the Japan Basin passing under the outflow from the Yamato Basin. It is inferred from the property distributions that the JBBW flowing into the Yamato Basin is entrained by the cyclonic circulation in the basin, and modified to become the YBBW. Vertical diffusion and thermal balance in the YBBW are examined using a box model. The results show that the effect of geothermal heating has about 70% of the magnitude of the vertical thermal diffusion and both terms cancel the advection term of the cold JBBW from the Japan Basin. The box model also estimates the turnover time and vertical diffusivity for the YBBW as 9.1 years and 3.4 × 10⁻³ m²s^{− 1}, respectively.     

Hydrographic changes in the Labrador Sea, 1960–2005

The Labrador Sea has exhibited significant temperature and salinity variations over the past five decades. The whole basin was extremely warm and salty between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, and fresh and cold between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. The full column salinity change observed between these periods is equivalent to mixing a 6 m thick freshwater layer into the water column of the early 1970s. The freshening and cooling trends reversed in 1994 starting a new phase of heat and salt accumulation in the Labrador Sea sustained throughout the subsequent years. It took only a decade for the whole water column to lose most of its excessive freshwater, reinstate stratification and accumulate enough salt and heat to approach its record high salt and heat contents observed between the late 1960s and the early 1970s. If the recent tendencies persist, the basin’s storages of salt and heat will fairly soon, likely by 2008, exceed their historic highs.The main process responsible for the net cooling and freshening of the Labrador Sea between 1987 and 1994 was deep winter convection, which during this period progressively developed to its record depths. It was caused by the recurrence of severe winters during these years and in its turn produced the deepest, densest and most voluminous Labrador Sea Water (LSW_1987–1994) ever observed. The estimated annual production of this water during the period of 1987–1994 is equivalent to the average volume flux of about 4.5 Sv with some individual annual rates exceeding 7.0 Sv. Once winter convection had lost its strength in the winter of 1994–1995, the deep LSW_1987–1994 layer lost “communication” with the mixed layer above, consequently losing its volume, while gaining heat and salt from the intermediate waters outside the Labrador Sea.While the 1000–2000 m layer was steadily becoming warmer and saltier between 1994 and 2005, the upper 1000 m layer experienced another episode of cooling caused by an abrupt increase in the air-sea heat fluxes in the winter of 1999–2000. This change in the atmospheric forcing resulted in fairly intense convective mixing sufficient to produce a new prominent LSW class (LSW₂₀₀₀) penetrating deeper than 1300 m. This layer was steadily sinking or deepening over the years following its production and is presently overlain by even warmer and apparently less dense water mass, implying that LSW₂₀₀₀ is likely to follow the fate of its deeper precursor, LSW_1987–1994. The increasing stratification of the intermediate layer implies intensification in the baroclinic component of the boundary currents around the mid-depth perimeter of the Labrador Sea.The near-bottom waters, originating from the Denmark Strait overflow, exhibit strong interannual variability featuring distinct short-term basin-scale events or pulses of anomalously cold and fresh water, separated by warm and salty overflow modifications. Regardless of their sign these anomalies pass through the abyss of the Labrador Sea, first appearing at the Greenland side and then, about a year later, at the Labrador side and in the central Labrador Basin.The Northeast Atlantic Deep Water (2500–3200 m), originating from the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water, reached its historically freshest state in the 2000–2001 period and has been steadily becoming saltier since then. It is argued that LSW_1987–1994 significantly contributed to the freshening, density decrease and volume loss experienced by this water mass between the late 1960s and the mid 1990s via the increased entrainment of freshening LSW, the hydrostatic adjustment to expanding LSW, or both.     

Isolated Cells of Porphyra yezoensis Cultured on Solid Medium

Vegetative cells of Porphyra yezoensis are isolated with sea snail enzyme and cultured on the solidified agar medium. The results of experiments show that the isolated cells can survive,divide and regenerate well on the medium solidified with agar. The first division on the solid medium starts after 7 days' culture, 4 days later than the liquid culture. The survival rate of isolated cells is 71.3% on the solid medium, lower than the 86.2% of that in seawater.Thalli, thalloids,conchocelis, spermatangia and multicellular masses are developed on the solid/medium in the first month, slowly but normally. Spermatangia sacs disappear within 4 weeks. Without adding nutrient liquid onto the surface of solid medium or injecting seawater under the agar layer in order to keep moisture, the thalli and cell groups release monospores to form new thalli instead of enlarging their areas after 5 weeks' culturing. Some monospores regenerate new thalli. Other monospores lose their pigments and minimize their volume and divide quickly to form light pink calli. After 16 weeks, numerous calli can be seen on the solid medium and after 24 weeks' culturing, almost only calli and conchocelis can be seen. If the calli are immersed in seawater, the monospores are released and may develop into young thallus.     

Progress in Seto Inland Sea Research

The Seto Inland Sea is a representative coastal sea in Japan with a complicated geometry and thus a variety of marine environments. This sea is, at the same time, one of the most industrialized areas in Japan, and its marine environment has been significantly affected by the anthropogenic impacts over the last four decades. The wide range of marine environments in this sea and the serious environmental issues resulting from these impacts have attracted the attention of Japanese coastal oceanographers. It is believed that the nature and scope of these studies might be an example of the progress of Japanese coastal oceanography. The historical changes in the Seto Inland Sea environment in the last four decades are briefly summarized, and the progress in the studies of the Seto Inland Sea is reviewed with reference to historical changes. Some recent research topics and activities are also mentioned. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Forced vibration analysis of an offshore tower carrying an eccentric tip mass with rotary inertia due to support excitation

Dynamic responses of structures due to earthquake excitation are the important problems in engineering, thus, the information concerned is plenty. However, most of the literature is relating to the discrete methods, particularly to the finite element method (FEM), and the one relating to the method combining both the “continuous” and “discrete” models is rare. The objective of this paper is to provide some information in this respect. First, the analytical solution for the natural frequencies and normal mode shapes of a “continuous” tower, without contacting water (or “dry” tower), carrying an eccentric tip mass possessing rotary inertia is determined. Next, the partial differential equation of motion for the forced vibration of the tower, contacting water (or “wet” tower), subjected to support excitation is transformed into a matrix equation by using the last natural frequencies and normal modes shape of the freely vibrating dry tower. Finally, the numerical integration method is used to solve the matrix equation to yield the seismic response of the wet tower. In theory, the mode superposition method is correct only if the total number of modes considered approaches infinity, however, numerical results of this paper reveal that superposition of only the lowest six modes will yield excellent results to be very close to the corresponding ones obtained from the conventional FEM. For this reason, the CPU time required by the presented approach is less than 5% of that required by the conventional FEM.     

Assessments of anthropogenic CO2 distribution in the tropical Atlantic Ocean

With a limited number of properties (salinity, temperature, total dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, and oxygen) from a recent cruise in the tropical Atlantic Ocean, we use the simple and recent approach TrOCA (Tracer combining Oxygen, inorganic Carbon, and total Alkalinity) to estimate the distribution of anthropogenic CO₂ along three latitudinal sections. In order to assess the quality of the anthropogenic CO₂ distribution, results from the method are compared to the CFC-11 measurements. We discuss the large-scale distribution of the main water masses of the tropical Atlantic Ocean in the light of the anthropogenic CO₂ and the CFC-11 distributions. Keeping in mind that the anthropogenic CO₂ emission began 60 years earlier than that of CFC-11, the former provides new insight on the local circulation and efficiency of the tropical waters to store the atmospheric carbon.     

Numerical model of a marine chute evacuation system

A lumped-mass model of a marine evacuation chute is presented based on the equations of Kane. The effects of wind load, internal mass transport and the motions of the ends are included. A sample of predicted motions and tensions is presented for a typical extreme environmental condition. The model may be used to assess the behaviour of the chute structure under a variety of emergency evacuation scenarios.     

Gravity anomalies and deep structure of the Ninetyeast Ridge north of the equator,eastern Indian Ocean — a hot spot trace model

The Ninetyeast Ridge north of the equator in the eastern Indian Ocean is actively deforming as evidenced by seismicity and its eastward subduction below the Andaman Trench. Basement of the ridge is elevated nearly 2 km with respect to the Bengal Fan; seismic surveys demonstrate continuity of the ridge beneath sediment for 700 km north of 10° N where the ridge plunges below the Fan sediment. The ridge is characterised by a free-air gravity high of 50 mgal amplitude and 350 km wavelength, and along-strike continuity of 1500 km in a north-south direction, closely fringing (locally, even abutting) the Andaman arc-trench bipolar gravity field. Regression analysis between gravity and bathymetry indicates that the ridge gravity field cannot be explained solely by its elevation. The ridge gravity field becomes gradually subdued northwards where overlying Bengal Fan sediments have a smaller density contrast with the ridge material. Our gravity interpretation, partly constrained by seismic data, infers that the ridge overlies significant crustal mass anomalies consistent with the hot spot model for the ridge. The anomalous mass is less dense by about 0.27 g cm^–3 than the surrounding oceanic upper mantle, and acts as a cushion for isostatic compensation of the ridge at the base of the crust. This cushion is up to 8 km thick and 400–600 km wide. Additional complexities are created by partial subduction of the ridge below the Andaman Trench that locally modifies the arc-trench gravity field.     

The free vibration analysis of submerged cantilever plates

Based on empirical added mass formulation, this work presents a simple procedure to determine the vibration frequencies and mode shapes of submerged cantilever plates. Once the added mass formulation is derived, the procedure can be used to analyze free vibration response easily. An analytical and numerical study is also performed for the vibrations of cantilever plates in air and in water, with these results compared with experimental and numerical data from pertinent literature. Besides, the frequency parameters of the submerged plate for various aspect ratios and thickness ratios are given in design data sheet form and are appropriate for engineering design applications.