The importance of extratropical and tropical cyclones on the short-term evolution of barrier islands along the northern Gulf of Mexico, USA

Data are presented indicating the complexity and highly variable response of beaches to cold front passages along the northern Gulf of Mexico, in addition to the impacts of tropical cyclones and winter storms. Within the past decade, an increase in the frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes impacting the northern Gulf has dramatically altered the long-term equilibrium of a large portion of this coast. A time series of net sediment flux for subaerial and nearshore environments has been established for a section of this coast in Florida, and to a lesser extent, Mississippi. The data incorporate the morphological signature of six tropical storms/hurricanes and more than 200 frontal passages.

Data indicate that (1) barrier islands can conserve mass during catastrophic hurricanes (e.g., Hurricane Opal, a strong category 4 hurricane near landfall); (2) less severe hurricanes and tropical storms can promote rapid dune aggradation and can contribute sediment to the entire barrier system; (3) cold fronts play a critical role in the poststorm adjustment of the barrier by deflating the subaerial portion of the overwash terrace and eroding its marginal lobe along the bayside beach through locally generated, high frequency, steep waves; and (4) barrier systems along the northern Gulf do not necessarily enter an immediate poststorm recovery phase, although nested in sediment-rich nearshore environments. While high wave energy conditions associated with cold fronts play an integral role in the evolution and maintenance of barriers along the northern Gulf, these events are more effective in reworking sediment after the occurrence of extreme events such as hurricanes. This relationship is even more apparent during the clustering of tropical cyclones.

It is anticipated that these findings will have important implications for the longer term evolution of barrier systems in midlatitude, microtidal settings where the clustering of storms is apparent, and winter storms are significant in intensity and frequency along the coast.     

Carbon balance in a salt marsh: Interactions of diffusive export, tidal deposition and rainfall-caused erosion

Studies of the concentrations of particulate and dissolved organic carbon in the Duplin River, of the tidal exchange of POC and DOC in the marsh, of the standing stock and movement of Spartina alterniflora wrack in the Duplin, and of the removal of carbon from the surface of the marsh by rain were conducted at Sapelo Island, Georgia in order to test three hypotheses about export of carbon from the Duplin River watershed. We found that the gradients in POC and DOC concentrations are such that carbon is being transported down the Duplin River throughout the year, although in smaller quantities than previously believed. In contrast, almost all tidal exchanges within the marsh result in deposition of carbon. Most of this deposited carbon is subsequently eroded as a result of rain falling on the exposed marsh surface, and is washed back into the tidal creeks. This cycle of deposition and erosion is a possible mechanism keeping POC in the thin aerobic surface layer of the marsh, thus increasing its availability to detritivores and aerobic microbes. The standing stock of wrack is only a fraction of the S. alterniflora produced each year, and its export is a negligible term in the carbon balance equation.     

Modeling erosion of sedimentary coasts in the western Russian Arctic

Morphodynamic modeling is employed in the present work to predict the long-term evolution (over the next 100 years) of typical sedimentary coasts in the western Russian Arctic. The studied objects are the coasts of Varandey (the Barents Sea), Baydaratskaya Bay and Harasavey (the Kara Sea). The model developed takes into account both the short-term processes (storm events) and long-term factors (for example, changes in sea level, inter-annual variations in gross sediment flux, lack or excess of sediment supply). Predicted and observed morphological changes in coastal profiles are shown to agree well for time scales ranging from weeks to decades. It is revealed that under given environmental conditions, the morphological evolution is strongly influenced by storm surges and associated wind-driven circulation. The water level gradient created by a surge generates a seaward flow at the bed. This outflow is shown to be an important destructive mechanism contributing to the erosion and recession of Arctic coasts. The rate of change is found to depend on both the exposure of the coast (relative to the direction of dominant winds) and its height above the sea. The open coast of Varandey is expected to retreat as much as 300–500 m over 100 years, while recession of the less exposed coasts of Baydaratskaya Bay would not exceed about 100 m/century. If long-term sediment losses are insignificant, the rate of erosion decays with time and the morphodynamic system may tend toward equilibrium. It is concluded that the expected relative sea-level rise (up to 1 m over the nearest 100 years) is non-crucial to the future coastal evolution if an erosion activity is already high enough.     

GIS支持下的长江口拦门沙泥沙冲淤定量计算

依据1842～1997年10幅不同年代的长江口海图资料,利用地理信息系统和数字化仪进行处理,建立不同时期的长江口水下数字高程模型,以此作为基础资料,实现了从横剖面、深泓线纵剖面、平面变化等不同角度对长江口拦门沙地区滩槽演变、岸线侵蚀、沙岛形成与变迁等进行研究.通过计算河槽容积,实现了对不同时段泥沙冲淤量的计算.结果表明,155a来拦门沙总的趋势是不断淤积,但不同时期淤积速度大不一样,个别时期甚至会发生一定程度的冲刷,这主要与动力条件的波动有关.1842～1997年,共淤积泥沙38.10亿t,平均每年淤积0.246亿t,约占长江来沙的5%,年均淤厚为1.1cm泥沙淤积部位主要在九段沙、横沙及横沙东滩、崇明东滩三处.发生冲刷的范围较小,仅占总面积的21.4%,主要在北槽,北港上段和南槽局部也有轻微的冲刷发生.     

Exchange flow of oil and sea-water in a ruptured submarine pipeline

The rupture of a submarine oil pipeline starts various mechanisms leading to an oil spill. Among these mechanisms the leakage of oil driven by the difference in specific gravities of oil and sea-water is difficult to estimate. A simple mathematical model has been developed and laboratory experiments have been carried out to obtain an insight into the density-driven exchange flow and to determine the leak rate. The mathematical model is predictive and takes account of the effects of friction, inclination of the pipeline, and inertia of the fluid. The experiments were done in a horizontal model pipeline. Theoretical and experimental results are in satisfactory agreement.     

浙江省海岸侵蚀及防治概述

浙江海岸侵蚀现象普遍存在。基岩海岸海蚀地貌发育,因其组成物质抗冲蚀能力强,岸线后退不明显;砂砾质海岸普遍发生侵蚀,尤其是无计划的人工挖沙,造成沙滩减小或消失;淤泥质海岸大多处于缓慢的淤涨状态,但由于自然条件的改变和人为作用的影响,某些岸段发生侵蚀,特别是受到台风暴潮的影响,岸线在短时间内出现大规模后退和滩面下蚀。侵蚀岸段主要见于杭州湾北岸澉浦至金丝娘桥岸段,杭州湾南岸临山至西三岸段及瓯江口北岸盘石至黄华岸段。淤泥质海岸后缘为滨海平原,组成物质为粘土质粉砂,抗冲蚀能力弱,为防止和减轻海岸侵蚀,沿岸建造各类海岸工程(海塘、丁坝、导堤等),提高防潮抗浪能力,在朝滩种植大米草,互花米草,消浪促淤明显。另外,在海岸开发活动中,应加强海岸侵蚀监测和综合管理。     

Facies recognition of some Tertiary coals applied to prediction of oil source rock occurrence

Coals are oil source rocks in many of the Tertiary basins of Southeast Asia. The precursors of these hydrogen rich and oxygen poor coals are coastal plain peats which have mainly developed in an everwet and tropical climate. In these environments water flow and reworking can concentrate liptinitic kerogen in preference to vitrinitic kerogen. The distribution, petrography and chemistry of the coaly Miocene source rocks present in the Kutai Basin are described. The recognition of environmental controls on the accumulation of potentially oil-prone coals and coaly shales in deltaic environments is an aid to predictive source bed recognition in petroleum exploration. Comments on the environment of deposition of coaly sediments in the basins of the Norwegian Sea are discussed with reference to their possible oil and/or gas sourcing potential. The Triassic - Jurassic coals of the Haltenbanken area may become more oil-prone towards the delta margins, and facies mapping could aid oil exploration in this area.     

Uncertainty in predictions of oil spill trajectories in open sea

A method is introduced to calculate and to account for the uncertainties in the predictions of oil spill trajectories using a classic oil spill model. The method considers the output of the oil spill model as a function of random variables, which are the input parameters, and calculates the standard deviation of the output results which gives a measure of the uncertainty of the model given the uncertainties of the input parameters.Instead of a single trajectory that is calculated by the oil spill model using the mean values of the parameters, a band of trajectories can be defined when various simulations are done taking into account the uncertainties of the input parameters. This band of trajectories defines envelopes of the trajectories that are likely to be followed by the spill given the uncertainties of the input.The method is applied to an oil spill that occurred in open sea near Madeira Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, in December 1989. The simulations allow the understanding of how a change in the wind direction drove the spill towards the Islands.The envelope of likely trajectories that is obtained with the uncertainty modelling shows a band of trajectories that is in better agreement with the observations than the single trajectory simulated by the oil spill model, based on mean parameters.     

塔里木盆地的构造演化

从地震大剖面显示，塔里木盆地发育为手风琴式的演化史。大体上形成有3层“断-坳”结构：①震旦系的“断”，古生界-三叠系的“坳”；②侏罗系的“断”，上白垩系的“坳”；③古近系的“断”，新近系的“坳”。断陷与坳陷分别由拉张与挤压应力场所致，这种应力场的变化是由相邻洋壳板块俯冲倾角由小到大的变化所引起的。由于地壳的多旋回运动，多次发生构造沉积演变，构成了多套生储盖组合，多领域、多种圈闭类型的油气藏，从震旦系-古生界-中生界-新生界，各断陷-坳陷结构的盆地都有可能形成油气藏的地质条件。     

Detection of DNA damage in mussels and sea urchins exposed to crude oil using comet assay

The single-cell microgel electrophoresis assay or the comet assay was used to evaluate DNA damage of dispersed crude oil on sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and mussels (Mytilus edulis L.). Sea urchins were exposed to 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil in a continuous flow system, while the mussels were exposed to 0.015, 0.06 and 0.25 mg/L dispersed crude oil. Sea urchin coelomocytes and mussel haemocytes were sampled after 4 and 5 weeks exposure, respectively. In the sea urchin coelomocytes, there was a significant concentration-related increase in the percentage of DNA in comet tail. In mussel haemocytes, there was a significantly higher percentage of DNA in comet tail for all treatments compared to the control. The responses were concentration-related up to 0.06 mg/L oil. The two highest exposure concentrations of mussels were not significantly different from each other. These results indicate that the comet assay can be used for biomonitoring of DNA damage in marine invertebrates following oil contamination.