Inverse reconstructions of ecosystem flows in investigating regime shifts: impact of the choice of objective function

Inverse analysis is increasingly used in ecosystem modelling to objectively reconstruct a large number of unknown flows or interactions from a small number of observations. This type of analysis may be useful in relating observed regime shifts in ecosystem structure to underlying processes. Inversions of ecosystem flow networks currently use a constrained least-squares solution which at the same time minimizes the squared norm (the sum of squares) of the reconstructed flows. This minimum norm (MN) inversion is thought to be a parsimonious solution to the ecosystem flow inverse problem, but it may well not reflect how ecosystems are organised. It has been proposed instead that ecosystems evolve to maximize energy/mass flows or that they maximize the information content of the network weighted by ecosystem flows (ascendancy). We used simulated inverse experiments, where inverse analyses are applied to simulations of flow networks, to explore objective functions different than the MN generally used. We could not compute inverse solutions that maximize ascendancy because the objective function is unbounded. We could calculate inversions that maximize flows; however, these generally overestimated the simulated flows, even though the simulations were designed to maximize flows. It appears that the ecosystem flow inverse problem is too under-determined (too few data relative to the number of unknowns) to allow the use of these maximizing goal functions. We introduce a new minimization that simultaneously minimizes the squared flows and the squared differences between flows. This smoothing minimization makes the inverse flows as even as possible and it helps with some technical issues with MN inversions. The simulated inverse experiments indicated that this smoothed norm (SM) is the most robust in comparative analyses of contrasting ecosystem states, such as those that can be associated with regime shifts. Like the MN inversion, the SM inversion has no ecological basis. However, it is a conservative norm that is less likely to produce false differences between the dynamics of regimes.     

0220号热带风暴(米克拉)特征分析

南海是热带气旋活动较为频繁的地区之一。该地区因其独特的地理环境和复杂的热带大气环流系统，在热带气旋预报工作上存在一定的困难。本文在分析一些气象图表资料的基础上，对2002年第20号热带风暴(米克拉)的形成、发展及消亡进行了探讨和研究。主要从形成的背景环流，气旋的结构等方面入手，总结出一些该气旋所具备韵特有流场，从而为以后的南海自生热带气旋预报工作积累一定经验。     

海底浅层介质切变波的初步研究

初步分析了中国沿海海底浅层介质切变波的传播特性,讨论了多种海底浅层介质切变波与压缩波、物理力学性质之间的关系,并与Hamilton和Chen等人的结果进行了比较。认为海底浅层介质存在切变模量,切变波可以被测量出来,切变波速为50—600m·s-1,测量频率在50—200kHz之间,用波速比可以评价海底浅层介质的应力 应变性质。研究工作有助于描述和评价中国沿海海底浅层介质声学物理性状,并为最终建立中国沿海海底地声模型提供依据。     

The Spatial Distribution of Caprellidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda): A Stress Bioindicator in Ceuta (North Africa, Gibraltar Area)

Abstract. The caprellid (Crustacea: Amphipoda) community associated with the alga Cystoseira usneoides (L.) Roberts 1967 was studied on a spatial scale in relation to the influence of environmental factors on the coast of Ceuta (North Africa) using multivariate analyses. Twenty-two stations were sampled and five environmental factors were tested (hydrodynamics, silting, suspended organic matter, organic matter in silt and suspended solids). The spatial distribution of the caprellid community reflected the physico-chemical conditions of the coast. Phtisica marina Slabber 1769 was the only species present at the stations of the harbour of Ceuta, characterised by the lowest values of hydrodynamics and the highest values of silting, suspended organic matter and suspended solids. The most exposed stations (high hydrodynamics and low values of silting, dissolved organic matter and suspension solids) were mainly dominated by Caprella danilevskii Czerniavskii 1868 and C. penantis Leach 1814. These two species have developed a "parallel" posture that enables them to attach strongly to the substratum and thus inhabit areas subjected to heavy exposure or strong currents. Caprella acanthifera Leach 1814 and Pseudoprotella phasma (Montagu 1804) preferred stations characterised by moderate values of silting and suspended solids, such as those located in the coastal areas in front of the city of Ceuta, but these species were not found at the most stressed harbour stations.     

一个湍能封闭模型对风暴潮海底底应力的应用研究

将一个三维湍能封闭模型应用于开阔海区的风暴潮，通过数值计算探讨了Ｔａｙｌｏｒ底摩擦二次率的拖曳系数随空间的分布及拖曳系数与水深、海底粗糙度、风向和风速等因素的关系。本文对底摩擦二次率的可靠性做了评价。     

冲绳海槽热流机制浅析

冲绳海槽是一个高热流区，平均热流值极高，但不均匀，实测最小值与最大值相差三个数量级以上，结合海槽地区的构造和地球物理特征，探讨了导致这一高而分散热流特征的多种因素。包括异常壳幔结构。海底热液循环以及地下水对流等，并分析了相应的控制机制。     

分层海洋的内孤立波

本文从流体力学基本方程组出发,在非地转条件下导得了分层海洋的内孤立波方程—Kbv和mKdv方程,证实了在非地转条件下,一类海洋非线性波动是可以严格满足内孤立波方程的。在地转条件下采用f平面近似导出了KdV方程的演化形式一有源KdV方程,地转的影响含于源项中。由初步的分析得出,f对KdV方程的影响是微弱的。由已得的KdV和mKdV方程的解可知,内孤立波与线性波有着本质差别。     

厦门岛市区机动车流的航空遥感监测

本文介绍了厦门岛市区机动车流遥感监测的实施目的和方法，通过航空影像有关题信息解译与实例、专题图件编制以及统计资料的对比分析，认为：目前厦门岛市区交通主要存在着机动车增长过速、道路狭窄和会计室场少且分布不合理等三个方面的问题，文中提出了相应的建议。体现了航空遥感对于中、大比例尺城市动态监测快速有效的特点。     

Fully nonlinear numerical wave tank (NWT) simulations and wave run-up prediction around 3-D structures

A finite-difference scheme and a modified marker-and-cell (MAC) algorithm have been developed to investigate the interactions of fully nonlinear waves with two- or three-dimensional structures of arbitrary shape. The Navier–Stokes (NS) and continuity equations are solved in the computational domain and the boundary values are updated at each time step by the finite-difference time-marching scheme in the framework of a rectangular coordinate system. The fully nonlinear kinematic free-surface condition is implemented by the marker-density function (MDF) technique developed for two fluid layers.To demonstrate the capability and accuracy of the present method, the numerical simulation of backstep flows with free-surface, and the numerical tests of the MDF technique with limit functions are conducted. The 3D program was then applied to nonlinear wave interactions with conical gravity platforms of circular and octagonal cross-sections. The numerical prediction of maximum wave run-up on arctic structures is compared with the prediction of the Shore Protection Manual (SPM) method and those of linear and second-order diffraction analyses based on potential theory and boundary element method (BEM). Through this comparison, the effects of non-linearity and viscosity on wave loading and run-up are discussed.     

The dimensions of sand ripples in full-scale oscillatory flows

New large-scale experiments have been carried out in two oscillatory flow tunnels to study ripple regime sand suspension and net sand transport processes in full-scale oscillatory flows. The paper focuses on ripple dimensions and the new data are combined with existing data to make a large dataset of ripple heights and lengths for flows with field-scale amplitudes and periods. A feature of the new experiments is a focus on the effect of flow irregularity. The combined dataset is analysed to examine the range of hydraulic conditions under which oscillatory flow ripples occur, to examine the effects of flow irregularity and ripple three-dimensionality on ripple dimensions and to test and improve existing methods for predicting ripple dimensions.The following are the main conclusions. (1) The highest velocities in a flow time-series play an important role in determining the type of bedform occurring in oscillatory flow. Bedform regime is well characterised by mobility number based on maximum velocity in the case of regular flow and based on the mean of the highest one tenth peak velocities in the case of irregular flow. (2) For field-scale flows, sand size is the primary factor determining whether equilibrium ripples will be 2D or 3D. 2D ripples occur when the sand D₅₀ ≥ 0.30 mm and 3D ripples occur when D₅₀ ≤ 0.22 mm (except when the flow orbital diameter is low). (3) Ripple type (2D or 3D) is the same for regular and irregular flows and ripple dimensions produced by equivalent regular and irregular flows follow a similar functional dependence on mobility number, with mobility number based on maximum velocity in the case of regular flow and based on the mean of the highest one tenth velocities in the case of irregular flow. For much of the ripple regime, ripple dimensions have weak dependency on mobility number and ripple dimensions are similar for regular and irregular flows with the same flow orbital amplitude. However, differences in ripples produced by equivalent regular and irregular flows become significant at the high mobility end of the ripple regime. (4) Ripple dimensions predicted using the Wiberg and Harris formulae are in poor agreement with measured ripple dimensions from the large-scale experiments. Predictions based on the Mogridge et al. and the Nielsen formulae show better overall agreement with the data but also show systematic differences in cases of 3D ripples and ripples generated by irregular flows. (5) Based on the combined large-scale data, modifications to the Nielsen ripple dimension equations are proposed for the heights and lengths of 2D ripples. The same equations apply to regular and irregular flows, but with mobility number appropriately defined. 3D ripples are generally smaller than 2D ripples and estimates of 3D ripple height and length may be obtained by applying multipliers of 0.55 and 0.73 respectively to the 2D formulae. The proposed modified Nielsen formulae provide an improved fit to the large-scale data, accounting for flow irregularity and ripple three-dimensionality.