Late glacial fans in the eastern Skagerrak; depositional environment interpreted from swath bathymetry and seismostratigraphy

The origin of acoustically transparent fan deposits overlying glacial till and ice-proximal sediments on the southern margin of the Norwegian Channel has been studied using high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles and multibeam bathymetry. The first deposits overlying glacigenic sediments are a series of stacked, acoustically transparent submarine fans. The lack of glaciomarine sediments below and between individual fans indicates that deposition was rapid and immediately followed the break up of the Late Weichselian ice cover. The fans are overlain by stratified glaciomarine sediments and Holocene mud. Because of the uniformity of this drape, the upper surface of the fan deposits is mimicked at the present seafloor, and the bathymetric images clearly show the spatial relationship of the fans to bedrock ridges and the presence of braided channel-levee systems on the surface of the youngest fans. The acoustically transparent character of the fan deposits indicates that they comprise silt and clay, and their lobate form and lack of internal stratification indicates that they were deposited by debris flows. The channel-levee morphology indicates deposition from more watery hyperconcentrated fluid flows. The fan sediments were either derived from 1) erosion of Mid Weichselian lake deposits in southern Skagerrak or 2) from Late glacial ice-margin lake deposits, ponded against the Norwegian Channel ice stream, which collapsed catastrophically when the lateral support was removed as the ice disintegrated. Fans composed almost exclusively of fine-grained sediment need not, therefore, rule out an origin in a deglacial setting relatively close to the former margins of glaciers and ice sheets.     

Effective medium modeling to assess gas hydrate and free-gas evident from the velocity structure in the Makran accretionary prism, offshore Pakistan

Seismic properties of sediments are strongly influenced by pore fluids. Stiffness of unconsolidated marine sediment increases with the presence of gas hydrate and decreases with the presence of gas. A strong bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) observed on a seismic profile in the Makran accretionary prism, offshore Pakistan, indicates the presence of gas hydrate and free-gas across the BSR. Elastic properties of gas depend largely on pressure and temperature. We, therefore, first determine the elastic modulus of gas at pressure and temperature calculated at the BSR depth in the study region. The interval velocities derived from the seismic data are interpreted by the effective medium theory, which is a combination of self-consistent approximation and differential effective medium theories, together with a smoothing approximation, for assessment of gas hydrate and free-gas. The results show the saturations of gas hydrate and free-gas as 22 and 2.4% of pore space, respectively, across the BSR.     

江河入海流量在线监测不确定度评估方法研究与应用

鉴于国内目前缺少流量在线监测不确定性评估方面的研究,针对江河入海流量在线监测过程中可能产生的各种不确定性,本文采用不确定度概念对不确定性进行评估,给出了不确定度的主要来源、各来源不确定度的评估方法,以及江河入海流量在线监测总不确定度评估模型,并应用该模型对辽河入海流量在线监测的不确定度进行了评估。     

基于HYCOM再分析数据研究琉球海流的形成与起源

The origin of the Ryukyu Current(RC) and the formation of its subsurface velocity core were investigated using a 23-year(1993–2015) global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model(HYCOM) dataset. The volume transport of the RC comes from the Kuroshio eastward branch(KEB) east of Taiwan and part of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre(pNPSG). From the surface to 2 000 m depth, the KEB(p-NPSG) transport contributes 41.5%(58.5%) to the mean total RC transport. The KEB originally forms the subsurface velocity core of the RC east of Taiwan due to blockage of the subsurface Kuroshio by the Ilan Ridge(sill depth: 700 m). Above 700 m, the Kuroshio can enter the East China Sea(ECS) over the Ilan Ridge, meanwhile, the blocked Kuroshio below 700 m turns to the right and flows along the Ryukyu Islands. With the RC flowing northeastward, the p-NPSG contribution strengthens the subsurface maximum structure of the RC owing to the blockage of the Ryukyu Ridge. In the surface layer, the pNPSG cannot form a stable northeastward current due to frequent disturbance by mesoscale eddies and water exchange through the gaps(with net volume transport into ECS) between the Ryukyu Islands.     

Numerical Simulation on Flow Past Two Side-by-Side Inclined Circular Cylinders at Low Reynolds Number

A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations is carried out to investigate the effect of inclined angle on flow behavior behind two side-by-side inclined cylinders at low Reynolds number Re=100 and small spacing ratio T/D=1.5 (T is the center-to-center distance between two side-by-side cylinders, D is the diameter of cylinder). The instantaneous and time-averaged flow fields, force coefficients and Strouhal numbers are analyzed. Special attention is focused on the axial flow characteristics with variation of the inclined angle. The results show that the inclined angle has a significant effect on the gap flow behaviors behind two inclined cylinders. The vortex shedding behind two cylinders is suppressed with the increase of the inclined angle as well as the flip-flop gap flow. Moreover, the mean drag coefficient, root-mean-square lift coefficient and Strouhal numbers decrease monotonously with the increase of the inclined angle, which follows the independent principle at small inclined angles.     

An efficient hybrid integral-equation method for point-absorber wave energy converters with a vertical axis of symmetry

To assist in the prototyping and controller design of point-absorber wave energy converters (WECs), an easy-to-implement hybrid integral-equation method is presented for computing the frequency-domain hydrodynamic properties of bodies with a vertical axis of symmetry in waves. The current hybrid method decomposes the flow domain into two parts: an inner domain containing the body and an outer domain extending to infinity. The solution in the inner domain is computed using the boundary-element method, and the outer-domain solution is expressed using eigenfunctions. Proper matching at the domain boundary is achieved by enforcing continuity of velocity potential and its normal derivative. Body symmetry allows efficient computation using ring sources in the inner domain. The current method is successfully applied to three different body geometries including a vertical truncated floating cylinder, the McIver toroid, and the coaxial-cylinder WEC being developed in the authors’ laboratory. In particular, the current results indicate that, by replacing the flat bottom of the coaxial-cylinder WEC with the Berkeley-Wedge (BW) shape, viscous effect can be significantly reduced with only minor negative impact on wave-exciting force, thus increasing WEC efficiency. Finally, by comparing to experimental measurements, the current method is demonstrated to accurately predict the heave added mass and wave-exciting force on the coaxial-cylinder WEC with BW geometry. If a viscous damping correction factor is used, the heave motion amplitude can also be accurately computed.     

使用多普勒超声成像比较栉孔扇贝与虾夷扇贝循环生理特征

将先进的多普勒超声成像技术运用于栉孔扇贝(Chlamys farreri)和虾夷扇贝(Patinopecten yessoensis)循环生理学的研究中,首次量化了扇贝心率(HR)、血流加速度(ABF)、收缩峰值速度(PS)、舒张末期速度(ED)、血液最大瞬时血流量(Max-IBF)、血液最小瞬时流量(Min-IBF)、收缩期与舒张期流速比(S/D)和阻力指数(RI)等指标,对比了两种不同耐温性扇贝的循环生理指标差异。结果表明,两种扇贝HR、ABF、PS、ED、Max-IBF、Min-IBF与水温均呈正相关;在10—25°C间,栉孔扇贝和虾夷扇贝HR范围分别为16—39、14—31次/min,ABF范围分别为1.75—15.84、0.99—7.41cm/s2,PS范围分别为3.54—8.09、2.32—8.85cm/s,ED范围分别为1.51—3.15、1.09—4.23cm/s,Max—IBF范围分别为0.051—0.193、0.137—0.316m L/s、Min—IBF范围分别为0.025—0.072、0.022—0.131m L/s、RI范围分别为0.49—0.69、0.42—0.54,S/D范围为2.28—2.83、1.75—2.12。同一温度下栉孔扇贝的HR、ABF、PS、ED指标水平均高于虾夷扇贝,Max-IBF、Min-IBF水平均低于虾夷扇贝;两种扇贝RI和S/D指标均在一定范围内波动。研究显示,虾夷扇贝在较低的心脏和血流搏动节律下保持了高效的血液流通,从而以相对较少的能量消耗维持了其机体代谢对血液循环的需求,这也与其冷水性的生态习性相适应。     

Numerical investigation on the suppression of VIV for a circular cylinder by three small control rods

Laminar flow past a circular cylinder with 3 small control rods is investigated by numerical simulation. This study is concerned with the suppression efficacy of vortex induced vibration by small control rods located around a main cylinder. The effects of the attack angle and rod-to-cylinder gap ratio on the hydrodynamics and vibration responses of the main cylinder are investigated. The attack angle of α = 45° is performed as the critical angle for VIV suppression of 3 control rods. The 3 control rods have no effect on VIV suppression when the attack angle is less than the critical angle. The 3 control rods have an excellent VIV suppression efficacy when the attack angle is larger than the critical angle. The transverse vibration frequency of the cylinder with 3 control rods is less than that for an isolated cylinder for all the configurations. The numerical results for the configurations of α = 45° & 60°, G/D = 0.6–1.2 show excellent suppression efficient among the cases investigated in this study. The best suppression efficient is found at α = 45°, G/D = 0.9 for 3 control rods. 2 rods in behind of the main cylinder perform more efficient than that of 1 rod in front for VIV suppression as the gap ratio of G/D less than 1.0.     

Seafloor and buried mounds on the western slope of the Niger Delta

Seafloor mounds are potential geohazards to offshore rig emplacement and drilling operations and may contain evidence of underlying petroleum systems. Therefore, identifying and mapping them is crucial in de-risking exploration and production activities in offshore domains.A 738 km² high resolution three-dimensional seismic dataset was used to investigate the occurrence, seismic characteristics and distribution of features interpreted as seafloor and buried sediment mounds, at water-depths of 800–1600 m, on the western Niger Delta slope. Fifteen seafloor mounds and eighteen shallowly buried mounds were identified. The seafloor mounds are characterised by lower seismic amplitude anomalies than the surrounding seabed sediments, and overlie vertical zones of acoustic blanking. The buried mounds in contrast are characterised by high amplitude anomalies; they also directly overlie sub-vertical zones of acoustic blanking. Seismic evidences from the features, their distribution patterns and tectono-stratigraphic associations suggest that their formation was controlled by the juxtaposition of buried channels and structural highs and their formation caused by focused fluid flow and expulsion of entrained sediments at the seabed.Considering the acoustic and geometrical characteristics of the mounds and comparing them with mound-shaped features from around the world, we conclude that the mounds most likely comprise heterolithic seafloor extrusions of muds and sands from the Agbada Formation with gas and possibly oil in some of the pore space giving rise to the acoustic characteristics.     

Investigation of a longfin inshore squid's swimming characteristics and an underwater locomotion during acceleration

In the present study, locomotion of a real longfin inshore squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) was numerically investigated. Geometry of a real squid was obtained using computed tomography (CT) images. In addition to a two-dimensional axisymmetric squid model, a modified squid model with no cavities around her head and an ellipse shaped model were generated with a fineness ratio (the ratio of body length to maximum body diameter) of 7.56. These numerical models were exposed to an acceleration with two different velocity programs. Added mass and basset forces on bodies were calculated during acceleration of the squid models starting from rest. Pressure and viscous drag forces were also calculated due to pressure variation along the squid models and friction on the surface of the models. The effect of a nozzle diameter on jet velocities and propulsive efficiency at all bodies were evaluated when time dependent velocity profiles (from 0 to 10 m/s in 0.5 and 1 s time durations) were set for the inlet of computational domain. The modified squid model required least thrust force during acceleration phase of time dependent velocity profile compared to the other models while the 0.02 m nozzle diameter provided largest propulsive efficiency for all models.