Geochemical evidence concerning sources and petrologic evolution of Faial Island,Central Azores

Volcanic rocks that make up Faial Island, Central Azores, consist of four volcano-stratigraphic units, with ages between 730 ka and the present. Lavas range from alkali basalts to trachyandesites and belong to the alkaline-sodic series. The oldest unit is the Ribeirinha Volcanic Complex, generally characterized by low MgO contents. The Cedros Volcanic Complex is composed of basalts to benmoreites with low MgO contents. The Almoxarife Formation represents fissure flows, containing MgO contents similar to to slightly higher than those of the underlying Cedros Volcanic Complex. The youngest unit, the Capelo Formation, consists of mafic rocks with MgO values higher than those of the other units. Bulk-rock major and trace element trends suggest that differentiation of the three earliest units were dominated by fractional crystallization of plagioclase ± clinopyroxene ± olivine ± titanomagnetite. Capelo bulk-rock compositions are the most primitive, and are related to a period when volcanic activity was fed by deep magmatic chambers, and melts ascended more rapidly. Comparison among geochemical patterns of the trace elements suggests a strong similarity between the lavas from Faial and Pico islands. Corvo Island volcanism contrasts with the geochemistry of Faial and Pico lavas, reflecting its strong K and Rb depletion, and Th, U, Ta, Nb, La, and Ce enrichment. Absence of the Daly gap in the Faial volcanics is attributed to early crystallization of Ti-Fe oxides. The probable source of the Faial magma coincides with the MORB-FOZO array, which implies the presence of ancient recycled oceanic crust in the mantle source. Ratios of incompatible trace elements suggest the similarity of Corvo volcanic rocks with magmas derived from HIMU sources, whereas the Faial and Pico volcanic rocks could have been produced from sources very close to EMII-type OIB.     

Surface circulation downstream of the Point Arena upwelling center

Measurements from recently installed 5 MHz high-frequency radar (CODAR) stations south of Point Arena, California, are used to describe surface current patterns during the upwelling season (June-August 2007). The systems provide hourly current maps on a 5-km grid, covering a region from approximately 10 to 150 km offshore (the continental shelf into the deep ocean). These HF-radar observations provide an unprecedented view of circulation in this “coastal transition zone”, between the wind-driven circulation over the shelf and the California Current circulation offshore. Circulation patterns include: (1) bifurcation of the coastal upwelling jet downstream of Point Arena into an along-shelf (down-coast) branch and an offshore branch, and (2) a large-scale anticyclonic meander that often develops into an eddy-like recirculation south of the bifurcation. The “recirculation” feature extends well offshore, with surface currents 50-100 km from the coast consistently opposing the wind stress. The spatial and temporal evolution of the surface current features during upwelling events affects surface transport from Point Arena to areas in the south, increasing the travel time of a substantial fraction of newly upwelled water from a few days to roughly two weeks. Thus, surface currents even far offshore influence coastal transport of nutrients, phytoplankton and larvae on ecologically relevant timescales, with resultant connectivity patterns very different than implied by a simple examination of the mean flow.     

岐口海洋地震观测台的建设

天津市建设项目"海上地震观测试验系统",是"十五"期间天津数字地震观测网络项目中的重点实验任务,该项目的建设将有效提高渤海海域地震监测能力,为天津经济社会发展建设、为滨海新区开发开放提供服务.通过建设海洋地震台,提高了天津市测震台网在渤海地区的监控能力,对于海啸预警能力也大有提高.     

木其滩岩组形成时代、地球化学特征——对北秦岭构造演化的制约

出露于北秦岭造山带中的木其滩岩组主要由斜长角闪岩组成,其原岩为玄武岩-亚碱性玄武岩。对木其滩岩组斜长角闪岩中的锆石进行LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年代学分析,获得同位素年龄762.5±4.6Ma,为成岩年龄。地球化学上,这些斜长角闪岩显示低钛 (TiO₂=0.57%~2.16%),低K₂O/Na₂O比值(0.06~0.55)和中等-高 Mg^#(45.3~68.7)特征,为低钛拉斑玄武岩。在球粒陨石标准化图解中,表现出轻重稀土分异,无Eu异常的特征,类似于E-MORB。这些斜长角闪岩以Rb、Ba、Th和La富集,低(⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i 比 (0.7038~0.7040) 和高的ε_Nd(t)值(+4.1~+6.9)为特征,表明其来源于地幔,成分上相似于FOZO。(Th/Nb)_N, Nb/La 和 Ba/La的比值特征表明它们经历了不同程度的地壳混染。所有这些特征,结合区域地质资料阐明木其滩岩组斜长角闪岩代表的是大约762.5±4.6Ma商丹洋盆初始裂解时的洋壳残片。     

Wind-induced drift of objects at sea: The leeway field method

A method for conducting leeway field experiments to establish the drift properties of small objects (0.1-25 m) is described. The objective is to define a standardized and unambiguous procedure for condensing the drift properties down to a set of coefficients that may be incorporated into existing stochastic trajectory forecast models for drifting objects of concern to search and rescue operations and other activities involving vessels lost at sea such as containers with hazardous material.An operational definition of the slip or wind and wave-induced motion of a drifting object relative to the ambient current is proposed. This definition taken together with a strict adherence to a 10 m wind speed allows us to refer unambiguously to the leeway of a drifting object. We recommend that all objects if possible be studied using what we term the direct method, where the object’s leeway is studied directly using an attached current meter.We establish a minimum set of parameters that should be estimated for a drifting object for it to be included in the operational forecast models used for prediction of search areas for drifting objects.We divide drifting objects into four categories, depending on their size. For the smaller objects (less than 0.5 m), an indirect method of measuring the object’s motion relative to the ambient current must be used. For larger objects, direct measurement of the motion through the near-surface water masses is strongly recommended. Larger objects are categorized according to the ability to attach current meters and wind monitoring systems to them.The leeway field method proposed here is illustrated with results from field work where three objects were studied in their distress configuration; a 1:3.3 sized model of a 40-foot Shipping container, a World War II mine and a 220 l (55-gallon) oil drum.     

Tripod measured residual currents and sediment flux: Impacts on the silting of the Deepwater Navigation Channel in the Changjiang Estuary

Four bottom-mounted instrument-equipped tripods were deployed at two sections spanning the region characterized by severe sedimentation rates in the Deepwater Navigation Channel (DNC) along the North Passage of Changjiang Estuary in order to observe currents, near-bed suspended sediment, and salinity. Seaward residual currents predominated in the up-estuary section. In contrast, a classical two-layered estuarine circulation pattern occurred in the down-estuary section. Flow moved seaward in the upper layer and a heavier inflow, driven by the salinity gradient, moved landward in the lower layer. The near-bed residual currents in the up-estuary section and the down-estuary section acted in opposing directions, which implies that the region is a convergence zone of near-bed residual currents that trap sediment at the bottom. The maximum salinity gradient at the maximum flood current indicates the presence of a strong front that induces sediment trapping and associated near-bottom convergence of sediment, which explains the high sedimentation rates in this section of the estuary.     

不同流路时期黄河三角洲沿岸余流场的数值对比研究

黄河入海流路改道变迁频繁,有关不同流路时期沿岸余流场变化的认识将为理解入海泥沙输送特征的变动和沿岸泥沙动态提供重要的水动力基础,通过数值对比实验,以分处黄河三角洲北、东两岸的钓口和清水沟流路为例,对比研究了两个流路基本稳定后的初期黄河三角洲沿岸余流场结构及其流速的变化.结果表明,虽然两个不同流路时期沿岸流系的总体趋势存在一致性,但不同岸段的局部余流场结构、流速及其分布在不同季节都发生了程度不一的变化.在流场结构上,夏、冬季的差异很小,而春、秋季的差异相对较大,特别是在10m以浅的近岸海域的变化明显.高流速区分布,在钓口流路时期具有随各突出沙嘴而生的特点,清水沟流路时则是沿岸线走向、呈条带状延伸,且其分布范围更大、中心流速更高.沿岸余流流速在清水沟流路时期比钓口流路时期大很多,以清水沟口以南海域的流速增加最显著,北岸海域其次,清水沟口以北、神仙沟以南岸段的变化最小,在季节上以冬季增幅最明显.两个不同流路时期沿岸潮致余流场的总体特征也是基本一致的,分布于甜水沟沙嘴(清水沟口)南、北部的涡环结构在清水沟流路时期明显向东北方向移动,清水沟流路时期神仙沟和甜水沟等原沙嘴附近的潮致余流流速存在明显的减小.     

海岸沿岸流垂向分布实验研究

进行海岸沿岸流模型实验,利用ADV(acoustic doppler velocimeter)测量了沿岸流流速沿垂直岸线方向多个断面的垂向分布。采用Faria等的方法对实验结果进行了分析,将沿岸流沿水深分为上层和下层两部分:下层采用对数分布来表达沿岸流的垂向分布;上层考虑了波浪引起的自由表面的波动,流速分布为修正的对数分布。最后对沿岸流垂向分布特征做了分析,并与Visser和Hamilton的实验结果做了对比。     

Stream-coordinate structure of oceanic jets based on merged altimeter data

The jet structure of the Southern Ocean front south of Australia is studied in stream-coordinate with a new altimeter product—Absolute Dynamic Topography (ADT) from AVISO. The accuracy of the ADT data is validated with the mooring data from a two-year subantarctic-front experiment. It is demonstrated that the ADT is consistent with in-situ measurements and captures the meso-scale activity of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Stream-coordinate analysis of ADT surface geostrophic flows finds that ACC jets exhibit large spatio-temporal variability and do not correspond to particular streamfunction values. In the circumpolar scope ACC jets display a transient fragmented pattern controlled by topographic features. The poleward shift of jet in streamfunction space, as revealed by a streamwise correlation method, indicates the presence of meridional fluxes of zonal momentum. Such cross-stream eddy fluxes concentrate the broad ACC baroclinic flow into narrow jets. Combined with a recent discovery of gravest empirical mode (GEM) in the thermohaline fields, the study clarifies the interrelationship among front, jet and streamfunction in the Southern Ocean.