Application of LICOM to the numerical study of the water exchangebetween the South China Sea and its adjacent oceans

1 IntroductionThe South China Sea (SCS) is the largestmarginal sea in the western Pacific (see Fig. 1). It con-nects with the SCS through the Taiwan Strait, with thePacific through the Luzon Strait, with the Sulu Seathrough the Mindoro and Balabac Straits and with theJava Sea and Andaman Sea through the Sunda Shelf(For convenience, here we refer to the section at 1.5°N,Fig. 2). It is shown that the seasonal SCS circulation ismostly affected by the summer/winter monsoon, andthe no…     

Influence of Current Width Variation on the Annual Mean Transport of the East Sakhalin Current: A Simple Model

Recent observations suggest that the annual mean southward transport of the East Sakhalin Current (ESC) is significantly larger than the annual mean Sverdrup transport. Motivated by this observational result, transport of a western boundary current has been investigated using a simple numerical model with a western slope. This transport is defined as the instantaneous barotropic transport integrated from the western boundary to the offshore point where the barotropic velocity vanishes. The model, forced by seasonally varying wind stress, exhibits an annual mean of the western boundary current transport that is larger than that of the Sverdrup transport, as observed. The southward transport from October to March in the model nearly equals the instantaneous Sverdrup transport, while the southward transport from April to September decreases slowly. Although the Sverdrup transport in July vanishes, the southward transport in summer nearly maintains the annual mean Sverdrup transport, because the barotropic Rossby wave cannot intrude on the western slope. This summer transport causes the larger annual mean. Although there are some uncertainties in the estimation of the Sverdrup transport in the Sea of Okhotsk, the seasonal variation of the southward transport in the model is qualitatively similar to the observations.     

Remote Sensing Analysis of the Suspended Sediment Transport in Lingdingyang

- The data of landsat TM of multi-temporal for Lingdingyang Estuary, Pearl River in China is firstly used with suspended sediment concentration of field measurement to establish a correlative model equation. After the ratio processing of TM data and atmospheric correction, the images of suspended sediment concentration of different temporals are exported from the image processing systems AREIS II and III. These images express the characteristics of suspended sediment distribution, the mode of sediment transport and the extent of dispersion under the actions of tidal current and wind condition of different seasons.     

Characteristic analysis on oxygen isotopic tracer in the East China Sea and waters to east of the Ryūkyū-guntō

Samples of O isotopic tracer were mlleMed at Sections P₃,P₂₅,P_cM-t/2-E and P_CM-1/2.w in both the Fast China Sea and the area to the east of the Ryūkyū-gunto during October-November,1991.Analytical results of the δ¹⁸O are as follows: (1) In the Kuroshio area,the δ¹⁸O isolines are almost parallel to the 200 m isobath.The value of δ¹⁸O is negative and reaches minimum mt the main axis of the Kuroshio,and increases on both sides.(2) In the Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) area there is a high δ¹⁸O tongue extending to the northeast.(3) In the area near the coast,the distribution of δ¹⁸O isoline shows that the Changjiang River runoff diffuses seaward and the land-ocean isotopic effect from the nearshore to the offshore.(4) The values of δ¹⁸O are from -1.0×10^-3 to -0.5×10^-3 in the shelf.(5) There is a low mre of δ¹⁸O value(<-1.6×10^-3) at the 600 m layer in the Kuroshio area,which is quite in accord with the existence of a low salinity mre (S G 34.30) between the 600 and 800 m layers in the same area.Finally,the mrrelations of the δ¹⁸O with the salinity and temperature,the upwelling and so on are discussed.     

Modeling bed-load transport of coarse sediments in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Current, sea level and bed-load transport are investigated in the Lower Piscataqua River section of the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, USA—a well-mixed and geometrically complex system with low freshwater input, having main channel tidal currents ranging between 0.5 and 2 m s⁻¹. Current and sea level forced by the M₂M₄M₆ tides at the estuarine mouth are simulated by a vertically averaged, non-linear, time-stepping finite element model. The hydrodynamic model uses a fixed boundary computational domain and accounts for flooding–drying of tidal flats by making use of a groundwater component. Inertia terms are neglected in comparison with pressure gradient and bottom friction terms, which is consistent with the observed principal dynamic balance for this section of the system. The accuracy of hydrodynamic predictions in the study area is demonstrated by comparison with four tidal elevation stations and two cross-section averaged current measurements. Simulated current is then used to model bed-load transport in the vicinity of a rapidly growing shoal located in the main channel of the lower system. Consisting of coarse sand and gravel, the shoal must be dredged every five to eight years. Two approaches are taken—an Eulerian parametric method in which nodal bed-load flux vectors are averaged over the tidal cycle and a Lagrangian particle tracking approach in which a finite number of sediment particles are released and tracked. Both methods yield pathways and accumulations in agreement with the observed shoal formation and the long-term rate of sediment accumulation in the shoal area.     

波浪作用下岸坡和海底平衡条件的研究

提出波浪作用下岸坡和海底动态和静态平衡条件的数学模型。在已建立的推移质泥沙体积输沙率基本关系式的基础上,根据连续方程,计算出底坡、泥沙、波浪三要素在动态和静态平衡情况下的关系式,得出反映这种关系的底坡平衡函数曲线图。用实际资料对这一函数曲线进行了验证,并对实际资料相对模型的某些差异作出解释。     

Carbon Isotope Geochemistry of the Orinoco Basin

Stable carbon isotope ratios have been used to study the sources of particulate organic carbon (POC) and total dissolved inorganic carbon in the Orinoco Basin. The isotopic composition of total dissolved inorganic carbon shows a range of from -8·1 to -23·0 ppt, an indication of dominance of biological processes. The isotopic composition of POC exhibits a range of from -24·1 to -34·6 ppt with little seasonal variation. The isotopic evidence indicates that the POC is predominantly of terrestrial origin rather than a result of in situ planktonic production. The similarity of isotopic composition of POC and coastal sediments suggests that riverine organic detritus has been transported 30-50 km offshore in a direction parallel to the Orinoco river channel.     

Distribution of As, Cr and V species in the Po-Adriatic mixing area, (Italy)

The distribution of dissolved and participate concentrations of As, Cr and V was investigated in the mixing area of the Po river in five surveys over the period March 1992-March 1995. The data obtained indicate noticeable contamination of coastal waters of the northern Adriatic with Cr but not As or V. Total dissolved concentrations for As and V were comparable with oceanic levels but were higher by a factor of 4 for Cr. These results suggest either low anthropogenic inputs of As and V, from terrigenous and atmospheric sources, or efficient removal mechanisms. The investigated metals had low reactivity during freshwater-seawater mixing and the distribution of concentrations in the dissolved and solid phases suggests that the dilution process is the main factor controlling the transport of these metals to the sea in low-to-medium solid transport conditions. Further investigations are required to elucidate the behavior of these metals during high solid transport conditions. Significant changes in the speciation of As occurred during the transition between the two end-member matrices. In the coastal waters of the northern Adriatic, the arsenite fraction in winter, and the arsenite and dimethylarsinate fractions in summer increased with respect to riverine waters. Changes in the speciation of chromium were minor, but also showed a small increase in reduced species in marine waters.