SeagrassNet monitoring across the Americas: case studies of seagrass decline

Seagrasses are an important coastal habitat worldwide and are indicative of environmental health at the critical land–sea interface. In many parts of the world, seagrasses are not well known, although they provide crucial functions and values to the world's oceans and to human populations dwelling along the coast. Established in 2001, SeagrassNet, a monitoring program for seagrasses worldwide, uses a standardized protocol for detecting change in seagrass habitat to capture both seagrass parameters and environmental variables. SeagrassNet is designed to statistically detect change over a relatively short time frame (1–2 years) through quarterly monitoring of permanent plots. Currently, SeagrassNet operates in 18 countries at 48 sites; at each site, a permanent transect is established and a team of people from the area collects data which is sent to the SeagrassNet database for analysis. We present five case studies based on SeagrassNet data from across the Americas (two sites in the USA, one in Belize, and two in Brazil) which have a common theme of seagrass decline; the study represents a first latitudinal comparison across a hemisphere using a common methodology. In two cases, rapid loss of seagrass was related to eutrophication, in two cases losses related to climate change, and in one case, the loss is attributed to a complex trophic interaction resulting from the presence of a marine protected area. SeagrassNet results provide documentation of seagrass change over time and allow us to make scientifically supported statements about the status of seagrass habitat and the extent of need for management action.     

Modified PIC Method for Sea Ice Dynamics

The sea ice cover displays various dynamical characteristics such as breakup, rafting, and ridging under external forces. To model the ice dynamic process accurately, the effective numerical modeling method should be established. In this paper, a modified particle-in-cell （PIC） method for sea ice dynamics is developed coupling the finite difference （FD） method and smoothed particle hydrodynamics （SPH）. In this method, the ice cover is first discretized into a series of lagrangian ice particles which have their own sizes, thicknesses, concentrations and velocities. The ice thickness and concentration at Eulerian grid positions are obtained by interpolation with the Gaussian function from their surrounding ice particles. The momentum of ice cover is solved with FD approach to obtain the Eulerian cell velocity, which is used to estimate the ice particle velocity with the Gaussian function also. The thickness and concentration of ice particles are adjnsted with particle mass density and smooth length, which are adjusted with the redistribution of ice particles. With the above modified PIC method, numerical simulations for ice motion in an idealized rectangular basin and the ice dynamics in the Bohai Sea are carried out. These simulations show that this modified PIC method is applicable to sea ice dynamics simulation.     

波峰特征量的统计分布

本文在作者另文数值模拟得到的三维海浪基础上 ,进一步分析给出了三维波峰长度、高度及方向角度等特征量的统计分布。发现考虑海浪的方向性质后波峰分布不再是均匀连续的 ;波峰的长度分布受方向函数影响 ,方向分布越宽 ,波峰的平均长度越短 ,波峰的方向角分布越宽 ;波峰高度和长度在波峰高度较小时有很大的相关性 ,而在波峰高度很大时无关     

洋浦近岸海域污染控制规划方案优化——Ⅰ.排污口位置优选

在洋浦近岸海域计算潮流场基础上,计算预选排污口附近海水质点运动轨迹及预测污染物浓度分布,最后,从环保角度出发,推荐了洋浦地区各开发区的排污口位置,为洋浦近岸海域污染控制规划方案的制定及其优化提供了依据。     

油田高含水期基于微观渗流机理的宏观岩心水驱油数值模拟研究

建立地层孔隙网络模型描述微观孔喉特征,利用逾渗方法计算基于微观渗流机理的相对渗透率曲线,并将之应用到数值模拟计算中,给出考虑微观渗流特征的方程,并进行数值求解,得到地层中流体分布特征。实例分析表明该方法可以得到基于微观特征的剩余油分布数量和形式,为调剖堵水、化学驱提供技术参数,实现微观渗流机理与宏观计算的结合。     

环台湾岛海域半日潮波特征的三维模拟

用1997版POM海洋模式,首次应用于环台湾岛海域的潮波数值研究.得到该海域的半日潮波主要为23°N以南西太平洋传来的胁振潮.影响台湾海峡的半日潮波分别由海峡南北口传入的两支潮波,且北支强于南支.福建沿岸湄州湾-兴化湾为最强潮区,其M₂分潮最大振幅可达240cm.最强潮流区位于澎湖水道,M₂分潮最大潮流达196cm/s.环台湾岛海域潮波潮流水平结构上除海峡北部原有一个圆流点外,还发现另外存在4个新的圆流点.潮流垂直结构上主要为右偏,接近底层处为左偏.     

Ice Sheet-Thermohaline Circulation Interactions in a Climate Model of Intermediate Complexity

A vertically integrated dynamic ice sheet model is coupled to the atmosphere-ocean-sea ice-land surface climate model recently developed by Wang and Mysak (2000). The background lateral (east-west) ice sheet discharge rate used by Gallee et al. (1992) is reduced and the planetary emissivity is increased (to parameterize the cooling effect of a decrease of the atmospheric CO₂ concentration), in order to build up substantial ice sheets during a glacial period and hence set the stage for ice sheet-thermohaline circulation (THC) interactions. The following iceberg calving scheme is then introduced: when the maximum model height of the North American ice sheet reaches a critical value (2400 m), a prescribed lateral discharged rate is imposed on top of the background discharge rate for a finite time. Per a small prescribed discharge rate, repeated small iceberg calving events occur, which lead to millennial-scale climate cycles with small amplitudes. These are a crude representation of Dansgaard-Oeschger oscillations. Over one such cycle, the zonally averaged January surface air temperature (SAT) drops about 1.5°C at 72.5°N. However, a large prescribed lateral discharge rate leads to the shut down of the THC. In this case, the January SAT drops about 5°C at 72.5°N, the sea ice extent advances equatorward from 57.5° to 47.5°N and the net ice accumulation rate at the grid of maximum ice sheet height is reduced from 0.24 to 0.15 m/y. Since data strongly suggest that a collapsed THC was not a steady state during the last glacial, we restore the THC by increasing the vertical diffusivity in the North Atlantic Ocean for a finite time. The resulting climate cycles associated with conveyor-on and conveyor-off phases have much larger amplitudes; furthermore, the strong iceberg calving events lead to a larger loss of ice sheet mass and hence the period of the oscillations is longer (several thousand years). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

南海大气低层风场的气候特征分析

分析１９８０－１９８７年欧洲中长期预报中心（ＥＣＭＷＦ）每日风场、温度场格点资料及同期南海区域测站和船舶资料，讨论南海低层风场的气候特征。南海为典型的季风活动区，冬季盛行东北季风，夏季盛行西南季风。流场的季节转换表现为季风系统的交替，相应不同的季风系统，南北温度梯度有一逆转过程，南海北部是温度梯度大且发生明显逆转的海区。１２°Ｎ以南海区气温全年变化极小，整个海区大气温度的季节变化不如流场变化快和显著。