Impact of hydrographic parameters and seasonal variation in sediment fluxes on coral status at Chumbe and Bawe reefs,Zanzibar, Tanzania

Coral reefs which are an important resource to coastal communities and nation at large are adversely affected by rate of sediment flux to the reefs. However, there is little information on seasonal trend in sediment flux and its impact at the reefs off Zanzibar. Two years’ monthly data on sedimentation at Chumbe and Bawe reefs were used to assess seasonal variability in sediment flux and its implication on the coral status. Sediment flux to the Bawe reefs for the duration of the study ranged from 0.2 to 41.5 mg cm⁻² d⁻¹, while it ranged from 0.8 to 65.8 mg cm⁻² d⁻¹ at the Chumbe reefs. Sediment fluxes at Bawe reefs were highest between November and March, while they were highest between April and September at Chumbe reefs. Generally, sediment fluxes at Bawe reefs were low compared to those at Chumbe. The total sediment input to the reefs ranged from 4615 to 123,403 kg d⁻¹ for Bawe reefs and 2750 to 79,636 kg d⁻¹ for Chumbe reefs. High sediment fluxes at Bawe reefs between November and March; and the Chumbe reefs between April and September can be attributed to water currents and wind pattern in the east African region which are under the influence of the monsoons. The observed trend suggests that the period for coral transplant as a management option for the two sites should be different. Coral transplant can be undertaken in such a way that stress of the corals due to sedimentation can be felt after they have overcome stress from transplant process and temperature. The results from this study contribute to the much needed information for coral transplant, restoration, and management.     

The mid-depth circulation of the northwestern tropical Atlantic observed by floats

A comprehensive analysis of velocity data from subsurface floats in the northwestern tropical Atlantic at two depth layers is presented: one representing the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW, pressure range 600–1050 dbar), the other the upper North Atlantic Deep Water (uNADW, pressure range 1200–2050 dbar). New data from three independent research programs are combined with previously available data to achieve blanket coverage in space for the AAIW layer, while coverage in the uNADW remains more intermittent. Results from the AAIW mainly confirm previous studies on the mean flow, namely the equatorial zonal and the boundary currents, but clarify details on pathways, mostly by virtue of the spatial data coverage that sets float observations apart from e.g. shipborne or mooring observations. Mean transports in each of five zonal equatorial current bands is found to be between 2.7 and 4.5 Sv. Pathways carrying AAIW northward beyond the North Brazil Undercurrent are clearly visible in the mean velocity field, in particular a northward transport of 3.7 Sv across 16°N between the Antilles islands and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. New maps of Lagrangian eddy kinetic energy and integral time scales are presented to quantify mesoscale activity. For the uNADW, mean flow and mesoscale properties are discussed as data availability allows. Trajectories in the uNADW east of the Lesser Antilles reveal interactions between the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) and the basin interior, which can explain recent hydrographic observations of changes in composition of DWBC water along its southward flow.     

船载ADCP资料的潮流分离方法在厦门港断面重复走航中的应用

本文运用Candela等提出的潮流分离方法,选用高斯函数作为基函数,采用Matlab程序,首次对厦门港嵩鼓水道的船载ADCP断面重复走航资料进行潮流分离计算．通过对14个计算点的Candela方法计算结果与引进差比关系准调和分析方法计算结果的分析比较可见：（1）两种方法计算所得余流在大、小潮的相关系数分别为0．9882和0．8521,余流相对误差在大、小潮分别为0．065和0．150,而所得余流方向在大、小潮的相关系数分别为0．9982和0．9865,余流方向相对误差在大、小潮分别为0．023和0．027．两种方法计算的余流及其方向的相关性很高（在样本数为14,置信度为α=1％时,相关系数大于0．6610,结果是可信的）,而平均相对误差也很小．（2）对14个计算点的M2、S2、K1、O1、M4和MS4等6个分潮的计算结果（共有84个样本数据）进行分析比较,两种方法计算所得6个分潮的长轴、长轴方向和短轴在大潮的相关系数分别为0．9838、0．8960和0．2335,而在小潮的相关系数分别为0．9656、0．7555和0．2209．这两种方法计算所得6个分潮的长轴、长轴方向和短轴在大潮的平均相对误差分别为0．375、0．071和0．753,而在小潮的平均相对误差分别为0．287、0．254和0．845．两种方法计算的分潮长轴及其方向的相关性很高（在样本数为84,置信度为α=1％时,相关系数大于0．283,结果是可信的）．相应的分潮长轴的相关性略低,但是在样本数为84,置信度为α=5％时,相关系数均大于0．217．可认为在置信度为α=5％时,计算结果是可信的,而平均相对误差则略显较大．综上所述,我们认为采用Candela等的方法对船载ADCP断面重复走航资料进行潮流分离计算是可行的．     

Application of a vanishing, quasi-sigma, vertical coordinate for simulation of high-speed, deep currents over the Sigsbee Escarpment in the Gulf of Mexico

Recent observations over the Sigsbee Escarpment in the Gulf of Mexico have revealed extremely energetic deep currents (near 1 m s⁻¹), which are trapped along the escarpment. Both scientific interest and engineering needs demand dynamical understanding of these extreme events, and can benefit from a numerical model designed to complement observational and theoretical investigations in this region of complicated topography. The primary objective of this study is to develop a modeling methodology capable of simulating these physical processes and apply the model to the Sigsbee Escarpment region. The very steep slope of the Sigsbee Escarpment (0.05–0.1) limits the application of ocean models with traditional terrain-following (sigma) vertical coordinates, which may represent the very complicated topography in the region adequately, can result in large truncation errors during calculation of the horizontal pressure gradient. A new vertical coordinate system, termed a vanishing quasi-sigma coordinate, is implemented in the Navy Coastal Ocean Model for application to the Sigsbee Escarpment region. Vertical coordinate surfaces for this grid have noticeably gentler slopes than a traditional sigma grid, while still following the terrain near the ocean bottom. The new vertical grid is tested with a suite of numerical experiments and compared to a classical sigma-layer model. The numerical error is substantially reduced in the model with the new vertical grid. A one-year, realistic, numerical simulation is performed to simulate strong, deep currents over the Escarpment using a very-high-resolution nested modeling approach. The model results are analyzed to demonstrate that the deep-ocean currents in the simulation replicate the prominent dynamical features of the observed intense currents in the region.     

Seasonal cycle of surface circulation in the coastal North Indian Ocean

Monthly-mean winds and currents have been used to identify the driving mechanisms of seasonal coastal circulation in the North Indian Ocean. The main conclusions are: (i) the surface circulation off Arabia is typical of a wind-driven system with similar patterns of longshore current and wind stress; (ii) circulation off the west coast of India is consistent with the dynamics of a wind-driven eastern boundary current only during the southwest monsoon. During the northeast monsoon it is possible that the influence of the interior flow is important. (iii) There are at least three mechanisms that influence the surface circulation off the east coast of India: wind-stress, influence of fresh-water run off and contribution of the interior flow. It is difficult at present to assess the relative importance of these three processes.     

二维不均匀介质中点源P-SV波响应的有限差分近似算法

本文从一阶方程组形式的波动方程出发,发展了一种计算二维不均匀介质中点源P-SV波响应的近似方法。该方法通过引入线分布的应力作为震源,利用二维有限差分方法计算出线源响应,然后再经过波形校正和几何扩散校正得出相应的近似点源响应。通过把波形和振幅与精确解比较表明,该方法具有较好的精度。由于有限差分方法对于介质中速度和密度的分布没有特殊要求,另一方面,本文所给出的震源可以适用于位错点源、爆炸源或集中力源,因此上述方法十分适合于研究横向不均匀介质中的近场强地运动、爆炸振动或地震勘探等问题。     

资源最优空间配置的系统经济理论研究

本文不仅研究了包括生产、消费、资源的空间配置和空间位置差异的一般经济均衡条件,而且还以大系统多级递阶控制原理,建立了统一协调的系统经济数学模型。该模型深刻地揭示了生产、消费、资源的空间配置与空间位置差异之间的相互关系,同时也是区位论的一种理论模式。     

Circulation and water masses of the Arabian Sea

The dynamics and thermodynamics of the surface layer of the Arabian Sea, north of about 10N, are dominated by the monsoon-related annual cycle of air-sea fluxes of momentum and heat. The currents in open-sea regime of this layer can be largely accounted for by Ekman drift and the thermal field is dominated by local heat fluxes. The geostrophic currents in open-sea subsurface regime also show a seasonal cycle and there is some evidence that signatures of this cycle appear as deep as 1000 m. The forcing due to Ekman suction is an important mechanism for the geostrophic currents in the central and western parts of the Sea. Recent studies suggest that the eastern part is strongly influenced by the Rossby waves radiated by the Kelvin waves propagating along the west coast of India. The circulation in the coastal region off Oman is driven mainly by local winds and there is no remotely driven western boundary current. Local wind-driving is also important to the coastal circulation off western India during the southwest monsoon but not during the northeast monsoon when a strong (approximately 7 × 10⁶m³/sec) current moves poleward against weak winds. This current is driven by a pressure gradient which forms along this coast during the northeast monsoon due to either thermohaline-forcing or due to the arrival of Kelvin waves from the Bay of Bengal. The present speculation about flow of bottom water (deeper than about 3500 m) in the Arabian Sea is that it moves northward and upwells into the layer of North Indian Deep Water (approximately 1500–3500m). It is further speculated that the flow in this layer consists of a poleward western boundary current and a weak equatorward flow in the interior. It is not known if there is an annual cycle associated with the deep and the bottom water circulation.     

Storm surge mitigation through vegetation canopies

The paper of Reid and Whitaker (1976) on the effects of a vegetation canopy on flow of water is re-examined. Their assumptions on the equality of various drag coefficients are replaced by more realistic calculations. A new method for calculating wind stress on water is presented for the case when the vegetation extends above the water surface.For the case of vanishingly small water depth, it is shown that the horizontal stress is approximately constant in the vertical. This results in a diagnostic relationship for the water current as a function of the wind stress and bottom roughness.A new expression for the vertically averaged frictional force per unit mass is derived on the assumption that the friction velocity varies linearly with height. The vertical rate of change of friction velocity depends on the mean water current, the wind stress, the bottom roughness, and the water depth. This work has a possible application in the mitigation of storm surges.