Sea Level Prediction in the Yellow Sea From Satellite Altimetry With a Combined Least Squares-Neural Network Approach

Accessible high-quality observation datasets and proper modeling process are critically required to accurately predict sea level rise in coastal areas. This study focuses on developing and validating a combined least squares-neural network approach applicable to the short-term prediction of sea level variations in the Yellow Sea, where the periodic terms and linear trend of sea level change are fitted and extrapolated using the least squares model, while the prediction of the residual terms is performed by several different types of artificial neural networks. The input and output data used are the sea level anomalies (SLA) time series in the Yellow Sea from 1993 to 2016 derived from ERS-1/2, Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1/2, and Envisat satellite altimetry missions. Tests of different neural network architectures and learning algorithms are performed to assess their applicability for predicting the residuals of SLA time series. Different neural networks satisfactorily provide reliable results and the root mean square errors of the predictions from the proposed combined approach are less than 2?cm and correlation coefficients between the observed and predicted SLA are up to 0.87. Results prove the reliability of the combined least squares-neural network approach on the short-term prediction of sea level variability close to the coast.     

A simplified hindcast method for the estimation of extreme storm surge events in semi-enclosed basins

Human presence, coastal erosion, and tourism activities are increasing the attention to coastal flooding risk. To perform risk assessments, long time series of observed or hindcast wave parameters and tide levels are then necessary. In some cases, only a few years of observation are available, so that observed extreme data are not always representative and reliable. A hindcast system aimed to reconstruct long time series of total tide levels may be of great help to perform robust extreme events analysis and then to protect human life, activities as well as to counteract coastal erosion by means of risk assessments. This work aims to propose a simplified method to hindcast storm surge levels time series in semi-enclosed basins with low computational costs. The method is an extension of a previous work of some of the authors and consists of a mixed approach in which the estimation of storm surge obtained by using the theory of linear dynamic system is corrected by using a statistical method. Both steps are characterized by low computational costs. Nevertheless, the results may be considered reliable enough also in view of the simplicity of the approach. The proposed method has been applied to the Manfredonia case study, a small village located in the Southern Adriatic Italian coast and often prone to coastal flooding events. The comparison of extreme events estimated on the basis of hindcast levels time series is satisfactorily similar to those estimated on the basis of observed tide series.     

基于海上风电场构建海洋水文同步实时现场观测系统的思考

海上风电是一种清洁的可再生能源。本文简述了海上风电发展概况, 并介绍了广东省在南海北部建设海上风电场的进展, 同时描述了南海北部一些典型的海洋水动力过程及其现场观测研究存在的难题; 最后提出利用海上风电场构建海洋水文现场同步实时网络系统的观点, 指出利用这些长期定点的网络式观测数据对研究海洋中小尺度动力过程等的优势。希望能为促进海上风电与海洋科学研究的融合发展提供参考。     

南海夏季风爆发日期和强度的短期气候预测方法研究

利用合成及相关统计方法，研究冬季南海季风指数与850hPa风场、500hPa高度、海表温度、OLR等环境场的相互关系及其影响南海夏季风活动的可能机制。指出冬季南海季风指数及环境场的异常特征可以作为预测南海夏季风活动的前兆信号。在此基础上建立了预测南海夏季风爆发日期和强度的概念模型，1998－2001年的预测试验取得了较好成绩。     

Geology and petroleum potential of the Fairway Basin in the Tasman Sea

The Fairway Basin is a large, generally north – south-trending, sediment-filled structure in water 1500 – 3000 m deep, on the eastern slope of the Lord Howe Rise in the Tasman Sea, and is partly within Australian jurisdiction. It was poorly known until a few years ago, when seismic profiling and piston coring cruises were carried out. The basin, about 1100 km long and 120 – 200 km wide, can be divided into three segments—north, central and south—that trend northwest, north and north-northwest, respectively. All three segments probably formed by thinning of continental crust during breakup of Lord Howe Rise and surrounding aseismic continental ridges in the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene. Normal faulting, large inputs of terrigenous sediment and subsidence to bathyal marine depths occurred during that time. A period of compression, perhaps related to overthrusting on New Caledonia, occurred in the Eocene, leading to uplift (and in parts, erosion) of northern Lord Howe Rise, and reversal of faulting in the basin. By the Oligocene, the area was again in bathyal depths, and pelagic ooze and some turbidites accumulated. The basinal sequence is generally 2000 – 4000 m thick, with 1200 – 3200 m of Cretaceous to Eocene sediment concentrated in depocentres, capped by 500 – 800 m of Oligocene and younger sediment. In the depocentres, numerous sedimentary diapirs pierce sedimentary sequences. The sedimentary diapirs appear to be fed by Cretaceous muds deposited during rifting. Often, these diapirs are overlain by faults extending to the seafloor, and hummocky bathymetry is possibly caused by fluid escape. The overall geology suggests that the Fairway Basin may be a large frontier hydrocarbon province. Seismic profiles display a bottom-simulating reflector above many depocentres, 500 – 700 m below the seafloor. The bottom-simulating reflector has positive polarity, which could result from a diagenetic phase transformation, a thin gas hydrate layer with a sharp top, or from the sharp base of a gas layer (probably beneath gas hydrates). Standard piston cores taken above diapirs and apparent fluid-escape features have recovered little gas. Other than drilling, the next steps in assessing petroleum potential are to clearly document fluid-escape structures, and to sample any fluids emitted for hydrocarbons.     

南黄海微体古生物研究概述

从20世纪50年代至今,我国的海洋微体古生物研究从无到有,并且得到迅速发展.其中有孔虫、介形虫、放射虫、超微化石等海洋微体生物壳体是海洋地质研究不可缺少和替代的重要部分.南黄海是我国开展微体古生物研究较早、研究基础较好的海区.本文旨在回顾过去,立足现代,展望未来.     

南海北部海区水团的判别分析

将判别分析应用于南海北部海区的水团分析。划分为八个水团:沿岸冲淡水团(F),近岸混合水团(M),暖表层水团(WS),表层水团(S),表—次层混合水团(SU),次层水团(U),次—中层混合水团(UI)和中层水团(I)。给出了各水团在四季代表月的Bayes多组判别的系数和参数。用资料检验判别的成效.冬季和春季可达95.90％以上,夏季为94.80％,秋季是全年最低值,为92.72％。讨论了造成错判的原因,并与Fisher判别作了比较。当测值维数较低时,建议选用Bayes判别。对八个水团以及各水团两两之间差异的显著性进行了检验,证实在每个季节中各水团之间的差异,都在高度置信水平(α=0.01)上具有显著性。因而,划分为八个水团是有实际意义的,其判别式的系数和参数,可用于实际的判别和预报。     

Geotechnical properties of evaporite soils of the Dead Sea area

The Dead Sea Basin is the lowest point on earth and is tectonically subsiding. During the Holocene Period the climate became much drier with increasing evaporation whereby initially lacustrine sediments were deposited from the non-marine brines, giving a multi-layered stratigraphy of lime carbonate and halite sediments. The lime carbonate sediments are comprised of laminated, clay to silt sized, clastic sediments (calcite) and authigenic aragonite and gypsum. The halite commonly appears as rock salt. Chemical industries, based on harvesting the salts from the Dead Sea, have developed on both the Israeli and the Jordanian sides of the basin. The lime carbonate soils are used for dike construction, and these soils, together with significant salt layers, are encountered in the foundations of structures, dikes, and tailings dams, requiring definition of their geotechnical properties. Use of standard soil mechanics definitions and testing approaches for the lime carbonates have been found inapplicable, particularly in view of their exceptionally high saline content, and it has been necessary to develop new concepts. The rock salt is encountered at shallow depths, with unit weights considerably lower than those usually discussed in the literature, and with correspondingly different mechanical properties. The geotechnical properties of these soils, and approaches used to define them, are discussed in the paper.     

南海北部台风海浪谱的双峰性和成长性

本论文通过对南海北部三次台风过境期间基于浮标观测的海浪谱进行分析,发现虽然大部分成熟的台风海浪谱为单峰结构,但实际上在台风海浪的成长和衰减阶段,双峰谱占据了很大的比例。双峰谱的形成主要是由于风浪和涌浪的叠加以及不同波分量之间的非线性相互作用,我们可以通过能量密度的成长率对谱型变化进行高效的预报。此外,台风海浪的主要波向依赖于台风中心相对观测点的位置,而波向的分散情况在相距台风中心较远的区域无明显规律。本文提出了一个新的六参数波浪谱型拟合双峰谱,其拟合效果相较于前人的谱型更好。通过验证,形状参数和谱宽度之间的理论关系依然适用于单个谱峰。通过分析谱参量的变化特征,证明了谱参量不仅与台风强度和台风路径相关,还存在很强的交互相关。最后通过拟合海浪谱数据,本文得到了台风影响下海浪有效波高和有效周期之间的成长关系,这对海洋工程实际应用具有重要意义。     

Holocene rockfalls in the southern Negev Desert,Israel and their relation to Dead Sea fault earthquakes

Rockfall ages in tectonically active regions provide information regarding frequency and magnitude of earthquakes. In the hyper-arid environment of the Dead Sea fault (DSF), southern Israel, rockfalls are most probably triggered by earthquakes. We dated rockfalls along the western margin of the DSF using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN). At each rockfall site, samples were collected from simultaneously exposed conjugate boulders and cliff surfaces. Such conjugate samples initially had identical pre-fall (“inherited”) TCN concentrations. After boulder detachment, these surfaces were dosed by different production rates due to differences in post-fall shielding and geometry. However, in our study area, pre-rockfall inheritance and post-rockfall production rates of TCN cannot be evaluated. Therefore, we developed a numerical approach and demonstrated a way to overcome the above-mentioned problems. This approach can be applied in other settings where rockfalls cannot be dated by simple exposure dating. Results suggest rockfall ages between 3.6 ± 0.8 and 4.7 ± 0.7 ka. OSL ages of sediment accumulated behind the boulders range between 0.6 ± 0.1 and 3.4 ± 1.4 ka and support the TCN results. Our ages agree with dated earthquakes determined in paleoseismic studies along the entire length of the DSF and support the observation of intensive earthquake activity around 4–5 ka.