Estimation of Sea Ice Thickness from SARAL/AltiKa in Drifting Orbit Phase

Abstract

Intra and inter-annual variations in the sea ice thickness are highly sensitive indicators of climatic variations undergoing in the earth’s atmosphere and oceans. This paper describes the method of estimating sea ice thickness using radar waveforms data acquired by SARAL/Altika mission during its drifting orbit phase from July 2016 onwards yielding spatially dense data coverage. Based on statistical analysis of return echoes, classification of the surface has been carried out in three different types, viz. floe, lead and mixed. Time delay correction methods were suitably selected and implemented to make corrections in altimetric range measurements and thereby freeboard. By assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, freeboard data were converted into sea ice thickness. Results show that sea ice thickness varies from 4 to 5?m near ice shelves and 1 to 2.5?m in the marginal sea ice regions. Freeboard and sea ice thickness estimates were also validated using NASA’s Operation Ice Bridge (OIB) datasets. Freeboard measurements show very high correlation (0.97) having RMSE of 0.13. Overestimation of approximately 1–2?m observed in the sea ice thickness, which could be attributed to distance between AltiKa footprint and OIB locations. Moreover, sensitivity analysis shows that snow depth and snow density over sea ice play crucial role in the estimation of sea ice thickness.     

Diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from the waters of Mauritius (western Indian Ocean) inferred from stomach contents and fatty acid analysis

The diet of albacore Thunnus alalunga from their spawning ground in the waters of Mauritius was investigated. The stomach contents of 249 albacore individuals, caught by industrial longliners and artisanal fishers, was analysed, and the dominant prey taxa were selected for lipid and fatty acid (FA) analysis. The FA profiles of prey were compared with those of liver tissue of spawning-capable and post-spawning female albacore, using multivariate analysis. Whereas stomach content analysis identified cephalopods and crustaceans as the dominant prey items in number, FA-profile analysis identified crustaceans and fishes as the most-frequently consumed prey of post-spawning female albacore. In contrast, the FA profiles of spawning-capable albacore and those of prey showed very low similarity. Analysis of the prey suggests that although cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes could all provide albacore with the required lipids and FAs, cephalopod prey seem to be less desirable owing to their lower energy content (i.e. low in total lipid, triacylglycerol, 16:0, 18:0 and 18:1ω9). Instead, the most beneficial food appeared to be locally available fishes, which are more energy-rich and have a higher docosahexaenoic acid/ eicosapentaenoic acid ratio. These results provide new information on the trophic ecology of albacore, promote our understanding of the importance of prey type for successful reproduction of albacore, and highlight the advantages of FA profiling to study diet.     

基于分块分形编码的多姿态、表情人脸图像检索

利用图像分形编码中定义域块和最小均方误差一一对应的特点，提出了1种基于分形编码的多姿态、表情的人脸图像检索方法。该方法将待检索图像分割为相同大小的值域块，然后将每一值域块按给定的定义域块进行分形编码，得到最小均方误差，计算该最小均方误差与图像库中最小均方误差的欧氏距离。将待检索图像所有值域块的欧氏距离求平均，此平均欧氏距离较小的几幅图像即为检索出的图像。实验证明该方法能够准确地检索出图像库中存储的同一人的不同姿态、表情的图像。     

广西沿岸海平面变化的关联维数研究

采用相空间重构和关联维数方法，研究了广西沿岸月平均海平面变化的分形特征，结果表明，相空间重构的延迟时间τ为3△t，当关联维数趋于饱和时，石头埠，北海和龙尾的相空间维数为7，而涠洲岛为9，它们的关联维数平均值平均值分别为6.6507,6.5414,6.7059.     

碳水化合物的组合合成

碳水化合物的组合合成是一项新兴技术，该技术可以在短时间内合成大量用于进行生物活性筛选的寡糖及拟糖物。液相与固相合成技术可以极大地加快药物研究与开发进程。作者针对该技术在碳水化合物合成方面的研究进展情况进行讨论。     

Ghost fishing in European waters: Impacts and management responses

In this paper we review levels of net loss, what happens to the gear once it has been lost, and the resulting levels of ‘ghost catches’ made in passive net fisheries in the EU. We also consider ghost catches resulting from lost gear in other types of fisheries, and the extent to which the value of ghost catches has been quantified. We consider why fishing gear is lost, and profile common management responses. We present a cost benefit model to assess the relative cost effectiveness of different management measures, and suggest that gear retrieval programmes may provide less value for money than other management responses.     

新生相形成的模拟实验研究

通过模拟实验制备了硅酸盐类不溶性固体，从Ｘ射线衍射特征和红外光谱特征两方面看，制得的硅酸盐类与河口新生相成分，结构相似，表明铁水解成的β－ＦｅＯＯＨ胶体吸附Ｓｉ，Ａｌ，Ｍｇ，Ｋ等元素，经结构重组可形成硅酸盐矿物，这可能是河口体系新生相的形成原因。     

磁通门罗盘的原理

磁通门罗盘是一种新型罗盘。此罗盘的关键部件是探头,探头主要是由高导磁的软磁材料做成的磁环和线圈组成。当在初级线圈加上交变的激励信号时,即可得到与次级线圈在地磁场中相对应的磁方位角。本文介绍其原理,并对其进行了理论分析。