Developing a Marine Information System by Integrating Existing Ocean Models Using Object-Oriented Technology

Information systems developed for different applications within the environmental domain have common characteristics, which can potentially be abstracted for sharing and reuse of design and software modules. This article presents an approach to designing for reuse by abstracting commonalities in the design of a Marine Information System (MIS), facilitating data management in a prototype operational monitoring, forecasting, and management system for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. A detailed study of the requirements and data analysis was carried out, and Object-Oriented Technology (OOT) is employed to encapsulate abstractions and to promote reuse of code and design. This article identifies the Object-Oriented Frameworks (OOFW) required to build the MIS. It also provides guidelines to environmental scientists for restructuring legacy software and employing modern programming techniques.     

A singular evolutive extended Kalman filter to assimilate ocean color data in a coupled physical–biochemical model of the North Atlantic ocean

Within the European DIADEM project, a data assimilation system for coupled ocean circulation and marine ecosystem models has been implemented for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. One objective of this project is to demonstrate the relevance of sophisticated methods to assimilate satellite data such as altimetry, surface temperature and ocean color, into realistic ocean models. In this paper, the singular evolutive extended Kalman (SEEK) filter, which is an advanced assimilation scheme where three-dimensional, multivariate error statistics are taken into account, is used to assimilate ocean color data into the biological component of the coupled system. The marine ecosystem model, derived from the FDM model [J. Mar. Res. 48 (1990) 591], includes 11 nitrogen and carbon compartments and describes the synthesis of organic matter in the euphotic zone, its consumption by animals of upper trophic levels, and the recycling of detritic material in the deep ocean. The circulation model coupled to the ecosystem is the Miami isopycnic coordinate ocean model (MICOM), which covers the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans with an enhanced resolution in the North Atlantic basin. The model is forced with realistic ECMWF ocean/atmosphere fluxes, which permits to resolve the seasonal variability of the circulation and mixed layer properties. In the twin assimimation experiments reported here, the predictions of the coupled model are corrected every 10 days using pseudo-measurements of surface phytoplankton as a substitute to chlorophyll concentrations measured from space. The diagnostics of these experiments indicate that the assimilation is feasible with a reduced-order Kalman filter of small rank (of order 10) as long as a sufficiently good identification of the error structure is available. In addition, the control of non-observed quantities such as zooplankton and nitrate concentrations is made possible, owing to the multivariate nature of the analysis scheme. However, a too severe truncation of the error sub-space downgrades the propagation of surface information below the mixed layer. The reduction of the actual state vector to the surface layers is therefore investigated to improve the estimation process in the perspective of sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor (SeaWiFS) data assimilation experiments.     

Weak-contrast approximation of the elastic scattering matrix in anisotropic media

The plane-wave reflection and transmission coefficients at a plane interface between two anisotropic media constitute the elements of the elastic scattering matrix. For a 1-D anisotropic medium the eigenvector decomposition of the system matrix of the transformed elasto-dynamic equations is used to derive a general expression for the scattering matrix. Depending on the normalization of the eigenvectors, the expressions give scattering coefficients for amplitudes or for vertical energy flux.Computing the vertical slownesses and the corresponding polarizations, the eigenvector matrix and its inverse can be found. We give a simple formula for the inverse, regardless of the normalization of the eigenvectors. When the eigenvectors are normalized with respect to amplitudes of displacement (or velocity), the calculation of the scattering matrix for amplitudes is simplified.When the relative changes in all parameters are small, a weak-contrast approximation of the scattering matrix, based on the exactly determined polarization vectors in an average medium, is obtained. The same approximation is also derived directly from the transformed elasto-dynamic equations for a smooth vertically inhomogeneous medium, proving the consistency of the approximation.For monoclinic media, with the mirror symmetry plane parallel to the interface, the approximative scattering matrix is given in terms of analytic expressions for the non-normalized eigenvectors and vertical slownesses. For transversely isotropic media with a vertical axis of symmetry (VTI) and isotropic media, explicit solutions for the weak-contrast approximations of the scattering matrices have been obtained. The scattering matrix for amplitudes for isotropic media is well known. The scattering matrix for vertical energy flux may have applications in AVO analysis and inversion due to the reciprocity of the reflection coefficients for converted waves.Numerical examples for monoclinic and VTI media provide good agreement between the approximative and the exact reflection matrices. It is, however, expected that the approximations cannot be used when the symmetry properties of the two media are very different. This is because the approximation relies on a small relative contrast between the eigenvectors in the two media.Presented at the Workshop Meeting on Seismic Waves in Laterally Inhomogeneous Media, Castle of Trest, Czech Republic, May 22–27, 1995.     

Experimental silicate mineral/melt partition coefficients for beryllium and the crustal Be cycle from migmatite to pegmatite

Partition coefficients (D_Be^mineral/melt) for beryllium between hydrous granitic melt and alkali feldspars, plagioclase feldspars, quartz, dark mica, and white mica were determined by experiment at 200 MPa H₂O as a function of temperature (650-900°C), activity of Be in melt (trace levels to beryl saturation), bulk composition, and thermal run direction. At trace levels, Be is compatible in plagioclase of An₃₁ (1.84 at 700°C) and muscovite (1.35 at 700°C) but incompatible in biotite (0.39-0.54 from 650-800°C), alkali feldspar (0.38-0.19 from 680-850°C), quartz (0.24 at 800°C), and albite (0.10 at 750°C). The partition coefficients are different at saturation of the melt in beryl: lower in the case of plagioclase of An₃₁ (0.89 at 700°C), muscovite (0.87 at 700°C), biotite (0.18-0.08 from 675-800°C), alkali feldspar (0.18-0.14 from 680-700°C), and quartz (0.17-0.08 from 750-800°C), but higher in the case of albite (0.37 at 750°C).With other data sources, these new partition coefficients were utilized to track, first, the distribution of Be between aluminous quartzofeldspathic source rocks and their anatectic melts, and second, the dispersion or concentration of Be in melt through igneous crystal fractionation of different magma types (e.g., S-type, I-type) up to beryl-saturated granitic pegmatites and, finally, into their hydrothermal aureoles. Among the rock-forming minerals, cordierite, calcic oligoclase, and muscovite (in this order) control the fate of Be because of the compatibility of Be in these phases. In general, beryl-bearing pegmatites can arise only after extended crystal fractionation of large magma batches (to F, fraction of melt remaining, ≤0.05); granitic magmas that originate from cordierite-bearing protoliths or that contain large modal quantities of calcic oligoclase will not achieve beryl saturation at any point in their evolution.     

Adaptive Multiscale Permeability Estimation

With multiscale permeability estimation one does not select parameterization prior to the estimation. Instead, one performs a hierarchical search for the right parameterization while solving a sequence of estimation problems with an increasing parameterization dimension. In some previous works on the subject, the same refinement is applied all over the porous medium. This may lead to over-parameterization, and subsequently, to unrealistic permeability estimates and excessive computational work. With adaptive multiscale permeability estimation, the new parameterization at an arbitrary stage in the estimation sequence is such that new degrees of freedom are not necessarily introduced all over the porous medium. The aim is to introduce new degrees of freedom only where it is warranted by the data. In this paper, we introduce a novel adaptive multiscale estimation. The approach is used to estimate absolute permeability from two-phase pressure data in several numerical examples.     

The Ensemble Kalman Filter: theoretical formulation and practical implementation

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive presentation and interpretation of the Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) and its numerical implementation. The EnKF has a large user group, and numerous publications have discussed applications and theoretical aspects of it. This paper reviews the important results from these studies and also presents new ideas and alternative interpretations which further explain the success of the EnKF. In addition to providing the theoretical framework needed for using the EnKF, there is also a focus on the algorithmic formulation and optimal numerical implementation. A program listing is given for some of the key subroutines. The paper also touches upon specific issues such as the use of nonlinear measurements, in situ profiles of temperature and salinity, and data which are available with high frequency in time. An ensemble based optimal interpolation (EnOI) scheme is presented as a cost-effective approach which may serve as an alternative to the EnKF in some applications. A fairly extensive discussion is devoted to the use of time correlated model errors and the estimation of model bias.Responsible Editor: Jörg-Olaf Wolff     

Is pure groundwater safe to drink?: natural "contamination' of groundwater in Norway

The title of this article is designed to provoke. Naturally occurring parameters are, by definition, not contamination. Nevertheless, nature is not necessarily nice, and naturally occurring trace toxins can be every bit as undesirable as their counterparts derived from human pollution.     

Rare-earth abundances in chondritic meteorites

Fifteen chondrites, including eight carbonaceous chondrites, have been analyzed for rare earth element (REE) abundances by isotope dilution. These analyses complement and extend earlier isotope dilution REE determinations in chondrites, performed in other laboratories, so that coverage of major chondrite classes is now complete. An examination of this body of precise and comparable REE data from individual chondrites reveals that only a small proportion of the analyses have flat, unfractionated REE patterns within experimental error. A statistical procedure is used to derive revised chondritic abundances of REE by selection of unfractionated patterns. A number of the remaining analyses show Eu anomalies and fractionated patterns consistent with magmatic fractionation as encountered in the products of planetary differentiation. However, many patterns exhibit features not readily explicable by known magmatic processes; in particular, positive Ce anomalies are often encountered. Abundance anomalies can be quantitatively determined by the use of a least-squares curve fitting procedure. The wide variety of anomalous patterns and the uncertainties in model parameters preclude detailed modeling of the origin of anomalies, but it is probable that at least some arise from fractional condensation in the solar nebula, as has been demonstrated for Allende inclusions. Elemental abundance anomalies are found in all major chondrite classes. If these anomalies are ignored, the range and nature of variation within chondrite classes are consistent with a parent body model, in which solid-liquid or solid-solid equilibria induce variations from an unfractionated bulk composition. Absolute abundances in the H, L and LL parent bodies are almost twice those of the E parent body.The persistence of anomalies in chondritic materials relatively removed from direct condensational processes implies that anomalous components are resistant to equilibration or were introduced at a late stage of chondrite formation. Large scale segregation of gas and condensate is also implied, and raises the possibility of bulk variations in REE abundances between planetary bodies.