Pelagic-Benthic Coupling in the Nordic Seas: The Role of Episodic Events

Abstract. The consequences of the following episodic phenomena for the pelagic-benthic coupling in the Nordic Seas are illustrated: (1) Advection of water masses between fjords and shelf environments, (2) freshwater run-off and vertical stability, (3) dynamics of the marginal ice zone in the central and northern Barents Sea and the Polar Ocean, (4) drift patterns of sinking particles along the North Norwegian coast, (5) advection of zooplankton into subarctic fjords and the southern Barents Sea, zooplankton overwintering and composition, and (6) transport of organic particulate matter from the Barents Sea shelf. It is shown that physical processes in the north-eastern North Atlantic and Polar Ocean can be strongly variable on time scales of days to decades. They have a significant influence on the dynamics of pelagic-benthic coupling. The physical oceanography influences the vertical and horizontal particle flux not only directly (mixing, advection, up- and down-welling), but also indirectly through its impact on the biota (for example radiation, wind, ice cover, freshwater run-off and overwintering, advection and retention of zooplankton). Understanding pelagic-benthic coupling at high latitudes depends even more on a best possible understanding of the physical oceanography and the time scales involved than elsewhere.     

Summer Arctic sea fog

I~IOXSea fog is a kind of dangerous weather. Chinese sea fog experts, Wang Binhua (1983),Hu Ruijin and Zhou Faxiu (1998) and Hu Jifu et al. (1996) studied sea fog rather Systematically. FOreign Experts also Paid great attention to sea fog. Ernlnons and Montgomery(1974), chipper (1994) and Rayrnond et al. (1989) have studied sea fog thorOUghly.HOwever, studies on Arctic sea ice have rarely been carried Out becauSe of the sever environment and less htnnan activity in the region. There …     

Laboratory simulation of geogas microbubble flow

Preliminary laboratory tests provided first data on the behavior of gas microbubbles through porous media in the framework of the geogas theory. Under experimented conditions with laboratory equipment arranged for pressure controlled gas-tracer injection and sampling, gas microbubbles moved up to ten times faster than singlephase flow in dry media under the same injection pressure. Microbubbles were determined to be very sensitive to changes in injection pressure and their terminal velocity seems to be described with good approximation by the Stokes formula. The capability of microbubbles to pick up and transport upward for short distances solid ultra-small particles (metallic and radionuclide compounds) has been proved. Results are consistent with a time-dependent process linked to the transport properties of microbubbles (e.g., flotation), such as that reported by some authors.     

Evolution of the fogwater composition in Strasbourg (France) from 1990 to 1999

The chemical composition of fogwater has been studied in the city of Strasbourg (France) from 1990 to 1999. During these years, fogwater samples have been collected and analysed for major ions and trace metals. This paper reports on the analysis of the collected dataset. The analysis revealed a significant decrease in acidity of approximately one pH unit over the course of the study. This decrease in acidity appears to be linked to a decrease in SO_2(g) and the resulting SO₄²⁻. Trace metal concentrations have also strongly decreased over the 10-year period. Pb concentrations, following the elimination of leaded gasoline, decreased by more than one order of magnitude.     

Soluble organic compounds in fog and cloud droplets: what have we learned over the past few years?

We have recently set up a new procedure for characterising the water soluble organic compounds (WSOC) in fog water, for which information is still rather limited. Fog samples collected during the 1998–1999 fall–winter season in the Po Valley (Italy) were analysed following this procedure, which allows a quantitative determination of three main classes of organic compounds (neutral species, mono- and di-carboxylic acids, polycarboxylic acids), together accounting for ca. 85% of the total WSOC. This procedure also provides information on the main chemical characteristics of these three classes of compounds (functional groups, aliphatic vs. aromatic character, etc.). The enhanced chemical knowledge on fog/cloud chemical composition opens new scenarios as far as chemical and microphysical processes in clouds and fogs are concerned.     

北京地区一次典型大雾天气的空气污染过程物理量分布特征

2002年11月30至12月4日，北京持续4天大雾天气，空气污染物在持续的稳定层结条件下，空气质量连续3天达5级以上。文中分析了大雾天气各主要污染物的变化特征，以及此次过程中天气形势的特点及演变，并对造成大雾日空气污染天气的物理量分布特征进行分析。结果表明：高空WNW气流、稳定性持续增加、逆温层结持续存在、低空风速较小、相对湿度大，导致局地污染物不能及时随大气扩散；1000～700hPa有弱的上升气流形成和维持，与500hPa高空下沉气流之间在低空的某层高度上形成稳定层结(逆温层)，导致大雾及重污染的形成；850hPa为暖区，850～500hPa为冷平流，有利于大雾的形成和加重。     

中尺度模式MM4对高精度水汽输送#C$算法的敏感性试验

水汽输送的算法精度对中尺度模式的预报能力起有重要作用。本文在MM4的基础上用高精度的平流格式改进模式的水汽输送格式，使改进后的模式包含了对多种高精度的水汽输送格式的选择，如Prather格式和Bott格式。这些格式都是正定的，在理想风场的数值实验中几乎无数值耗散，无计算频散。我们在B网格中央差格式（原MM4中的格式）、Upstream格式和 Prather格式等模式选择项下，对1982年6月的一次梅雨期暴雨过程进行了数值对比实验。结果表明:1）模式的预报能力对水汽输送格式的精度较敏感， 2）高精度的水汽输送格式（Prather格式） 提高了模式对暴雨区、降水场结构、雨团活动的预报能力，较真实地模拟出了尺度较小的降水系统的活动。 高精度的水汽输送算法有助于提高中尺度模式的预报精度。     

Monitoring of rapid salt weathering in the central Namib Desert using limestone blocks

Pre-weighed blocks of a Jurassic Limestone were exposed on the ground surface in the coastal Namib Desert for a period of 2 years. The environment is both salty and foggy. Some of the blocks suffered extensive disintegration, and laboratory analyses (including geochemistry, XRD and SEM) indicate that the weathered samples have a high halite (sodium chloride) content. Cycles of wetting and drying associated with the frequent fog events of the area cause cycles of halite crystallization. Rocks exposed at the surface absorb salts from the surrounding desert surface and then disintegrate, contributing to planation of the landscape.