Multiple longshore sand bars in the upper Chesapeake Bay

In the upper Chesapeake Bay (Maryland, U.S.A.) field surveys were conducted at 18 multiple longshore sand bar sites. The multiple bar systems were found in water depths less than approximately 2 m (mean sea level), and exhibited mild bottom slopes of 0·0052 or less. The number of bars composing each system ranged from four to 17 and the spacing between the crests typically increased in the offshore direction, ranging from 12 to 70 m. Bar height also typically increased with distance offshore and ranged from 0·03 to 0·61 m. A grain size analysis of crest and trough sediment did not reveal any significant differences and the sediment was categorized as ‘fine sand’. A review of the literature data indicated that the Chesapeake Bay multiple bars possessed similar characteristics to those found in Gelding Bay (Baltic Sea); similarities in fetch, wave height and tidal range between the two bays may account for this finding. The surf-scaling parameter indicated that the multiple bar systems were extremely dissipative with regard to wave energy, and wave height appeared to be an important factor in controlling bar spacing and bar height. A multiple wave break point hypothesis was discussed as a possible mechanism for the formation of Chesapeake Bay multiple longshore bars, and limited observational evidence appeared to support such a mechanism.     

Use of fallout 137Cs for documenting the chronology of overbank sediments from the river Sava, Croatia, and interpreting their geochemical patterns

This paper attempts to determine the impact of former Pb-Zn-Ba mining activities in Slovenian drainage basin on overbank sediments of the Sava river (West Croatia). Among the four studied sequences (S7, S8, S9, S10), the most upstream profile S7 showed the most pronounced impact of ore mining. Mercury was enriched more than 100-fold; Pb and Zn had a strong positive correlation (r > 0.99). Two factor models clearly revealed the Pb-Ba-Hg association in the lower-lying carbonate (CA) population of all four profiles, but only in the overlying silicate (SI) population of profile S7. Factor analysis confirmed this association in the total sediment (90 samples) as well as separately in the CA (33 samples) and SI (57 samples) populations. Based on a comparison with an undisturbed soil profile, the vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in profile S7 was interpreted to be the combination of caesium deposition caused by a flood in 1964 and by post-depositional redistribution.     

An experimental study on geometric characteristics of beach erosion profiles

The beach profile and sediment transport are very important factors in the design of coastal structures, and the beach profile is mainly affected by a number of parameters, such as wave height and period, beach slope, and the material properties of the bed. In this study, considering wave height (H₀=6.5, 11.5, 16, 20, 23, 26 and 30 cm), wave period (T=1.46 and 2.03 s), beach slope (m=1/10 and 1/15) and mean sediment diameter (d₅₀=0.18, 0.26, 0.33 and 0.40 mm), an experimental investigation of coastal erosion profile (storm profile) was carried out in a wave flume using regular waves, and geometric characteristics of erosion profile were determined by the resultant erosion profile. Dimensional and non-dimensional equations were obtained by using linear and non-linear regression methods through the experimental data and were compared with previously developed equations in the literature. The results have shown that the experimental data fitted well to the proposed equations with respect to the previously developed equations.     

大鹏湾岬湾型海滩季节性变化特征及原因分析——以官湖海滩为例

随着全球海平面的上升及极端气象的频发,全球海滩总体呈现出一定的退化现象,海滩保护成为海岸带生态修复的焦点问题之一。我国华南地区岬湾型海滩分布广泛,以深圳市大鹏湾官湖海滩为代表,基于2020—2021年实测海滩剖面高程数据,分析岬湾型海滩季节性变化特征。研究表明,官湖海滩剖面坡度夏秋缓冬春陡,夏秋侵蚀冬春淤积;海滩沉积物粒径季节性变化不明显。海滩剖面形态受风浪、平均潮位的季节性变化控制,以夏秋季为例,平均潮位逐渐升高,南向波浪强度较大,在二者的共同作用下,海滩后滨侵蚀明显,泥沙离岸输运,并在前滨淤积。补沙方案宜在夏秋季进行,且重点区域为官湖海滩东侧与观海湾海滩,防御方案应主要削弱南向波浪。     

High-resolution H i and radio continuum observations of the SNR G290.1−0.8

We have observed the supernova remnant (SNR) G290.1−0.8 in the 21-cm H  i line and the 20-cm radio continuum using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The H  i data were combined with data from the Southern Galactic Plane Survey to recover the shortest spatial frequencies. In contrast, H  i absorption was analysed by filtering extended H  i emission, with spatial frequencies shorter than 1.1 kλ. The low-resolution ATCA radio continuum image of the remnant shows considerable internal structure, resembling a network of filaments across its 13-arcmin diameter. A high-resolution ATCA radio continuum image was also constructed to study the small-scale structure in the SNR. It shows that there are no structures smaller than ∼17 arcsec, except perhaps for a bright knot to the south, which is probably an unrelated object. The H  i absorption study shows that the gas distribution and kinematics in front of SNR G290.1−0.8 are complex. We estimate that the SNR probably lies in the Carina arm, at a distance 7 (±1) kpc. In addition, we have studied nearby sources in the observed field using archival multiwavelength data to determine their characteristics.     

Thermal surface characteristics of coal fires 1 results of in-situ measurements

Natural underground coal fires are fires in coal seams occurring subsurface. The fires are ignited through a process named spontaneous combustion, which occurs based on a natural reaction but is usually triggered through human interaction. Coal mining activities expose coal to the air. This leads to the exothermal oxidation of the carbon in the coal with the air's oxygen to CO₂ and – under certain circumstances – to spontaneous combustion. Coal fires occur in many countries world wide – however, currently the Chinese coal mining industry faces the biggest problems with coal fires. Coal fires destroy the valuable resource coal and furthermore lead to many environmental degradation phenomena such as the deterioration of surrounding vegetation, land subsidence and the emission of toxic gasses (CO, N₂O). They additionally contribute to the emission of green house relevant gasses such as CO₂ and CH₄ to the atmosphere.In this paper we present thermal characteristics of coal fires as measured in-situ during a field campaign to the Wuda coal fire area in south-central Inner Mongolia, China. Thermal characteristics include temperature anomaly measurements at the surface, spatial surface temperature profiles of fire areas and unaffected background areas, diurnal temperature profiles, and temperature measurements inside of coal fire induced cracks in the overlying bedrock. For all the measurements the effects of uneven solar heating through influences of slope and aspect are considered.Our findings show that coal fires result in strong or subtle thermal surface anomalies. Especially the latter can easily be influenced by heating of the surrounding background material through solar influences. Temperature variation of background rocks with different albedo, slope, aspect or vegetation cover can substantially influence the detectability of thermal anomalies. In the worst case coal fire related thermal anomalies can be completely masked by solar patterns during the daytime. Thus, night-time analysis is the most suitable for thermal anomaly mapping of underground coal fires, although this is not always feasible. The heat of underground coal fires only progresses very slowly through conduction in the rock material. Anomalies of coal fires completely covered by solid unfractured bedrock are very weak and were only measured during the night. The thermal pattern of underground coal fires manifested on the surface during the daytime is thus the pattern of cracks and vents, which occur due to the volume loss underground and which support radiation and convective energy transport of hot gasses. Inside coal fire temperatures can hardly be measured and can only be recorded if the glowing coal is exposed through a wider crack in the overlaying bedrock. Direct coal fire temperatures measured ranged between 233 °C and 854 °C. The results presented can substantially support the planning of thermal mapping campaigns, analyses of coal fire thermal anomalies in remotely sensed data, and can provide initial and boundary conditions for coal fire related numerical modeling.In a second paper named “Thermal Characteristics of Coal Fires 2: results of measurements on simulated coal fires” [Zhang J., Kuenzer C., Tetzlaff A., Oettl D., Zhukov B., Wagner W., 2007. Thermal Characteristics of Coal Fires 2: Result of measurements on simulated coal fires. Accepted for publication at Journal of Applied Geophysics. doi:10.1016/j.jappgeo.2007.08.003] we report about thermal characteristics of simulated coal fires simulated under simplified conditions. The simulated set up allowed us to measure even more parameters under undisturbed conditions — especially inside fire temperatures. Furthermore we could demonstrate the differences between open surface coal fires and covered underground coal fires. Thermal signals of coal fires in near range thermal remotely sensed imagery from an observing tower and from an airplane are presented and discussed.     

Limits on the 2.2-μm contrast ratio of the close-orbiting planet HD 189733b

We obtained 238 spectra of the close-orbiting extrasolar giant planet HD 189733b with resolution   R ∼ 15 000  during one night of observations with the Near-Infrared High-Resolution Spectrograph (NIRSPEC), at the Keck II Telescope. We have searched for planetary absorption signatures in the  2.0–2.4 μm  region where H₂O and CO are expected to be the dominant atmospheric opacities. We employ a phase-dependent orbital model and tomographic techniques to search for the planetary absorption signatures in the combined stellar and planetary spectra. Because potential absorption signatures are hidden in the noise of each single exposure, we use a model list of lines to apply a spectral deconvolution. The resulting mean profile possesses a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) that is 20 times greater than that found in individual lines. Our spectral time series thus yields spectral signatures with a mean S/N = 2720. We are unable to detect a planetary signature at a contrast ratio of  log₁₀( F _p/ F _*) =−3.40  , with 63.8 per cent confidence. Our findings are not consistent with model predictions which nevertheless give a good fit to mid-infrared observations of HD 189733b. The 1σ result is a factor of 1.7 times less than the predicted 2.185-μm planet/star flux ratio of  log₁₀( F _p/ F _*) ∼−3.16  .     

淤泥质浅滩泥沙临界起动切应力剖面确定

为了确定淤泥质浅滩泥沙的临界起动切应力垂线剖面,采用音叉密度计在淤泥质连云港徐圩浅滩进行了定点密度垂线分布测量,并针对该海域的泥沙利用长水槽和环形槽开展了泥沙起动室内试验。淤泥密度现场结果表明,浅滩泥沙密度与深度满足对数型关系;室内试验得出密度1 050~1 400 kg/m³的泥沙临界起动切应力值为0.1~1.0 Pa,泥沙临界切应力与密度呈指数关系;进而确定了临界起动切应力与深度的关系即临界起动切应力剖面,该剖面关系式可供数学模型模拟淤泥质浅滩的泥沙起动过程参考。     

基态位涡径向分布对浅水涡旋系统演变的影响分析Part Ⅱ:扰动发展和结构变化

本文在基态位涡（Potential Vorticity,PV）径向分布和基态涡旋强度对热带气旋（Tropical Cyclone,TC）类涡旋系统稳定性特征影响的研究基础上,结合理想试验和数值模拟诊断分析基态PV径向分布对扰动增长和系统结构变化的影响.基于线性正压浅水模型,设计三种典型基态PV中空结构下基态涡旋强度对系统稳定性影响的敏感性试验.结果表明：基态涡旋的强度主要影响稳定性的强弱,强度越强,不稳定增长率越大,而基态PV径向分布对系统最不稳定波动性质起着决定作用.分析不同波数下扰动的发展及不同波数间扰动的相互作用可知,对于宽且实的PV环,系统稳定性主要取决于低波数不稳定,且最不稳定波数扰动的发展具有明显的优势地位;对于窄且空的PV环,系统稳定性主要取决于高波数不稳定,且多个高波数下增长最快模态的不稳定增长率值十分接近.利用模态线性叠加法讨论扰动增长对系统结构变化的影响表明：最不稳定波数的扰动发展对系统结构变化有关键影响,而多个波数的扰动不稳定增长相当时,不同波数的扰动发生相互作用从而影响系统结构变化.最后,利用实际个例模拟资料分析基态PV径向分布及其变化对TC结构和强度的影响表明：TC内核区出现的多边形眼墙结构与当前时刻基态PV径向分布所决定的最不稳定波数有很好的对应关系,同时基态PV径向分布变化所反映出的系统动力稳定性强弱与TC强度发展阶段具有很好的相关性.