Influence of the Atmospheric Tides on the Earth Rotation

Spectral analysis of the components of the relative atmospheric angular momentum vector is performed based on the series of these components for the 6 h intervals within the period of 1958–2000. These series have been computed in the Subbureau of the Atmospheric Angular Momentum of the International Earth Rotation Service using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis of atmospheric observations. The basic harmonics of diurnal tides are determined. New results on the fortnight's and week's duration oscillations of the equatorial components of the atmospheric angular momentum are obtained. The zonal tides transformation mechanisms in the atmosphere are discussed. It is shown that the main mechanism of the zonal tides effect on the atmospheric variability is the amplitude modulation of daily oscillations of the relative atmospheric angular momentum. The effects of the atmospheric tides on the Earth rotation are discussed.     

Numerical study of enhanced energy dissipation near a seamount

Using a two-dimensional primitive equation model, we examine nonlinear responses of a semidiurnal tidal flow impinging on a seamount with a background Garrett-Munk-like (GM-like) internal wavefield. It is found that horizontally elongated pancake-like structures of high vertical wavenumber near-inertial current shear are created both in the near-field (the region over the slope of the seamount) and far-field (the region over the flat bottom of the ocean). An important distinction is that the high vertical wavenumber near-inertial current shear is amplified only at mid-latitudes in the far-field (owing to a parametric subharmonic instability (PSI)), whereas it is amplified both at mid-and high-latitudes (above the latitude where PSI can occur) in the near-field. In order to clarify the generating mechanism for the strong shear in the near-field, additional numerical experiments are carried out with the GM-like background internal waves removed. The experiments show that the strong shear is also created, indicating that it is not caused by the interaction between the background GM-like internal waves and the semidiurnal internal tides. One possible explanation is proposed for the amplification of high vertical wavenumber near-inertial current shear in the near-field where tide residual flow resulting from tide-topography interaction plays an important role in transferring energy from high-mode internal tides to near-inertial internal waves.     

Aspects of Deep Ocean Mixing

The turbulent motions responsible for ocean mixing occur on scales much smaller than those resolved in numerical simulations of oceanic flows. Great progress has been made in understanding the sources of energy for mixing, the mechanisms, and the rates. On the other hand, we still do not have adequate answers to first order questions such as the extent to which the thermohaline circulation of the ocean, and hence the earth's climate, is sensitive to the present mixing rates in the ocean interior. Internal waves, generated by either wind or flow over topography, appear to be the principle cause of mixing. Mean and eddy flows over topography generate internal lee waves, while tidal flows over topography generate internal tides. The relative importance of these different internal wave sources is unknown. There are also great uncertainties about the spatial and temporal variation of mixing. Calculations of internal tide generation are becoming increasingly robust, but we do not know enough about the subsequent behavior of internal tides and their eventual breakdown into turbulence. It does seem, however, that most internal tide energy flux is radiated away from generation sites as low modes that propagate over basin scales. The mechanisms of wave-wave interaction and topographic scattering both act to transfer wave energy from low modes to smaller dissipative scales. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ocean Waves: Half-a-Century of Discovery

While the nature of most ocean waves has long been known and their basic physics understood since the nineteenth century, intense study of ocean waves during the second half of the twentieth century has taken the subject from the realm of mathematical exercises to that of practical engineering. Modern understanding of the generation, propagation and interactions of ocean waves with each other and with oceanic features has advanced to a quantitative level offering predictive capacity. This paper presents a brief qualitative review of advances in knowledge of sound waves, wind waves, tsunamis, tides, internal waves and long-period vorticity waves. The review is aimed at non-specialists who may benefit from an overview of the current state of the subject and access to a bibliography of general-interest references. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

应力调制在辽宁地区地震预报中的应用

应用应力调制图像法对辽宁地区1970年以来的21次ML≥5．0地震进行了检验。结果显示，有18次地震的震前出现了S值异常单元，虚报地震11次，漏报3次，R值评分0．58。     

锦州地震台体积式钻孔应变仪的映震情况

论述了张北MS6.2、沈阳ML4.1、内蒙古ML5.9、日本北海道MS8.0、俄蒙中交界MS7.9、青海昆仑山MS8.1地震前后,锦州地震台体积式钻孔应变仪观测震前异常的变化规律。通过计算潮汐因子、振幅因子、3点线性平滑滤波残差值等方法,识别异常。结果表明,体应变异常资料与地震有一定的相关性。