The influence of the Agulhas Current on the adjacent coastal ocean: possible impacts of climate change

The dynamics of the coastal ocean along the southeastern coast of Africa is dominated by a strong and intense western boundary current, the Agulhas Current. With a near-uniform, narrow continental shelf and a steep shelf slope that stabilizes this current, the trajectory of the Agulhas exhibits great stability. The only substantial perturbation occurs with the irregular passage of a Natal Pulse, a soliton meander. The initiation of this meander at the Natal Bight is due to a barotropic instability when the intensity of the landward border of the current exceeds a certain threshold value. This may come about with natural fluctuations in the current or with the adsorption of deep-sea eddies onto the current. Under a climate change scenario of altered wind stress curl over the South Indian Ocean it is conceivable that the threshold for the triggering of a Natal Pulse will occur more frequently. This will lead to a situation where the current axis on average lies further offshore. The possible consequences of such a situation on the rainfall of the coast, on the ecology of estuaries and the coastal ocean, and on the socio-economics of the region is discussed.     

Modelling the effects of physical–biological interactions and spatial variability in spawning and nursery areas on transport and retention of sardine Sardinops sagax eggs and larvae in the southern Benguela ecosystem

A particle-tracking individual-based model (IBM) coupled with a 3-D hydrodynamic model was used to investigate how spatial variability in spawning and nursery grounds may influence transport and retention of sardine (Sardinops sagax) eggs and larvae in the southern Benguela ecosystem. A temperature-dependent Bělehrádek development model based on laboratory growth data was used to determine the duration of one egg and two larval stages. Successful transport/retention depended on each particle's stage of development rather than its age. Results show that recruitment could occur in two distinct nursery areas on the west and south coasts of South Africa. Three viable recruitment ‘systems’ were identified: two are retention-based (spawned and retained on the west coast (WC–WC) or the south coast (SC–SC)) and one is transport-based (spawned on the south coast and transported to the west coast (SC–WC)). In the WC–WC system, the vertical distribution of eggs influenced retention; at intermediate depths of spawning (25–50 m) eggs avoided both offshore Ekman drift and deep cold water. In the SC–SC system, the area of spawning was important; > 50% of eggs from the eastern Agulhas Bank (EAB) were retained in the south coast nursery grounds, whereas very few eggs were transported there from west of Cape Agulhas. In the SC–WC system, area of spawning was also important; 40% of the eggs spawned on the western Agulhas Bank (WAB) were transported to the west coast nursery ground. Sardine life history strategy could be divided between two main systems: the west coast system (spawning on the WAB and WC, and recruiting to the WC) and the Agulhas Bank system (spawning on the central and eastern Agulhas Bank, and recruiting to the SC).     

Why is the southwest the most productive region of the East Sea/Sea of Japan?

The East Sea/Sea of Japan is a moderately productive sea that supports a wealth of living marine resources. Of the East Sea subregions, the southwest has the highest productivity. Various authors have proposed coastal upwelling, the Tsushima Current, the Changjiang Dilute Water, eddies, or discharge from the Nagdong River as potential sources of additional nutrients. In this paper, we propose, using satellite data from 1998 to 2006, that the biological productivity of the southwestern region is enhanced mainly by wind-driven upwelling along the Korean coast. Firstly, the climatology of seasonal patterns suggests that the enhanced chlorophyll a along the Korean coast is of local origin. Secondly, coastal upwelling is frequent in all seasons except winter. For example, along the coast of the Ulgi region, enhanced chlorophyll a due to coastal upwelling was observed for 25–92% of the time between Jun and Sep in the period 1998–2006. Thirdly, the advection of upwelled water through various pathways to the deeper basin was observed. Fourthly, there appeared to be a strong correlation between the interannual chlorophyll a variations of the coastal upwelling regions and the Ulleung Basin. The chlorophyll a patterns of both regions were closely related to the wind pattern in the upwelling regions, but not to that in the Ulleung Basin. Finally, changes in advection pathways also appeared to affect the productivity of the Ulleung Basin. Since 2004, there has been a shift in the pathways of upwelled water, and consequent increases in chlorophyll a in the Ulleung Basin were observed. This last observation requires further investigation.     

Spatial and temporal variability in the pelagic ecosystem of the East Sea (Sea of Japan): A review

The East Sea (Sea of Japan) is a unique marginal sea because it exhibits features of oceanic dynamics of much larger ocean basins. This semi-enclosed basin may be considered as a model or microcosm for understanding of how biological processes and distributions in pelagic ecosystem are interacting with physical processes in highly dynamic ocean regions. This overview summarizes the recent progresses concerning spatial and temporal variability of pelagic ecosystem components form an interdisciplinary point of view. Spatial characteristics of physical environments and biogeography in the region are distinguished mainly by the subpolar front. It was also found that long-term changes in biomass and community structure as well as those in the physical and biological environments are associated with climate variability in the region. We conclude by identifying main needs for the information and researches, particularly regular and long-term sampling, and permanent monitoring if possible.     

A Mean Dynamic Topography of the Mediterranean Sea computed from altimetric data, in-situ measurements and a general circulation model

In the Mediterranean Sea, where the mean circulation is largely unknown and characterized by smaller scales and less intensity than in the open ocean, the interpretation of altimetric Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) is rather difficult. In the context of operational systems such as MFS (Mediterranean Forecasting System) or MERCATOR, that assimilate the altimetric information, the estimation of a realistic Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) consistent with altimetric SLA to be used to reconstruct absolute sea level is a crucial issue. A method is developed here to estimate the required MDT combining oceanic observations as altimetric and in-situ measurements and outputs from an ocean general circulation model (OGCM).In a first step, the average over the 1993–1999 period of dynamic topography outputs from MFS OGCM provides a first guess for the computation of the MDT. Then, in a second step, drifting buoy velocities and altimetric data are combined using a synthetic method to obtain local estimates of the mean geostrophic circulation which are then used to improve the first guess through an inverse technique and map the MDT field (hereafter the Synthetic Mean Dynamic Topography or SMDT) on a 1/8° resolution grid.Many interesting current patterns and cyclonic/anticyclonic structures are visible on the SMDT obtained. The main Mediterranean coastal currents are well marked (as the Algerian Current or the Liguro–Provenço–Catalan Current). East of the Sicily channel, the Atlantic Ionian Stream divides into several main branches crossing the Ionian Sea at various latitudes before joining at 19°E into a unique Mid-Mediterranean Jet. Also, strong signatures of the main Mediterranean eddies are obtained (as for instance the Alboran gyre, the Pelops, Ierapetra, Mersa-Matruh or Shikmona anticyclones and the Cretan, Rhodes or West Cyprius cyclones). Independent in-situ measurements from Sea Campaigns NORBAL in the North Balearic Sea and the North Tyrrhenian Sea and SYMPLEX in the Sicily channel are used to validate locally the SMDT: deduced absolute altimetric dynamic topography compares well with in-situ observations. Finally, the SMDT is used to compute absolute altimetric maps in the Alboran Sea and the Algerian Current. The use of absolute altimetric signal allows to accurately follow the formation and propagation of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies in both areas.     

A numerical model of the long term flow along the Malin-Hebrides shelf

A three dimensional hydrodynamic model of the Malin-Hebrides shelf region is used to investigate the spatial variability of the wind and tidally induced residual flow in the region and the influence of flow from the Irish Sea and along the shelf edge. By this means it is possible to understand the spatial variability in the long term observed flow fields in the region and the range of driving forces producing this flow. The model uses a sigma coordinate grid in the vertical with a finer grid in the near surface and near bed shear layers. The vertical diffusion of momentum in the model is parameterised using an eddy viscosity coefficient which is derived from turbulence energy closure models. Two different turbulence models are used to compute the eddy viscosity, namely a two-equation (itq²−q²ℓ) model which has prognostic equations for both turbulence energy and mixing length and a simpler model in which the mixing length is a specified algebraic function of the water depth.The wind induced response to spatially and temporally constant orthogonal wind stresses, namely westerly and southerly winds of 1 N m⁻², are derived from the model. By using orthogonal winds and assuming linearity, then to first order the response to any wind direction can be derived. Computed flows show a uniform wind driven surface layer of magnitude about 3% of the wind speed and direction 15 ° to the right of the wind, in deep water. Currents at depth particularly in the shelf edge and near coastal region show significant spatial variability which is related to variations in bottom topography and the coastline.Calculations show that tidal residual flows are only significant in the near coastal regions where the tidal current is strong and exhibits spatial variability. Flow into the region from the Irish Sea through the North Channel although having its greatest influence in the near coastal region, does affect currents near the shelf edge region. Again the spatial variability of the flow is influenced by topographic effects.A detailed examination of wind induced current profiles together with turbulence, mixing length and viscosity, at a number of locations in the model from deep ocean to shallow near coastal, shows that both turbulence models yield comparable results, with the mixing length in the two equation model showing a similar dependence to that specified in the simpler turbulence model.Calculations clearly show that flow along the shelf edge area to the west of Ireland and from the Irish Sea entering the region, together with local wind forcing can have a major effect upon currents along the Malin-Hebrides shelf. The flow fields show significant spatial variability in the region, comparable to those deduced from long term tracer measurements. The spatial variability found in the calculations suggests that a very intense measurement programme together with inflow measurements into the area is required to understand the circulation in the region, and provide data sets suitable for a rigorous model validation.     

Distribution of drifting seaweeds in eastern East China Sea

In offshore waters with relatively low primary production, drifting seaweeds composed of Sargassum species form an identical ecosystem such as an oasis in desert. Commercially important pelagic fishes such as jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) and yellow tail (Seriola quinqueradiata) spawn in East China Sea pass their juvenile period accompanying drifting seaweeds. Therefore drifting seaweeds are very important not only in offshore ecosystem but also fishery resources. However the distribution of drifting seaweeds in East China Sea has scarcely known. Then we conducted two research cruises of R/V Hakuho–Maru in May 2002 and in March 2004. During the cruises, drifting seaweeds were visually observed from the bridge and sampled with a towing net. The observation revealed that the drifting seaweeds were distributed along the front between the Kuroshio Current and coastal waters and mainly composed of one seaweed species, Sargassum horneri (Turner) C. Agardh from spring to early summer. There are no reports on geographical distribution of this species in the coasts south of southern Kyushu Island in Japan. Kuroshio Current flows northeastward there. Buoys with GPS attached to drifting seaweeds released off Zhejiang Province, China, in March 2005 to track their transport. Their positions monitored by ORBCOM satellite showed that they were transported to the area in East China Sea, where the drifting seaweeds were observed during the cruises, in 2 months. These facts suggest that S. horneri detached from Chinese coast in March or months earlier than March could be transported to fringe area of continental shelf and waters influenced by Kuroshio Current from March to May. Therefore the Sargassum forests, especially S. horneri, along the Chinese coast play a very important role in the ecosystem of the East China Sea as a source of drifting seaweeds.     

Comparison between a reanalyzed product by 3-dimensional variational assimilation technique and observations in the Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea

Reanalyzed products from a MOM3-based East Sea Regional Ocean Model with a 3-dimentional variational data assimilation module (DA-ESROM), have been compared with the observed hydrographic and current datasets in the Ulleung Basin (UB) of the East/Japan Sea (EJS). Satellite-borne sea surface temperature and sea surface height data, and in-situ temperature profiles have been assimilated into the DA-ESROM. The performance of the DA-ESROM appears to be efficient enough to be used in an operational ocean forecast system.Comparing with the results from Mitchell et al. [Mitchell, D. A., Watts, D. R., Wimbush, M., Teague, W.J., Tracey, K. L., Book, J. W., Chang, K.-I., Suk, M.-S., Yoon, J.-H., 2005a. Upper circulation patterns in the Ulleung Basin. Deep-Sea Res. II, 52, 1617-1638.], the DA-ESROM fairly well simulates the high variability of the Ulleung Warm Eddy and Dok Cold Eddy as well as the branching of the Tsushima Warm Current in the UB. The overall root-mean-square error between 100 m temperature field reproduced by the DA-ESROM and the observed 100-dbar temperature field is 2.1 °C, and the spatially averaged grid-to-grid correlation between the two temperature fields is high with a mean value of 0.79 for the inter-comparison period.The DA-ESROM reproduces the development of strong southward North Korean Cold Current (NKCC) in summer consistent with the observational results, which is thought to be an improvement of the previous numerical models in the EJS. The reanalyzed products show that the NKCC is about 35 km wide, and flows southward along the Korean coast from spring to summer with maximum monthly mean volume transport of about 0.8 Sv in August–September.     

二维数字滤波在物理模型流场测量系统中的应用

粒子跟踪测速(PTV)是一种非接触式的流场测量技术,它可以实时的获得二维流速平面的速度数据。PTV系统通过数字相机拍摄布撒在流场中的示踪粒子,得到前后两帧粒子图像,对图像中的粒子图像进行相关计算得到流场内各点的速度。文中主要介绍的是二维数字滤波方法在PTV流场测量结果后处理中的应用,通过数字滤波允许流速(可以看作U-V两方向的二维数值)中低频分量通过,同时阻尼和削弱高频分量,从而可以起到纠正错误流场数值的作用。文中以河北沧州港物理模型为例分析了Fourier变换(傅里叶变换)对PTV流场测量结果的滤波效果,并提出一套包含二维数字滤波、GIS(地理信息系统)流场显示在内的完整方案以便用于自动连续地处理流场测量数据。     

Sea level and Eddy Kinetic Energy variability in the Bay of Biscay, inferred from satellite altimeter data

Twelve years (1993–2005) of altimetric data, combining different missions (ERS-1/2, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 and Envisat), are used to analyse sea level and Eddy Kinetic Energy variability in the Bay of Biscay at different time-scales. A specific processing of coastal data has been applied, to remove erroneous artefacts. Likewise, an optimal interpolation has been used, to create a series of regional Sea Level Anomaly maps, merging data sets from two satellites.The sea level presents a trend of about 2.7 mm/year, which is within the averaged values of sea level rise in the global ocean. Frequency spectra show that the seasonal cycle is the main time-scale affecting the sea level and Eddy Kinetic Energy variability. The maximum sea level occurs in October, whilst the minimum is observed in April. The steric effect is the cause of this annual cycle. The Northern French shelf/slope presents intense variability which is likely due to internal tides. Some areas of the ocean basin are also characterised by intense variability, due to the presence of eddies.The Eddy Kinetic Energy, in turn, is higher from December to May, than during the rest of the year and presents a weak positive trend from April 1995 to April 2005. Several documented mesoscale events, occurring at the end of 1997 and during 1998, are analysed. Altimetry maps prove to be a useful tool to monitor swoddy-like eddies from their birth to their decay, as well as the inflow of seasonal slope water current into the southeastern corner of the Bay of Biscay.     

The Mercator global ocean operational analysis system: Assessment and validation of an 11-year reanalysis

This paper presents Prototype Système 2 Global (PSY2G), the first Mercator global Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) to assimilate along-track sea level anomaly (SLA) satellite data. Based on a coarse resolution ocean model, this system was developed mainly for climatic purposes and will provide, for example, initial oceanic states for coupled ocean-atmosphere seasonal predictions. It has been operational since 3 September 2003 and produces an analysis and a two-week forecast for the global ocean every week. The PSY2G system uses an incremental assimilation scheme based on the Cooper and Haines [Cooper, M., Haines, K., 1996. Data assimilation with water property conservation. J. Geophys. Res., 101, 1059-1077.] lifting–lowering of isopycnals. The SLA increment is obtained using an optimal interpolation method then the correction is partitioned into baroclinic and barotropic contributions. The baroclinic ocean state correction consists of temperature, salinity and geostrophic velocity increments and the barotropic correction is a barotropic velocity increment. A reanalysis (1993–2003) was carried out that enabled the PSY2G system to perform its first operational cycle. All available SLA data sets (TOPEX/Poséïdon, ERS2, Geosat-Follow-On, Jason1 and Envisat) were assimilated for the 1993–2003 period. The major objective of this study is to assess the reanalysis from both an assimilation and a thermodynamic point of view in order to evaluate its realism, especially in the tropical band which is a key region for climatic studies. Although the system is also able to deliver forecasts, we have mainly focused on analysis. These results are useful because they give an a priori estimation of the qualities and capabilities of the operational ocean analysis system that has been implemented. In particular, the reanalysis identifies some regional biases in sea level variability such as near the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, in the eastern Equatorial Pacific and in the Norwegian Sea (generally less than 1 cm) with a small seasonal cycle. This is attributed to changes in mean circulation and vertical stratification caused by the assimilation methodology. But the model's low resolution, inaccurate physical parameterisations (especially for ocean–ice interactions) and surface atmospheric forcing also contribute to the occurrence of the SLA biases. A detailed analysis of the thermohaline structure of the ocean reveals that the isopycnal lifting–lowering tends to diffuse vertically the main thermocline. The impact on temperature is that the surface layer (0–200 m) becomes cooler whereas in deeper waters (from 500 to 1500 m), the ocean becomes slightly warmer. This is particularly true in the tropics, between 30°N and 30°S. However it can be demonstrated that the assimilation improves the variability in both surface currents and sub-surface temperature in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean.     

Hydrographic cruises off northwest Africa: the Canary Current and the Cape Ghir region

We present hydrographic data for several sections located along the African coastline and off Cape Ghir, carried out at times of weak surface winds (October 1995 and September 1997). The main sections are near the continental slope, at mean distances between 100 and 150 km from the coastline. North of Cape Ghir (31°N) the geostrophic transport (referenced to 650 m) of North Atlantic Central Water through these sections is 3.7 and 2.0 Sv for 1995 and 1997, respectively. This confirms that a major fraction of the water transport by the Canary Current flows east, into the continental slope off northwest Africa, at latitudes above Cape Ghir. Most of this flow continues south past Cape Ghir, along the coast and probably through the eastern passages of the Canary Archipelago. A significant fraction, however, may escape through surface Ekman transport (0.3–0.5 Sv during the early fall season) and by offshore flow at Cape Ghir (1.1 Sv in September 1997, referenced to 650 m). Despite the weak winds the Cape Ghir filament was clearly visible, characterized by localized coastal upwelling associated to a cyclonic shallow structure and cold (and fresh) waters stretching offshore as a very shallow feature (50–100 m deep). The satellite images show that the surface temperature field is highly variable, in rapid response to the surface winds, always with a core region of relatively cold water and commonly with one or two associated eddies. Our results support the existence of two recirculation cells in the area: a horizontal one that connects the interior eastern boundary currents with the coastal region and a vertical one related to both wind-induced and filament upwelling. The data also show a salinity subsurface maximum at the root of the filament, linked to water inflow from northern latitudes, and a subsurface anticyclonic eddy over the Agadir canyon, likely related to the poleward slope undercurrent.     

海流要素辅助航行决策的区划技术研究

由于很难得到对任何海区满足需要的时空尺度、精度的海洋环境要素预报结果,因此,了解某海洋环境要素的区域特性也是很有参考价值的.为了给船舶航行提供有效的信息支持,文章以对船舶的航速和航向影响较大的海流为例,分析了海流预报技术在满足应用需求上的不足,提出了利用主因子分析技术对海流样本数据进行研究的方案,并基于此方案给出了东海、南海海域海流要素信息区划结果,为船舶航行决策提供信息指导.     

Lagrangian data in a high-resolution numerical simulation of the North Atlantic: I. Comparison with in situ drifter data

A model/data comparison was performed between simulated drifters from a high-resolution numerical simulation of the North Atlantic and a data set from in situ surface drifters. The comparison makes use of pseudo-Eulerian statistics such as mean velocity and eddy kinetic energy, and Lagrangian statistics such as integral time scales. The space and time distribution of the two data sets differ in the sense that the in situ drifters were released inhomogeneously in space and time while the simulated drifters were homogeneously seeded at the same time over a regular 1° grid. Despite this difference, the total data distributions computed over the complete data sets show some similarities that are mostly related to the large-scale pattern of Ekman divergence/convergence.Comparisons of eddy kinetic energy and root mean square velocity indicate that the numerical model underestimates the eddy kinetic energy in the Gulf Stream extension and in the ocean interior. In addition, the model Lagrangian time scales are longer in the interior than the in situ time scales by approximately a factor of 2. It is suggested that this is primarily due to the lack of high-frequency winds in the model forcing, which causes an underestimation of the directly forced eddy variability. Regarding the mean flow, the comparison has been performed both qualitatively and quantitatively using James' statistical test. The results indicate that over most of the domain, the differences between model and in situ estimates are not significant. However, some areas of significant differences exist, close to high-energy regions, notably around the Gulf Stream path, which in the model lies slightly north of the observed path, although its strength and structure are well represented overall. Mean currents close to the buffer zones, primarily the Azores Current, also exhibit significant differences between model results and in situ estimates. Possibilities for model improvement are discussed in terms of forcings, buffer zone implementations, turbulence and mixed layer parameterizations, in light of our model/data comparison.     

Hydrographic conditions affecting two fishing grounds of Mallorca island (Western Mediterranean): during the IDEA Project (2003–2004)

This paper describes the hydrographic conditions observed during six surveys carried out during 2003 and 2004, in the framework of the “IDEA Project” (acronym for “Influence of oceanographic structure and dynamics on demersal populations in waters of the Balearic Islands”). The surveys were developed on the shelf and slope of Mallorca Island, in particular in two fishing grounds at the north and south of the Mallorca channel. Periodic movements of the fishing fleet between these two areas have been regularly reported, suggesting a seasonal variability of the resources which could be in turn associated with the hydrodynamic variability. With this motivation, water masses affecting these grounds have been identified and their seasonal variability has been studied. Different oceanographic and environmental conditions have been found between the two fishing grounds. These differences are related to the presence of mesoscale structures, associated with the Western Mediterranean Intermediate Water (WIW) at the north of the Ibiza channel and big gyres detached from the Algerian Current. The former has been shown to have influence on the regional oceanic circulation and the latter could affect the progress of fresh Atlantic Water (AW) towards the channels and make possible the presence of high salinity values at intermediate waters at the south of Mallorca Island. Historical data from other oceanographic cruises carried out in the region are finally used to discuss the interannual variability of these mesoscale structures.     

The use of simulated drifters to estimate vorticity

A primitive equation ocean model is used to generate trajectories of simulated clusters of drifters in the California Current (CC) region. These trajectories allow us to evaluate a least squares (LS) method of estimating vorticity and vertical velocity along a cluster's path. Two clusters provide examples of successful and less successful estimates of vorticity and vertical velocity. Our analysis quantifies the dependence of estimate quality on several parameters that can be used as error predictors in the LS estimate of vorticity: cluster separation, number of drifters in a cluster, and cluster shape. A combination of cluster separation and ellipticity shows the most promise as an indicator of quality for the vorticity estimate.     

改进的BP神经网络在船舶与海洋工程中的应用研究

人工神经网络作为一个具有高度非线性映射能力的计算模型,在工程中具有广泛的应用前景.在数值预测方面,它不需要预选确定样本的数学模型,仅通过学习样本数据即可以进行预测.文章介绍了BP神经网络,并针对实际应用中收敛速度慢,平台效应等问题对网络进行了改进并优化,详尽地给出了改进的三层BP神经网络数值预测算法.为测试该算法.选用了著名的XOR(异或)问题和和一个高度非线性的0-1矩阵预测问题对其进行了验证.计算结果表明文中算法能给出令人满意的精度.最后结合船舶与海洋工程的两个实际问题,探讨了利用改进的BP神经网络进行数值预测的方法和应该注意的问题,并给出了一些有益的建议.实践表明,文中给出的改进的BP神经网络数值预测算法值得在船舶与海洋工程中加以应用并推广.     

Exploring relationships between recruitment of European hake (Merluccius merluccius L. 1758) and environmental factors in the Ligurian Sea and the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean)

This paper explores the relationships between the spatial patterns of the distribution of the young hakes of the year (YOY) and the oceanographical features in two areas of the Central Mediterranean (the Ligurian Sea and the Strait of Sicily), characterised by the occurrence of straits and channels. Comparative and correlative approaches were used to investigate coupling between biological and physical patterns. Density indices of the YOY were derived from annual trawl surveys from 1994 to 2004 in spring and autumn. Mean patterns of the YOY distributions were compared with the mesoscale oceanographical features reported in literature. No evident trends in recruitment strength were found in either areas. Inter-annual variability in YOY abundance in the Ligurian Sea was higher than in the Strait of Sicily. The location of nursery grounds in the study areas coincides with zones of relatively higher production, where upwelling and other enrichment processes regularly occur. The presence of predictable eddies and the frontal systems play a major role in the localization of nursery areas in the Strait of Sicily, maintaining their stable position throughout the years. The strongest transport of southern waters from the Tyrrhenian to the Ligurian Sea, due to the East Corsica Current, which is negatively correlated to winter North Atlantic Oscillation, is associated with the highest abundance of hake recruits in the nurseries of the Northern Ligurian Sea.     

海洋环境要素区划技术研究

将中国近海现有海洋环境要素的观测数据有机地融合起来进行区域划分,对实现传统导航信息与海洋环境辅助信息合理地结合,提高船舶航行的安全性有重要的意义。以对船舶航行影响最大的海流要素为例,采用主因子分析的方法将24个量测指标综合成4个主因子,既简化运算又不失真地反映真实海况。通过方差最大正交旋转对荷载矩阵进行处理使其列向量两极分化,以分析影响各个主因子的主要指标。最后,利用4个主因子在各采样点的得分数将中国东海、南海划分为六个区域。此结果弥补了物理海洋学方法对海洋环境要素小尺度预报精度的不足,为船舶航行提供全域背景和信息决策指导。     

南黄海辐射沙脊群西洋水道质点示踪数值模拟

基于二维水动力数学模型和现有西洋垂线流速分布公式,运用Lagrange质点示踪法计算分析了南黄海辐射沙脊群北部西洋水域的质点运动轨迹,并与投放到该海域的GPS漂流浮标运动轨迹作比较,计算结果与实测浮标漂流轨迹吻合良好。模拟结果表明,西洋水域的涨潮表层流速最大可达3.5 m/s,落潮流速最大可达2.0 m/s,水质点运动主要沿着主槽方向,当质点运动到潮流沙脊区域,其运动会发生偏移,Lagrange余流方向指向南面。