Errors in dynamical fields inferred from oceanographic cruise data: Part I. The impact of observation errors and the sampling distribution

Diagnostic studies of ocean dynamics based on the analysis of oceanographic cruise data are usually quite sensitive to observation errors, to the station distribution and to the synopticity of the sampling. Here we present an error analysis of the first two sources. The third one is evaluated in Part II of this work (J. Mar. Sys. (2005), this issue). For observed variables and those linearly related to them, we use the Optimal Statistical Interpolation (OI) formulation. For variables which are not linearly related to observed variables (e.g., the vertical velocity), we carry out numerical experiments in a consistent way with OI statistics. Best results are obtained when some kind of scale selection or spatial filtering is applied in order to suppress small scales that cannot be properly resolved by the station distribution.The formulation is first applied to a high resolution (SeaSoar) sampling aimed to the recovery of mesoscale features in a region of large spatial variability (noise-to-signal fraction of the order of 0.002). Fractional errors (rms error divided by the standard deviation of the field) are estimated in about 2% for dynamic height and between 4% and 20% for geostrophic vorticity and vertical velocity. For observed variables, observation errors and sampling limitations are shown to contribute in similar amounts to total errors. For derived variables, sampling errors are by far the dominant contribution. For less dense samplings (e.g., equally spaced CTD stations), fractional errors are about 6% for dynamic height and between 15% and 30% for geostrophic vorticity and vertical velocity. For this sampling strategy, errors of all variables are mostly associated with sampling limitations.     

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.     

Quasi-simultaneous observation of currents,salinity and nutrients in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) plume on the tidal timescale

During both the spring- and the neap-tide periods of November 2005, quasi-simultaneous observations were carried out by six boats over 26 h at 12 stations in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) plume. The simultaneous observations provided the actual distribution isopleths of salinity and nutrients that displayed considerable intra-tidal variations at surface, especially in the southeastern section of the study area. The lack of synopticity in sampling might lead to large discrepancies of the interpolated contours of salinity from the actual distribution isopleths. No clear flood-ebb asymmetry of salinity stratification was observed; whereas at inner stations, surface-to-bottom bulk velocity difference (current layering) always tended to be greater during the ebb fraction of a semidiurnal cycle. At a given station, the weaker neap tides commonly induced stronger salinity stratification, less intra-tidal variability of salinity and nutrients, and less intrusion of bottom saltwater. Nutrients (SiO₃^2?, NO₃^?, and PO₄^3?) showed more nonconservative behaviors during the neap tides, presumably as a result of the prolonged residence time of seawater and decreased suspended particulate matter levels than during the spring tides.     

Impact of forcing errors in the CAMCAT oil spill forecasting system. A sensitivity study

The CAMCAT oil spill forecasting system is presented in this paper, and an evaluation of the impact of errors in the forcing fields over its forecasts is carried out. The system is formed by several independent modules which provide forecasts of winds, currents and waves to an oil spill module which predicts the evolution of the spill.The typical twin-experiments experience is used paying special attention to a realistic characterization of the errors when perturbing the forcing fields. The results suggest that errors in the wind and current fields are the main limiting factor for the quality of the oil spill forecasts. The pollutant identification is also crucial to determine the final vertical position and characteristics of the product.     

Measurements of a small scale eddy at a tidal inlet using an unmanned automated boat

An unmanned automated boat equipped with an acoustic Doppler current profiler was used in field surveys at a tidal inlet, the Southwest Pass of Vermillion Bay, Louisiana on Sept 6 and Oct 6, 2007. During the first survey, under calm weather conditions, a small scale eddy with a diameter of 300 m was discovered with strong upwelling and downwelling zones. A detailed analysis of this small eddy shows that the eddy's velocity field is relatively uniform in the vertical and the eddy is formed by a flow convergence, tidal velocity shear induced relative vorticity, and the interaction between the horizontal flows and bathymetry. The major upwelling area is where an uphill flow occurs while the major downwelling area is where a downhill flow occurs. The vorticity of this eddy is on the order of 0.013 s^? 1, which is two orders-of-magnitude larger than the planetary vorticity, and one-order-of magnitude larger than that in a typical tidal inlet without eddies. The Coriolis effect is thus insignificant and the generation of the eddy cannot be affected by the earth rotation. The maximum upwelling and downwelling velocities exceed 0.3 m/s. This high vertical velocity in a tidal inlet does not appear to have been reported before. The second survey, conducted under a thunder storm condition, did not reveal a similar eddy at the same location during roughly the same tidal phase. Though the measurements of 3-D flow structure under a thunder storm condition in a tidal channel does not appear to have been reported before, the second survey is of important value in providing support of the mechanism of the eddy formation during the first survey: the wind tends to produce downwind flow in shallow water than in deep water, producing a velocity shear counterproductive to the formation of the eddy. Therefore, the second survey under a thunder storm condition did not show an eddy. A scaling analysis of the non-hydrostatic flow shows that the uphill and downhill flows introduce a non-hydrostatic flow component proportional to the square of the bottom slope which leads to the conclusion that the non-hydrostatic flow component affects less than 10% of the vertical momentum balance.     

Numerical investigation of turbulence near a sheared air–water interface. Part 2: Interaction of turbulent shear flow with surface waves

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the interactions between turbulent shear flow and surface waves are presented. The formation mechanism of Langmuir circulation and its contribution to the vertical momentum transport are investigated in detail. The effect of surface waves is modeled in two ways in the LES runs. One model includes only the phase-averaged effect of the waves as an added source term in the momentum equation, and the other model includes the full effect of the waves by use of the fully nonlinear conditions of the air-water interface. Langmuir circulations are clearly indicated in both cases, indicating that the phase-averaged effect is essential for the formation of this circulation. It is shown that the formation of Langmuir circulations enhances the vertical transport of momentum. As a result, the mean velocity gradient and the streamwise component of the turbulence intensity are decreased, while the spanwise and interface normal components are increased. Examination of the turbulence energy budget equations shows that production is due to the interaction between the vorticity and the Lagrangian drift as the phase-averaged effect of the wave becomes the dominant source of turbulence. Received: August 17, 2000 / Accepted: December 22, 2000     

Assimilation of buoy and satellite data in wave forecasts with integral control variables

The quality of numerical wave forecasts can be improved significantly by assimilating wave observations prior to the forecast. In the present study a technique for such assimilation is developed that exploits (a) the efficiency of a limited number of integral control variables, and (b) the effectiveness of variational (model-consistent) assimilation. The formal procedure is independent of the type of control variables and of the wave model (moreover, no adjoint wave model is required). In the present study, integral control variables are chosen to represent large-scale errors in the driving wind fields and uncertainties in the wave model. The assimilation technique is validated with observations of the ERS-1 satellite altimeter and two waverider buoys in two consecutive storms in the Norwegian Sea. The assimilation of the observations reduced the errors in the forecasted significant wave height at the buoy locations typically from 25% to 12%. For low-frequency waves the effect of the assimilation is similarly significant at one buoy location but marginal at the other buoy location.     

深水勘察船提取设备波浪补偿系统研究

为减小深水勘察船在勘察作业时受风浪的摇摆和升沉运动对基盘提取设备的影响,根据对3000m深水勘察船工况和结构参数要求的分析、计算,研制了深水勘察船基盘提取设备波浪补偿系统。应用Simulink动态系统的建模仿真功能对该补偿系统进行建模与仿真分析,得出波浪补偿系统位移响应仿真曲线,由仿真曲线可知系统运动范围明显减小,基本能实现基盘的补偿控制,从而降低了船舶的升沉运动对基盘的影响。     

Modelling of hydrodynamic circulation in Benoa Bay, Bali

A simulation of water level, velocity, salinity, and temperature in the Bay of Benoa has been carried out using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic Estuarine and Coastal Ocean Model incorporating a main characteristic of southward transport of the Indonesian throughflow at the offshore area of the bay. In other respects, two types of boundary conditions have been tested: (1) specifying elevation at all boundaries; and (2) implementing a combination of elevation and velocity at the boundaries. Performance of the model results has been quantified in terms of mean absolute errors, root-mean square errors, and correlation coefficients based on the availability of water level and current data. The general agreement between simulated and observed values of water elevation and currents is encouraging. Errors in computed water levels are less than 5 % of the local tidal range, and correlations between the data and model exceed 0.95. Meanwhile, errors and correlations for simulated currents are less than 22 % and are about 0.75, respectively.     

不规则波作用下带基床直立堤平均越浪量试验研究

针对不规则波作用下带基床直立堤的平均越浪量问题,采用物理模型试验的方法,对堤顶超高、波高、周期以及基床等因素对越浪量的影响进行了研究。结果表明:堤顶超高和周期是直立堤平均越浪量的重要影响因素。当基床相对宽度B_t/H_s=1～4. 7时,基床宽度对平均越浪量的影响有限。同时,平均越浪量随着基床影响系数h~*的增大先增大后迅速减小,在h~*=15附近出现峰值,而在h~*=30之后基本不变。根据试验结果,提出了直立堤平均越浪量计算方法,为实际工程设计提供参考。     

Numerical solutions for a two-dimensional airfoil undergoing unsteady motion

Continuous vorticity panels are used to model general unsteady inviscid, incompressible, and two-dimensional flows. The geometry of the airfoil is approximated by series of short straight segments having endpoints that lie on the actual surface. A piecewise linear, continuous distribution of vorticity over the airfoil surface is used to generate disturbance flow. The no-penetration condition is imposed at the midpoint of each segment and at discrete times. The wake is simulated by a system of point vortices, which move at local fluid velocity. At each time step, a new wake panel with uniform vorticity distribution is attached to the trailing edge, and the condition of constant circulation around the airfoil and wake is imposed. A new expression for Kutta condition is developed to study (i) the effect of thickness on the lift build-up of an impulsively started airfoil, (ii) the effects of reduced frequency and heave amplitude on the thrust production of flapping airfoils, and (iii) the vortex-airfoil interaction. This work presents some hydrodynamic results for tidalstream turbine.     

基于单一线列阵的水下测速技术研究

利用水下声音可有效传播特征,提出了利用单一线列阵测试水下运动目标速度的方法．利用不同时刻运动目标和线列阵之间的几何关系,建立了速度测试的数学模型．本文介绍了最大拟然算法和信号相位匹配原理算法,用于高精度求解运动目标的方位角（DOA）．对速度测试误差影响的关键因素进行了分析,提出了测试系统组成：在运动目标相隔一定距离部位上安装两发射不同频率的换能器,在距运动目标不远处布上装有电子罗盘和深度传感器的线列阵,同时配备有信号采集记录仪．推导了系统特别是线列阵的参数要求．考虑工程上实际误差并进行仿真计算,仿真计算表明,一个孔径小于1m的16元阵均匀线列阵的速度测试误差小于4％．消声水池和水库试验进一步验证了模型和仿真计算的正确性．     

Interaction of two-dimensional impulsively started airfoils

Continuous vortieity panels were used to model general unsteady inviscid, incompressible, two-dimensional flows. The geometry of the airfoil was approximated by series of short straight segments having endpoints that lie on the actual surface. A piecewise linear, continuous distribution of vorticity over the airfoil surface was used to generate disturbance flow. The no-penetration condition was imposed at the midpoint of each segment and at discrete times. The wake was simulated by a system of point vortices, which moved at local fluid velocity. At each time step, a new wake panel with uniform vortieity distribution was attached to the trailing edge, and the condition of constant circulation around the airfoil and wake was imposed. A new expression for Kutta condition was developed to study the interference effect between two impulsively started NACA0012 airfoils. The tandem arrangement was found to he the most effective to enhance the lift of the rear airfoil. The interference effect between tidal turbine blades was shown clearly.     

规则波作用下方形排柱附近水流特性数值模拟

为研究规则波作用下方形排柱附近流动特性,基于计算流体力学软件FLOW-3D,运用质量源造波方法,离散RNG k-ε方程控制下的雷诺时均Navier-Stokes方程建立无反射三维数值波浪水槽.与物理模型试验结果对比,建立的数值模型性能良好.运用数值计算结果,分析排柱周围自由表面三维运动特征和方形排柱周围速度场与涡量场分...     

Inertial waves in the Ibiza channel

Currentmeter data taken in the Ibiza Channel show the almost permanent presence of near-inertial motions below the mixed layer. They correspond to downwards progressing waves with a vertical group velocity of some m/day. The presence of the Balearic Front sensibly affects the propagation of these inertial waves. Although situations exist in which the passage of atmospheric fronts along the Channel is clearly the generating force of these near-inertial motions we find others in which the energy density in mid-depths is higher than in any other depth. These last situations are closely related to the arrival to the Channel of some of the different water masses which flow around there. A clear correspondence between the presence of relatively strong inertial waves and a noticeable vertical shear of the subinertial flow, evidenced by an averaged Richardson number, is also observed. In some circumstances, the vertical shear of the whole flow (inertial plus subinertial) is higher than the stability limit, that is, Ri < 0.25, favoring the braking of the internal waves. This could be a plausible cause of their decay and a reason to explain why they do not penetrate further than certain depths.     

垂直及斜出水流场的二维及三维TR-PIV试验

本文对钝头回转体垂直及斜出水流场采用TR-(Time-Resolved)PIV技术进行测量,并对斜出水流场进行3D-Stereo PIV(三维体视 PIV)测量.文中介绍了测试技术及测量结果,揭示了出水过程中流动结构及其演变,展示了TR-PIV技术对具有瞬态历程特征的出水流场研究的适应性.     

Investigation of ship waves in a narrow channel

This paper presents a discussion of the characteristics of ship waves in a narrow channel restricted by vertical walls, based on observed data and the results computed by a 2-D model. In the numerical model, the propagation of waves generated by a moving ship is simulated by solving 2-D depth-integrated Boussinesq equations. To get the boundary conditions at the location of the ship, the slender-ship approximation is employed. A field observation was carried out at a straight length of navigation channel. The ships targeted in the observations are two kinds of waterbuses with lengths of 28 and 24 m. The relative depth Froude number for the river current, an appropriate parameter for assessing the influence of the current on ship wave characteristics in a navigation channel, ranged from 0.47 to 0.76. The observed maximum wave height varied between 0.13 and 1.26 m. The maximum wave height of the wave train is sharply increased when the relative depth Froude number exceeds 0.6. The results computed by the present model agree fairly well with the observed data.     

Evolution of the open-sea eddy ALGERS'98 in the Algerian Basin with Lagrangian trajectories and remote sensing observations

The westward evolution of an open-sea anticyclonic eddy along the western Algerian Basin is shown, for the first time, by means of 15 buoy trajectories and remote sensing observations. For 3 months, the buoy trajectories described several anticyclonic loops in periods of 4–21 days. The eddy's movement, translation, and rotation were separated with a kinematic model, resulting in a mean translation speed of 2 km/day, which fits the self-propulsion speed predicted on theoretical models for isolated eddies on a beta plane. Fluctuations in translation speed were associated with advection of the mean flow and topographic interactions. Both mechanisms changed the eddy's horizontal shape from circular to elliptical, inducing fluctuations in its swirl velocity and solid-body rotation. The initial stage of the eddy is an isolated asymmetric dipole, comprised by a small cyclone and a large anticyclone, the latter generated from a frontal instability, which under the Coriolis term acquires anticyclonic relative vorticity. During its first days of life, the anticyclonic eddy was shallow Ro=0.9 and small (diameter less than 50 km). Later on, it reached a diameter of 150 km and a vertical structure of 3 km (Ro=0.1). A retrospective analysis with infrared images shows that the eddy's generation took place at about 3–4°E. Then, the eddy completed a counterclockwise circuit never before reported in other studies and ended up at the entrance of the Algerian Basin, where the interaction with the topography and the coastal instability induced its decay. The eddy's life span was 10 months. Computations of the heating rate following clusters of buoy trajectories show fluctuations throughout the eddy's journey, induced by advection and a seasonal warming.     

空化模型在非定常空化流动计算的应用评价与分析

文章基于试验观测数据评价了Kubota与Singhal两种空化模型在非定常云状空化流动数值模拟中的应用。采用商业软件的二次开发技术将两种空化模型引入了计算软件,针对绕Clark-Y水翼的云状空化流动进行数值计算,并与水洞试验结果进行了对比。结果表明,两种空化模型计算的云状空化阶段的流场时均速度分布以及涡量分布具有明显的不同。采用Singhal空化模型可以得到和试验观测更加相近的空化旋涡区与空泡云的旋涡分离的脱落形式。     

Recovery of North-East Atlantic temperature fields from profiling floats: Determination of the optimal float number from sampling and instrumental error analysis

Argo is an international project that is deploying an array of temperature and salinity profiling floats over the global ocean. Here we use the error formulation derived from Optimal Statistical Interpolation to estimate statistical errors associated with the recovery of the temperature field in the North-East Atlantic ocean. Results indicate that with the present distribution of floats (119 in the considered domain), scales of wavelength larger than 500 km can be recovered with a relative uncertainty (rms error relative to the standard deviation of the field) of about 7% at 50 m, 8% at 200 m and 10% at 1000 m. This corresponds to mean absolute errors of 0.111 °C at 50 m, 0.104 °C at 200 m and 0.073 °C at 1000 m.The splitting of total errors into instrumental and sampling contributions reveals that, in the present scenario, errors are more due to the small number of floats than to instrumental errors, especially at upper levels. For scales larger than 500 km this will hold true until 200–250 floats are deployed (less than 200 for deep levels). In such a simulated scenario, the number of observations and the technology become approximately equally limiting factors for the accuracy of the temperature field mapping, with total relative errors of less than 2% at upper levels and about 3% at 1000 m.