Variability of the western Galician upwelling system (NW Spain) during an intensively sampled annual cycle. An EOF analysis approach

The key features of the western Galician shelf hydrography and dynamics are analyzed on a solid statistical and experimental basis. The results allowed us to gather together information dispersed in previous oceanographic works of the region. Empirical orthogonal functions analysis and a canonical correlation analysis were applied to a high-resolution dataset collected from 47 surveys done on a weekly frequency from May 2001 to May 2002. The main results of these analyses are summarized bellow. Salinity, temperature and the meridional component of the residual current are correlated with the relevant local forcings (the meridional coastal wind component and the continental run-off) and with a remote forcing (the meridional temperature gradient at latitude 37°N). About 80% of the salinity and temperature total variability over the shelf, and 37% of the residual meridional current total variability are explained by two EOFs for each variable. Up to 22% of the temperature total variability and 14% of the residual meridional current total variability is devoted to the set up of cross-shore gradients of the thermohaline properties caused by the wind-induced Ekman transport. Up to 11% and 10%, respectively, is related to the variability of the meridional temperature gradient at the Western Iberian Winter Front. About 30% of the temperature total variability can be explained by the development and erosion of the seasonal thermocline and by the seasonal variability of the thermohaline properties of the central waters. This thermocline presented unexpected low salinity values due to the trapping during spring and summer of the high continental inputs from the River Miño recorded in 2001. The low salinity plumes can be traced on the Galician shelf during almost all the annual cycle; they tend to be extended throughout the entire water column under downwelling conditions and concentrate in the surface layer when upwelling favourable winds blow. Our evidences point to the meridional temperature gradient acting as an important controlling factor of the central waters thermohaline properties and in the development and decay of the Iberian Poleward Current.     

Hoop stress approximation in offshore design codes

For a circular cylindrical vessel with an elastic material, Lame equations can accurately predict hoop stress variation within the vessel wall. However, because of the complexity involved in Lame formulations they are seldom used in design. In this paper, Lame equations are reproduced in terms of vessel outer and material cross-sectional areas and presented in a very simple format that enables hoop stress calculation without use of any approximation. Lame equations are also presented in terms of diameter-to-wall-thickness ratios in order to perform parametric studies. For a practical range of diameter-to-wall-thickness ratios the Lame hoop stress predictions are compared with approximate solutions of a selected design codes. For a range of loading conditions, comparison of results shows that a number of design codes overestimate the hoop stress. In contrast, a selection of offshore codes is shown to underestimate the hoop stress and, for a certain loading condition some codes ignore the hoop stress effect completely. The present paper also shows how the hoop stress approximation may lead to onerous results when the true wall axial stress is derived based on design code hoop stress formulations. It is concluded that what makes the present hoop stress formulations so important in design is their ability to interpret the mechanics of behavior that Lame equations strived to reveal.     

Recent sedimentary study of the shelf of the Basque country

The Northern Iberian margin of the Spanish Basque country (provinces of Gipuzkoa and Viscaia) is characterized by a narrow continental platform, which receives inputs of riverine particulate matter from the numerous riverine systems located within the Basque country. This particulate matter is subsequently deposited within the Bay of Biscay, and Gouf de Capbreton [Frouin, R., Fiuza, A.F.G., Ambar, I., Boyd, T.J., 1990. Observations of a poleward surface current off the coasts of Portugal and Spain during winter. Journal of Geophysical Research 95 (C1), 679–691]. The main goal of this study is to establish a map of the surface sediment distribution of the Basque continental shelf and more specifically to map the muddy patch located at the eastern side of that continental shelf.Three oceanographic cruises were conducted in 2003 and 2004. From these campaigns 340 surface samples, 12 short cores and 3 gravity cores have been collected over the mid and outer shelf from depths ranging between 50 m and 150 m deep. 3 seismic profiles were obtained across the shelf mud patch using a Sparker device.Sediment grain-size analyses were performed by the classical physical method of sieving and use of settling columns. The POC (Particular Organic Carbon) amounts in sediment and water samples were determined using the Strickland and Parsons' method [Strickland, J.D.H., Parsons, T.R., 1972. Determination of particulate carbon. In : A practical handbook of seawater analysis. Fisheries ResearchBoard of Canada, Ottawa, pp. 207−211] as adapted by Etcheber [Etcheber, H., 1981. Comparaison des diverses méthodes d'évaluation des teneurs en matières en suspension et en carbone organique particulaire des eaux marines du plateau continental aquitain. Journal de Recherche Océanographique VI (2), 37−42]. Radioisotopic measurements (²¹⁰Pb_exc) were made using a semi-planar germanium detector coupled to a multichannel analyser. Radiographical analysis was performed with an X-ray equipment (SCOPIX®) coupled with a radioscopy instrumentation and processing unit.Firstly, a detailed sedimentological map of this shelf has been produced and secondly, geophysical surveys have precisely mapped the geometry of the main mud patch on the continental shelf. In the mud patch itself the rates of sedimentation are between 0.13 and 0.50 cm yr^− 1. The maximum rate of sedimentation is located in the central mud patch, whereas the minimum rate of deposition occurs close to the rocky outcrops. These results seem to be in agreement with the estimation of the total thickness of the mud patch revealed by seismic profiles. The central part corresponds to the maximum thickness of 7 m.Interpretations of the associated oceanic current forcing factors (current direction, wave fetch and wind directional modes) relating to the identified sediment depositional zones are also undertaken.     

Habitat characteristics as determinant of the structure and spatial distribution of epibenthic and demersal communities of Le Danois Bank (Cantabrian Sea, N. Spain)

The purpose of this paper is to detect and describe general trends in the spatial distribution of epibenthic and demersal communities of Le Danois Bank (El Cachucho) in relation to the environmental variables that characterize their habitat by means of multivariate ordination. Data were derived from two multidisciplinary surveys carried out in October 2003 and April 2004 included in the ECOMARG project. The surveys were focused on the study of the physical scenario, including both geological (seabed characterization from bathymetry and backscatter data) and hydrographic features, and the different compartments of the benthic fauna (endobenthic, epibenthic, suprabenthic and demersal communities). For the present study, epibenthos and demersal species were sampled using two different gears, a 3.5 m beam trawl and a Porcupine 39/52 type baca otter trawl respectively. The total species richness combining both samplers ascended to 221, including 71 species of fishes, 65 crustaceans, 35 molluscs, 29 echinoderms, 10 cnidarians and 5 sponges.Multivariate methods were used for the study of the characteristics of communities and habitats. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to calculate and visualize similarities between samples in terms of species composition. To assess the amount of variation of faunal densities related to a set of eight environmental variables, a redundancy analysis (RDA) was used. The set of environmental variables used were: depth, near-bottom temperature and salinity, sedimentary typology (dry weight percentages of coarse sands, medium and fine sands, silt and organic matter) and seafloor reflectivity. Using the spatial distribution of the ranges of depth and seafloor reflectivity that characterize the habitats of the faunal assemblages we defined the spatial distribution of the different communities.The multivariate analysis of 18 beam-trawl samples and 15 otter trawl samples showed the existence of 4 main assemblages associated with the more characteristic habitats of the area. The Callogorgia–Chimaera community live mainly in the areas at the top of the Bank (425–550 m depth), where the sediment coverage is lower and there exists a high presence of rocky outcrops. The Gryphus–Galeus community were found in the areas at the top of the Bank covered by medium and fine sand sediments with low organic matter content. The Phormosoma–Trachyrincus community live on the sedimentary terraces that characterize the Bank break (550–800 m) and the Pheronema–Deania community occupy all the deeper (800–1050 m) sedimentary grounds of the inner basin.     

Glacial–interglacial changes in the accumulation rates of major biogenic components in Southern Indian Ocean sediments

In this study we compare major biogenic components (opal-A, carbonate, and organic carbon) and authigenic uranium accumulation rates from the southeastern Indian Ocean for both Holocene and glacial periods. Integrated accumulation rates across the whole Indian sector of the Southern Ocean indicate that the burial of organic carbon which is held approximately constant, contrasts with lower biogenic silica and carbonate burial rates during glacial intervals. In addition, higher glacial accumulation rates of authigenic uranium are found in the sediments of the Polar Front Zone (PFZ) and the Sub-Antarctic zone (SAZ) than anywhere in the modern Southern Ocean. This suggests more reducing conditions in the PFZ and SAZ during the last glacial maximum. The simplest explanation of a northward shift of the PFZ cannot explain such changes. Glacial sediment burial changes result probably from deep water decrease in oxygen levels and increase in CO₂ due to combination of two processes: (1) hydrologic changes and (2) continuous organic carbon export fluxes to the seafloor. Such shifts in chemical conditions could have enhanced the dissolution of carbonates and better preserved the organic carbon in sediments, leading in significant changes of biogenic silica/C_org and CaCO₃/C_org flux ratios.     

Wind-induced mesoscale circulation off the Ebro delta, NW Mediterranean: a numerical study

It is well known that the general circulation on the Catalan continental slope is dominated by a quasi-permanent southwestward geostrophic jet associated to the so-called Catalan front [Millot, C., 1987. Circulation in the western Mediterranean sea. Oceanol Acta 10, 143–149; Font, J., Salat, J., Tintoré, J., 1988. Permanent features of the circulation in the Catalan Sea. Oceanol. Acta 9, 51–57]. On the continental shelf, however, the flow is modified by the action of friction which enhances also other nonlinear interactions. Several authors have hypothesized that the shelf circulation is anticyclonic north of the Ebro delta [Salat, J., Manriquez, M., Cruzado, A., 1978. Hidrografia del golfo de Sant Jordi. Campaña Delta (Abril 1970). Investigación Pesquera 42 (2), 255–272; Ballester, A., Castellví, J., 1980. Estudio hidrográfico y biológico de las plataformas continentales españolas: I. Efecto de los efluentes de una planta de energía nuclear en el Golfo de San Jorge (Febrero 1975–Octubre 1976). Informes Técnicos del Instituto de Investigaciones Pesqueras 76, 70 pp.]. A quasi-3D finite element code based on the shallow-water equations has been used to explore the effect of several mechanisms which might be responsible for such a local circulation pattern, and in particular of wind. The obtained numerical results suggest that the basic anticyclonic structure of the mean flow is controlled by the bathymetry and that the clockwise-rotating mean flow pattern is not a permanent circulation feature. It is seen that the characteristic local wind stress fields—computed through interpolation of the records of a local network of meteo stations—may ‘enhance' or ‘delete' the anticyclonic gyre depending on the sign of their relative vorticity. According to the analysis of a 2-yr record of local wind data, the net contribution of wind events with a duration longer than 24 h is to reinforce the anticyclonic circulation (over 70% of these wind fields supply negative relative vorticity to the study area).     

Geochemical impacts of waste disposal on the abyssal seafloor

The response of pore water oxygen, nitrate, sulfate, sulfide, ammonium and methane and particulate organic carbon distributions to the input of 8.5 million m³ (3.8×10¹² g) of organic-rich waste materials is simulated. The deposit is assumed to be conical with a maximum thickness of approximately 20 m. Remineralization reactions within the deposit rapidly deplete any initially available pore water oxidants such as oxygen, nitrate and sulfate, and are subsequently dominated by fermentation reactions. Diffusion downward of reduced metabolites, sulfide, ammonium and methane, depletes the available oxidants in the pore waters below the waste pile, increasing the thickness of the anoxic layer. While the impacted region is limited to essentially the deposition site, recovery of the pore waters is estimated to be >10⁴ years. The overall computational results are corroborated by the pore water distributions observed at turbidite boundaries. Numerous uncertainties in the parameterizations limit the overall accuracy of the calculations presented. The most significant of these are: (1) A quantitatively accurate assessment of the remineralization rate of the deposited organic matter including its rate of inoculation by abyssal microorganisms; (2) a detailed assessment of potential non-diffusive pore water transport processes including advection due to compaction and buoyancy-driven flows and enhanced exchange due to macrobenthic irrigation activities and (3) an assessment of the potential alteration of pore space and methane reactivity due to gas hydrate formation.     

The drag on an airplane taking off from a floating runway

The motions of an infinitely long, two-dimensional runway subjected to the dynamic moving load imposed by an airplane taking off are investigated. The runway is assumed to be floating in an inviscid fluid and is initially at equilibrium before the plane takes off. The deformation of the runway resulting from the take-off is wave-like and moves in the same direction as the plane. The maximum drag occurs when the plane catches up with the first wave. Three different runway configurations were considered: a baseline and ones which were ten and one hundred times more flexible than the baseline. For these runways, the added drag to the aircraft was very small, ranging from 1% for the stiffest to 10% for the most flexible runway.     

A note on the age of radioactive tracers

The age of a water mass is often estimated experimentally using the radio-age computed from the distribution of a radioactive tracer (radiocarbon, helium–tritium). Deleersnijder et al. [J. Mar. Syst. 28 (2001) 229.] have shown that the radio-age underestimates the age of the water and is larger than the age of the radioactive tracer used for its evaluation. This result is generalized here to radio-ages computed from the ratio of two radioactive tracers. The differences between the different ages are also studied analytically and numerically as functions of the decay rate of the radioactive tracers.For small decay rates, the difference between the age of the water mass and the radio-age is shown to be proportional to the decay rate. It depends also on the level of mixing in the system; even radioactive tracers with small decay rates can provide poor estimates of the age of the water mass in a strongly diffusive flow. For small half lives, both the radio-age and the age of radioactive tracers decrease as the inverse of the square root of the decay rate.The same analysis applies to some extent to the estimates of the age of a water mass from stable tracers with known time dependent sources (e.g. chloroflurocarbons).     

Port strategic planning: Canadian port reform

Recent port reform established major commercial ports as Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) as federal non-profit, business corporations. Canadian port reform was aimed at allowing CPAs to compete effectively. Canada's major ports operate in an increasingly competitive business environment. To gain advantage over their competition, Canadian ports must develop business strategies dealing with their organizational cultures, institutional structures, operations, and facility provision. Developing appropriate strategies involves creating a strategic plan that considers external and internal port environments. This paper outlines the evolution of strategic planning and its applicability to Canadian ports. The initial literature review is followed by a brief review of Canadian port reform and an analysis of external and internal port environments. This analysis determines the resources available to exploit external opportunities and defend against threats, and considers the internal strengths and weaknesses of Canadian ports. A list of strategic issues facing Canadian ports and how the Canada Marine Act affected them is derived from the analysis.