Adapting the light · biomass (BZI) models of phytoplankton primary production to shallow marine ecosystems

Several authors have reported a strong linear relationship between daily phytoplankton production and the product of chlorophyll biomass, photic depth, and incident irradiance for a variety of estuaries. This “light · biomass” (BZ_pI_o) formulation has been proposed as an alternative to traditional mechanistic approaches for computing phytoplankton production in numerical estuarine models. One limitation to their application in shallow systems is that the BZ_pI_o models have been developed in relatively deep estuaries where light does not reach the bottom. We propose a nonlinear correction factor to adapt the BZ_pI_o relationship to shallow systems where light does reach the bottom. Our function takes into account variations in incident irradiance, attenuation coefficient for light, photosynthetic efficiency, and maximum rate of photosynthesis. A series of correction polynomials are proposed for various ranges of incident irradiance, and are integrated into a single multiple polynomial which applies across all irradiance levels. Our new correction factor was tested against a ¹⁴C-based productivity dataset from shallow stations in Narragansett Bay, RI and an O₂-based dataset from shallow (1.1 m) lagoon mesocosms at the University of Rhode Island. Results showed that our polynomials accurately correct BZ_pI_o-predicted rates of production in shallow water columns. Application of our correction factor to a series of shallow water productivity datasets from the literature together with theoretical calculations show how significant the shallow water correction can be, especially in very shallow water columns with low turbidity.     

A Simplified Model for the Effect of Weld-Induced Residual Stresses on the Axial Ultimate Strength of Stiffened Plates

The present work investigates the compressive axial ultimate strength of fillet-welded steel-plated ship structures subjected to uniaxial compression, in which the residual stresses in the welded plates are calculated by a thermo-elasto-plastic finite element analysis that is used to fit an idealized model of residual stress distribution. The numerical results of ultimate strength based on the simplified model of residual stress show good agreement with those of various methods including the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Common Structural Rules (CSR), leading to the conclusion that the simplified model can be effectively used to represent the distribution of residual stresses in steel-plated structures in a wide range of engineering applications. It is concluded that the widths of the tension zones in the welded plates have a quasi-linear behavior with respect to the plate slenderness. The effect of residual stress on the axial strength of the stiffened plate is analyzed and discussed.     

CFD Analysis of Ship-to-Ship Hydrodynamic Interaction

A numerical study of ship-to-ship interaction forces is performed using a commercial CFD code, and the results are compared with experimental data and with the results of a panel method analysis. Two ship models have been used in the interaction forces analysis: a tug and a tanker, advancing parallel to each other with different lateral distances and two different values of the fluid depth. Computations are carried out with four different flow models: inviscid and viscous flow with the free surface modeled as a rigid wall and inviscid and viscous flow with the deformable free surface. A fair agreement was obtained with available experimental data and results obtained by panel method. The influence of viscosity in the computations is found to be comparatively weak, while the wavemaking effects may be important, at small magnitude of the horizontal clearance.     

Physical–biological coupling in spore dispersal of kelp forest macroalgae

The physical–biological linkages controlling the dispersal of spores produced by macroalgae that reside in kelp forests are complicated and laced with feedbacks. Here we discuss the fundamental elements of these interactions. Biological considerations include spore swimming and sinking speeds, their periods of viability in the plankton, and the height of spore release above the seafloor, which together determine the durations over which spores can be swept by horizontal currents before they contact the seafloor. Morphologies and material properties of canopy forming kelps may also influence the drag exerted on passing waters by the kelps, the plants' ability to persist in the face of rapid flows, and thereby the degree to which impinging currents are redirected around, or slowed within, kelp forests. Macroalgal life histories, and the size of spore sources as controlled by the dimensions of kelp forests and the density and fecundity of individuals within them, influence effective dispersal distances as well. Physical considerations encompass the mean speed, direction, and timescales of variability of currents relative to spore suspension times, the interaction of surface gravity waves with currents in producing turbulence in the benthic boundary layer, wind-driven surface mixing, water stratification, and shoreline bathymetry and substratum roughness, all of which can affect the interplay of vertical and horizontal transport of macroalgal spores. Intricate within-forest processes may induce attenuation of current speeds and consequent reductions in seabed shear, along with simultaneous production of small-scale turbulence in kelp wakes. Slower mean currents and smaller eddy scales in turn may attenuate vertical mixing within forests, thus extending spore suspension times. Further complexities likely arise due to changes in the relative rates of horizontal and vertical dispersion, modifications to the overall profiles of vertical mixing, and the creation of fine-scale secondary flows around kelp individuals and substratum features. Under conditions of more rapid currents, submergence of the surface canopy and the establishment of skimming flows at the canopy–fluid interface may introduce additional coherent flow structures that alter rates of fluid exchange to and from the forest. Many of these coupled physical–biological processes are just beginning to be examined in a rigorous fashion in kelp forests, but their potential importance is clear.     

Long-term changes of inorganic nutrients in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy)

The paper aims at investigating the trends of the concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorous in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy, in the last 35 years. The trend analysis of ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and reactive phosphorus (RP) yielded rather different results. The decrease in ammonia nitrogen concentration, in particular, in the basin influenced by severe industrial discharges, is accurately described by a negative exponential model. The nitrate concentration did not show significant interannual trends, while wide seasonal variations have been detected. Reactive phosphorus concentration increased until the end of the 1970s at the stations close to the industrial area as well as in those influenced by river discharges and by sewages of the city of Venice. The sudden decrease that followed was most likely related with environmental policies, namely the improvement of wastewater purification treatments and the regulation of phosphorus use in detergents.     

Performance of Two Types of Mooring Systems in the Heave Motion of a Two-body Floating Wave Energy Converter

Journal of Marine Science and Application - This work investigated the influence of two types of mooring systems on the hydrodynamic performance of a two-body floating wave energy converter (WEC)....     

The importance of oceanographic fronts to marine birds and mammals of the southern oceans

During the last 30 years, at-sea studies of seabirds and marine mammals in the oceans south of the Subtropical Front have described an association with major frontal areas. More recently, the advancement in microtechnology has allowed the tracking of individuals and investigations into how these marine predators actually use the frontal zones. In this review, we examine 1) the relative importance to apex predators of the different frontal zones in terms of spatial distribution and carbon flux; 2) the processes that determine their preferential use; and 3) how the mesoscale dynamics of frontal structures drive at-sea foraging strategies of these predators. We review published results from southern waters and place them in a broader context with respect to what has been learned about the importance of fronts in oceans farther north.Some fronts constitute important boundaries for seabird communities in southern waters. At a mesoscale the maximum values of seabird diversity and abundance correspond to the location of the main fronts. At-sea surveys show a strong curvilinear correlation between seabird abundance and sea surface temperatures. High mean species richness and diversity for whales and seabirds are consistently associated with the southern water mass boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Subtropical Front and the Subantarctic Front; in the case of the Polar Front mean seabird densities are more variable. At small-scales, variation in seabird occurrence has been directly related to the processes at fronts in a limited number of cases. A significant positive relation was found between some plankton feeding species and frontal temperature gradient–phytoplankton variables.Telemetric studies have revealed that several apex predators (penguins, albatrosses, seals) perform long, directed foraging trips either to the Subtropical front or Polar Front, depending on locality. Seabirds with low flight costs, such as albatrosses, are able to reach fronts at long distances from colonies, showing variable foraging strategies as a function of the distances involved. Diving birds such as King penguins, that travel at a higher cost and lower speed, rely on the predictable spatial distribution of mesopelagic fish found close to the Polar Front. They may use the currents associated with eddies as oceanographic cues in the active search for frontal zones. Once in these areas they dive preferentially in and below the depth of the thermocline where catches per unit effort are high. Elephant seals concentrate foraging activity principally inside or at the boundary of cyclonic eddies. These mesoscale features appear to offer exceptional productivity favourable for foraging by various diving top predators.The connection between biophysical parameters at fronts and predators is likely to be made through biological enhancement. Top predators appear to forage at locations where prey are advected by physical processes and others where prey are produced locally. Long-term research on at-sea distributions and demographic parameters of top predators are essential to assess the consequences of potential shift in front distributions in relation to global warming. Such environmental changes would add to the impact of fish extraction by the industrial fisheries on the southern food webs.     

The structure of dissipation in the western Irish Sea front

We report on an intensive campaign in the summer of 2006 to observe turbulent energy dissipation in the vicinity of a tidal mixing front which separates well mixed and seasonally stratified regimes in the western Irish Sea. The rate of turbulent dissipation ε was observed on a section across the front by a combination of vertical profiles with the FLY dissipation profiler and horizontal profiles by shear sensors mounted on an AUV (Autosub). Mean flow conditions and stratification were obtained from a bed mounted ADCP and a vertical chain of thermistors on a mooring. During an Autosub mission of 60 h, the vehicle, moving at a speed of ~ 1.2 m s^− 1, completed 10 useable frontal crossings between end points which were allowed to move with the mean flow. The results were combined with parallel measurements of the vertical profile of ε which were made using FLY for periods of up to 13 h at positions along the Autosub track. The two data sets, which show a satisfactory degree of consistency, were combined to elucidate the space–time variation of dissipation in the frontal zone. Using harmonic analysis, the spatial structure of dissipation was separated from the strong time dependent signal at the M₄ tidal frequency to yield a picture of the cross-frontal distribution of energy dissipation. A complementary picture of the frontal velocity field was obtained from a moored ADCP and estimates of the mean velocity derived from the thermal wind using the observed density distribution. which indicated the presence of a strong (0.2 m s^− 1) jet-like flow in the high gradient region of the front. Under neap tidal conditions, mean dissipation varied across the section by 3 orders of magnitude exceeding 10^− 2 W m^− 3 near the seabed in the mixed regime and decreasing to 10^− 5 W m^− 3. in the strongly stratified interior regime. The spatial pattern of dissipation is consistent in general form with the predictions of models of tidal mixing and does not reflect any strong influence by the frontal jet.     

An algorithm for oceanic front detection in chlorophyll and SST satellite imagery

An algorithm is described for oceanic front detection in chlorophyll (Chl) and sea surface temperature (SST) satellite imagery. The algorithm is based on a gradient approach: the main novelty is a shape-preserving, scale-sensitive, contextual median filter applied selectively and iteratively until convergence. This filter has been developed specifically for Chl since these fields have spatial patterns such as chlorophyll enhancement at thermohaline fronts and small- and meso-scale chlorophyll blooms that are not present in SST fields. Linear Chl enhancements and localized (point-wise) blooms are modeled as ridges and peaks respectively, whereas conventional fronts in Chl and SST fields are modeled as steps or ramps. Examples are presented of the algorithm performance using modeled (synthetic) images as well as synoptic Chl and SST imagery. After testing, the algorithm was used on > 6000 synoptic images, 1999–2007, to produce climatologies of Chl and SST fronts off the U.S. Northeast.     

Survey of ship platoon cooperative control北大核心CSCD

船舶列队是未来水路运输的重要方式。分析船舶列队协同控制的特点和原理;从船−岸协同交互、列队控制模型、列队运动控制、列队典型应用等4个方面分别进行现状分析与梳理。总结当前船舶列队控制技术瓶颈,包括人机共驾控制、列队控制运动不确定性建模、列队协同控制一致性、通信受限下船舶列队鲁棒控制及一致性控制等。最后,指出未来的船舶列队协同控制发展,应重点解决基于数据驱动与机理融合的列队运动建模、基于生物群体机制的船舶列队控制、基于分层控制的船舶列队控制等关键问题。