Carbon flux in ice–ocean–plankton systems of the Bellingshausen Sea during a period of ice retreat

Most analyses of marine microbial systems in the seasonally ice covered areas of the Southern Ocean have been based on data from the major embayment areas of the Ross and Weddell Seas. In this study data were collected at stations covering a range of regimes from full ice cover through to open water in the Bellingshausen Sea. A major feature of the production system was a rapid retreat of the ice-edge, which uncoupled the marginal ice zone from a phytoplankton bloom which remained associated with a frontal system. This bloom was maintained, and probably initiated, in an unusual environment generated by the interaction between the marginal ice zone and the front. Size-based analyses of the microbial system were derived for ice-covered, recently ice-covered and open water sites. Estimates of standing stocks and key rate processes were combined to produce a single food web network for each station. The under-ice system was one of low production and low recycling but apparently high retention. As the ice retreated the microbial systems to the north began to develop, but these were constrained by grazing pressure. The bloom in the area appeared to be sustained even though estimated losses were far higher than production, although the high sedimentation losses expected were not observed. The carbon flow networks are discussed in relation to the environmental changes and the interaction of the marginal ice zone and the frontal system appears crucial to the phytoplankton. Microzooplankton grazing is implicated as a major controlling factor. The local microbial dynamics are strongly influenced by material which was produced at an earlier time and somewhere else in the Southern Ocean.     

Kinetic modelling of the dispersion of plutonium in the eastern Irish Sea: two approaches

A new model to simulate the dispersion of plutonium in the eastern Irish Sea is presented. The model solves the 3D hydrodynamic equations using normalized σ coordinates in the vertical simultaneously with the suspended matter equation. Pu can be present in three phases: water, suspended matter and bottom sediments. Reduction and oxidation reactions are also included in the model, in terms of reaction rates, since Pu can be present in the marine environment in principally two different oxidation states. Two kinetic models are presented to describe the transfers of radionuclides between the liquid and solid phases: a one-step model consisting of a single reversible reaction and a two-step model consisting of two consecutive reversible reactions. It has been found that both models can properly simulate the contamination of the waters and sediments from the eastern Irish Sea due to the releases from the BNFL Sellafield nuclear fuel processing plant, since the outputs from both models are very similar and in agreement with observations. Also, both models can simulate the speciation of Pu between the reduced and oxidized forms. However, if the dominant source of radionuclides to the water column is redissolution from a contaminated sediment, a process that is actually occurring in the Irish Sea, it has been found that a two-step model must be used. Indeed, a one-step model predicts the redissolution from the sediment to be unrealistically rapid.     

A study on the estimation of the seaquake response of a floating structure considering the characteristics of seismic wave propagation in the ground and the water

 Seaquakes, which are characterized by the propagation of vertical earthquake motion at the sea bottom as a compression (longitudinal) wave, are reported to cause damage to ships, and their effect on floating structures is a matter of great concern. To comprehend the basic properties of seaquakes, we first discuss a method to calculate the displacement of the seabed when it is subjected to hydrodynamic pressure. To investigate the interrelationship between the vibration of a floating structure and the deformation of the seabed, a new boundary integral equation is derived which assumes that the seabed is a semiinfinite homogeneous elastic solid in order to analyze the seaquake-induced hydrodynamic pressure acting on the floating structure. By considering the propagation of the seismic wave in the ground and in the water, the incident wave potential in seaquake problems is also deduced and its characteristics are discussed. Finally, the response of a very large floating structure in a seaquake is investigated using a fluid force analysis method, and considering the interrelationship between the vibration of the floating structure and the deformation of the seabed. Received: August 19, 2002 / Accepted: November 11, 2002 Address correspondence to: H. Takamura (hiroaki_takamura@nishimatsu.co.jp) Updated from the Japanese original, which won the 2002 SNAJ prize (J Soc Nav Archit Jpn 2001;189:87–92,93–100 and 190:381–386)     

Biological effects of dilution of Dead Sea brine with seawater: implications for the planning of the Red Sea–Dead Sea “Peace Conduit”

The Dead Sea is a severely disturbed ecosystem. Its water level has been decreasing at a rate of nearly 1 m per year during the last decade due to anthropogenic intervention in its water balance. Since the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan was established in 1994, a proposal for the construction of a water carrier, the “Peace Conduit,” between the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea) and the Dead Sea is being investigated. This water carrier is intended to mitigate damaging processes that currently occur in the Dead Sea and its surrounding area. The difference in elevation of about 416 m could be exploited for seawater desalination by reverse osmosis. To examine the possible effects of the mixing of Dead Sea brines with seawater and seawater concentrates on the Dead Sea as an ecosystem, we have set up simulation experiments under field conditions in experimental ponds at Sedom, in which Dead Sea water was diluted with Red Sea water. The main components of the Dead Sea biota are the unicellular green alga Dunaliella and several types of red halophilic Archaea. Phosphate is the limiting inorganic nutrient. Massive Dunaliella blooms developed, accompanied by dense communities of red halophilic Archaea, in some of the experimental ponds, imparting a brown-red coloration to the brines. The extent of biological development depended on the extent of dilution and on phosphate availability. The results of the simulation experiments show that biological phenomena and their impact on the Dead Sea ecosystem should be taken into consideration during the planning of the “Peace Conduit.”     

Time series for dissolved cadmium at a coastal station in the Western Baltic Sea

Concentrations of dissolved Cd, Cd(diss), were measured weekly from June 1991 to June 1994 at a coastal station in the western Baltic Sea. The mean concentration of 204 pmol/dm³ is about 50% higher than in open Baltic Sea surface waters. A distinct seasonal cycle was observed with elevated concentrations in winter and spring (272 pmol/dm³) and lower values in summer and autumn (131 pmol/dm³). Relating the seasonal changes in Cd(diss) to the nutrient cycle revealed ΔCd(diss)/ΔNO₃ and ΔCd(diss)/ΔPO₄ ratios which are consistent with other measurements and seem to confirm the concept of a nutrient-like biogeochemistry of Cd. However, a time shift of two to three months exists between the depletion of nutrients in spring and the depletion of Cd(diss). Possibly, this indicates a decoupling of Cd(diss) from nutrients during the spring plankton bloom. However, no final conclusions can be drawn yet.Cd(diss) concentrations decreased significantly during the three year measurement period, whereas nitrate concentrations increased. A possible linkage between eutrophication and the Cd budget of the Baltic Sea is discussed.     

A Tool for Coastal Setbacks Demarcation over Rough,Impermeable Shores: The Test Case of Kavala Coastline (Northern Greece)

Although setback zones and lines are considered as a powerful coastal zone management tool ensuring public access, protecting the coastal ecosystem and minimizing natural hazards over developments, the lack of a solid and objective Mediterranean methodological framework for coastal setbacks demarcation appears profound. Especially for countries like Greece, this deficiency leads to long legal disputes encouraging illegal construction on the coastline. In this article a methodology on coastal setbacks demarcation over rocky, impermeable shores is proposed, followed, and implemented along a Greek shoreline, serving as a pilot case study. The methodology is consistent with the requirements of the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) Protocol and the Greek legislation (L. 2971/2001), aiming to determine the “highest winter waterline,” accounting for the tidal and storm surge effects, the sea-level rise due to climate change impact, the extreme offshore wind and wave analysis, and the maximum potential wave run-up. Such a tool may bridge the gap between legislative provisions and actual ICZM Protocol implementation improving regional coastal management and planning.     

甲午海战中名垂青史的粤籍名将邓世昌

邓世昌是中日甲午海战中涌现出来的一位民族英雄,探讨他的海防观的形成及爱国主义思想具体表现,对大力弘扬民族精神,把握社会主义核心价值体系精神有重要的意义．     

Trapped waves within the blocking frequency under compressed sea ice and two-dimensional current

The existence of trapped modes due to a horizontal submerged rigid cylinder placed below a compressed ice-covered surface is shown to exist within the frequency band of wave blocking by employing linearized water wave theory and with the inclusion of the effects of a two-dimensional current and the obliqueness of the propagating wave. A new modified multipole expansion method catering to the multiple propagating modes is proposed. The impact of different choices of propagating modes at a fixed frequency within the above-mentioned band on the trapped modes is detailed. Multiple trapped modes whose number depends on the direction and magnitude of the current exist within the frequency band. Out of the three choices of current types considered, while two of them result in the generation of trapped modes for all three possible choices of the propagating wave, the remaining one shows that only one propagating mode can generate a trapped wave. A break in the continuous spectrum of the trapped mode frequency due to the wave blocking and at the point of inflexion is presented. There exists a region of angle of propagation within which an abundance of the trapped mode is shown. The surface profiles for different angles of propagation and choices of propagating modes are illustrated graphically. The trapped modes associated with a higher angle of propagation decay at a faster rate.     

Sea trials of Sigma wave energy converter – slacking and snapping of TLP mooring lines

Sigma Energy has performed its foremost prototype tests of scaled wave energy converter in a real sea environment. The prototype was a point absorber with a cylindrical buoy, a mechanical power take-off system with a counterweight, moored to the seabed as a tension leg platform (TLP) with three equal tendons. In these extensive experiments, numerous device characteristics were measured and analysed. The present paper focuses on the dynamic forces in the mooring lines, and some unexpected and rare data obtained. It is well known that TLP tendons are prone to a brief loss of tension (the slacking) and that, after such events, high snapping forces of short duration can arise. Partly by intention, and partly due to underestimation of the dynamical forces, several such slacking-snapping incidents were recorded during the experiments. In some severe storms, the snapping forces were up to six times higher than the tendon pretension. The paper presents several recordings of dynamic forces and platform motion during these critical events. It analysis them, and gives a typical scenario under which they occur. It gives also some theoretical explanations, and numerical predictions of dynamical tendon forces, with their comparison to the experimental results.     

基于编队海上列车概念的多艇编队航行水动力分析

以某型特种滑行艇为基础计算模型单元，基于编队海上列车概念，提出4种典型编队形式并进行计算流体动力学（Computational Fluid Dynamics，CFD）计算，探索多艇编队航行的减阻可行性，并开展多艇编队航行水动力分析，对指导海上多船编队航行具有一定的借鉴参考意义。