scholarly journals The Inner-Shelf Dynamics Experiment

Author(s):  
Nirnimesh Kumar ◽  
James A. Lerczak ◽  
Tongtong Xu ◽  
Amy F. Waterhouse ◽  
Jim Thomson ◽  
...  

AbstractThe inner shelf, the transition zone between the surf zone and the mid shelf, is a dynamically complex region with the evolution of circulation and stratification driven by multiple physical processes. Cross-shelf exchange through the inner shelf has important implications for coastal water quality, ecological connectivity, and lateral movement of sediment and heat. The Inner-Shelf Dynamics Experiment (ISDE) was an intensive, coordinated, multi-institution field experiment from Sep.-Oct. 2017, conducted from the mid shelf, through the inner shelf and into the surf zone near Point Sal, CA. Satellite, airborne, shore- and ship-based remote sensing, in-water moorings and ship-based sampling, and numerical ocean circulation models forced by winds, waves and tides were used to investigate the dynamics governing the circulation and transport in the inner shelf and the role of coastline variability on regional circulation dynamics. Here, the following physical processes are highlighted: internal wave dynamics from the mid shelf to the inner shelf; flow separation and eddy shedding off Point Sal; offshore ejection of surfzone waters from rip currents; and wind-driven subtidal circulation dynamics. The extensive dataset from ISDE allows for unprecedented investigations into the role of physical processes in creating spatial heterogeneity, and nonlinear interactions between various inner-shelf physical processes. Overall, the highly spatially and temporally resolved oceanographic measurements and numerical simulations of ISDE provide a central framework for studies exploring this complex and fascinating region of the ocean.

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1844) ◽  
pp. 20161689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan F. Putman ◽  
Rick Lumpkin ◽  
Alexander E. Sacco ◽  
Katherine L. Mansfield

Predictions of organismal movements in a fluid require knowing the fluid's velocity and potential contributions of the organism's behaviour (e.g. swimming or flying). While theoretical aspects of this work are reasonably well-developed, field-based validation is challenging. A much-needed study recently published by Briscoe and colleagues in Proceedings of the Royal Society B compared movements and distribution of satellite-tracked juvenile sea turtles to virtual particles released in a data-assimilating hindcast ocean circulation model. Substantial differences observed between turtles and particles were considered evidence for an important role of active swimming by turtles. However, the experimental design implicitly assumed that transport predictions were insensitive to (i) start location, (ii) tracking duration, (iii) depth, and (iv) physical processes not depicted in the model. Here, we show that the magnitude of variation in physical parameters between turtles and virtual particles can profoundly alter transport predictions, potentially sufficient to explain the reported differences without evoking swimming behaviour. We present a more robust method to derive the environmental contributions to individual movements, but caution that resolving the ocean velocities experienced by individual organisms remains a problem for assessing the role of behaviour in organismal movements and population distributions.


Author(s):  
O. R. Sørensen ◽  
P. A. Madsen ◽  
H. A. Schäffer

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 80-91
Author(s):  
V. G. Neiman

The main content of the work consists of certain systematization and addition of longexisting, but eventually deformed and partly lost qualitative ideas about the role of thermal and wind factors that determine the physical mechanism of the World Ocean’s General Circulation System (OGCS). It is noted that the conceptual foundations of the theory of the OGCS in one form or another are contained in the works of many well-known hydrophysicists of the last century, but the aggregate, logically coherent description of the key factors determining the physical model of the OGCS in the public literature is not so easy to find. An attempt is made to clarify and concretize some general ideas about the two key blocks that form the basis of an adequate physical model of the system of oceanic water masses motion in a climatic scale. Attention is drawn to the fact that when analyzing the OGCS it is necessary to take into account not only immediate but also indirect effects of thermal and wind factors on the ocean surface. In conclusion, it is noted that, in the end, by the uneven flow of heat to the surface of the ocean can be explained the nature of both external and almost all internal factors, in one way or another contributing to the excitation of the general, or climatic, ocean circulation.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Paul McGinn ◽  
Daniel Pearce ◽  
Yannis Hardalupas ◽  
Alex Taylor ◽  
Konstantina Vogiatzaki

This paper provides new physical insight into the coupling between flow dynamics and cavitation bubble cloud behaviour at conditions relevant to both cavitation inception and the more complex phenomenon of flow “choking” using a multiphase compressible framework. Understanding the cavitation bubble cloud process and the parameters that determine its break-off frequency is important for control of phenomena such as structure vibration and erosion. Initially, the role of the pressure waves in the flow development is investigated. We highlight the differences between “physical” and “artificial” numerical waves by comparing cases with different boundary and differencing schemes. We analyse in detail the prediction of the coupling of flow and cavitation dynamics in a micro-channel 20 m high containing Diesel at pressure differences 7 MPa and 8.5 MPa, corresponding to cavitation inception and "choking" conditions respectively. The results have a very good agreement with experimental data and demonstrate that pressure wave dynamics, rather than the “re-entrant jet dynamics” suggested by previous studies, determine the characteristics of the bubble cloud dynamics under “choking” conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Takao Kawasaki ◽  
H. Hasumi ◽  
Y. Tanaka

Oceanologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-308
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Dudkowska ◽  
Aleksandra Boruń ◽  
Jakub Malicki ◽  
Jan Schönhofer ◽  
Gabriela Gic-Grusza

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (14) ◽  
pp. 4215-4234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Su ◽  
Buwen Dong

Abstract Observational analysis indicates significant decadal changes in daytime, nighttime, and compound (both daytime and nighttime) heat waves (HWs) over China across the mid-1990s, featuring a rapid increase in frequency, intensity, and spatial extent. The variations of these observed decadal changes are assessed by the comparison between the present day (PD) of 1994–2011 and the early period (EP) of 1964–81. The compound HWs change most remarkably in all three aspects, with frequency averaged over China in the PD tripling that in the EP and intensity and spatial extent nearly doubling. The daytime and nighttime HWs also change significantly in all three aspects. A set of numerical experiments is used to investigate the drivers and physical processes responsible for the decadal changes of the HWs. Results indicate the predominant role of the anthropogenic forcing, including changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations and anthropogenic aerosol (AA) emissions in the HW decadal changes. The GHG changes have dominant impacts on the three types of HWs, while the AA changes make significant influences on daytime HWs. The GHG changes increase the frequency, intensity, and spatial extent of the three types of HWs over China both directly via the strengthened greenhouse effect and indirectly via land–atmosphere and circulation feedbacks in which GHG-change-induced warming in sea surface temperature plays an important role. The AA changes decrease the frequency and intensity of daytime HWs over Southeastern China through mainly aerosol–radiation interaction, but increase the frequency and intensity of daytime HWs over Northeastern China through AA-change-induced surface–atmosphere feedbacks and dynamical changes related to weakened East Asian summer monsoon.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 8513-8528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan S. Mallard ◽  
Gary M. Lackmann ◽  
Anantha Aiyyer

Abstract A method of downscaling that isolates the effect of temperature and moisture changes on tropical cyclone (TC) activity was presented in Part I of this study. By applying thermodynamic modifications to analyzed initial and boundary conditions from past TC seasons, initial disturbances and the strength of synoptic-scale vertical wind shear are preserved in future simulations. This experimental design allows comparison of TC genesis events in the same synoptic setting, but in current and future thermodynamic environments. Simulations of both an active (September 2005) and inactive (September 2009) portion of past hurricane seasons are presented. An ensemble of high-resolution simulations projects reductions in ensemble-average TC counts between 18% and 24%, consistent with previous studies. Robust decreases in TC and hurricane counts are simulated with 18- and 6-km grid lengths, for both active and inactive periods. Physical processes responsible for reduced activity are examined through comparison of monthly and spatially averaged genesis-relevant parameters, as well as case studies of development of corresponding initial disturbances in current and future thermodynamic conditions. These case studies show that reductions in TC counts are due to the presence of incipient disturbances in marginal moisture environments, where increases in the moist entropy saturation deficits in future conditions preclude genesis for some disturbances. Increased convective inhibition and reduced vertical velocity are also found in the future environment. It is concluded that a robust decrease in TC frequency can result from thermodynamic changes alone, without modification of vertical wind shear or the number of incipient disturbances.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1675-1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena M. Schulze Chretien ◽  
Kevin Speer

AbstractA new platform, the Coastal Bottom Drifter, was designed and built to observe near-bottom environments in coastal regions. It is capable of observing properties by drifting near the bottom with a prescribed clearance or at a constant depth of up to 300 m. The platform can observe physical and biochemical parameters, such as temperature, salinity, oxygen, and velocities, and has the capacity to carry additional sensors to measure, for example, pH, turbidity, and nutrients. In addition, it can profile to the surface at chosen intervals and can be deployed for days or up to several months. The integrated Iridium communication allows the user to receive positions and data while the platform is surfaced, as well as send new missions to the instrument. The use of an acoustic bottom-tracking device allows the construction of a drifter trajectory while providing information about ocean circulation. Additionally, the ADCP provides information about suspended particles and possible sediment transport. These measurements are valuable in understanding coastal environments as well as the dominant physical processes that cause mixing and set the conditions for local biological activity. An example deployment in Apalachicola Bay shown in this study demonstrates the ability of the drifter to observe small-scale features, such as overturning cells and plumes of dense water, that are caused by local topography.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document