Oceanographic observations in Sullom Voe, Shetland in the period 1974–78

Author(s):  
H. D. Dooley

SynopsisIn the five years to 1978 hydrographic surveys were conducted in Sullom Voe, Shetland and these have been supplemented since 1976 by current measurements. Conditions varied from year to year mainly due to climatic factors, the most marked changes occurring at the head of the voe where varying degrees of stagnation were encountered.In summer the voe is weakly stratified. In winter longitudinal gradients are encountered mainly because of a slight reduction in salinity towards the head. Because of this the surface waters of the voe are more readily flushed in summer than in winter when the flushing time, calculated from the freshwater balance, is at least 15 days. The current measurements show that rapid renewal of the surface waters occurs in the summer during storms. Because the voe is open to the north, southerly winds, blowing surface waters out of the voe, drive a much stronger circulation than winds from the north and this is the main reason for the intermittent breakdown of stagnation in the upper basin. Tidal currents are very weak (<7 cm/s) but occasionally seiches, generated by sudden changes in the wind direction, with a period of about 1 hour and current amplitude of 15 cm/s are encountered. Nutrients from the adjacent tidally mixed Yell Sound are intermittently supplied to the voe by these wind-driven processes and as a result, high levels of productivity are encountered at intervals throughout the summer.

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Minicheva ◽  
V. N. Bolshakov ◽  
E. S. Kalashnik ◽  
A. B. Zotov ◽  
A. V. Marinets

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 381-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Oziransky ◽  
B. Shteinman

Data of high spatial and temporal resolution, and a special sampling program are essential for successful application of mathematical models designed to reproduce observed seasonal patterns of temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, pH, and algal biomass for both vertical and longitudinal gradients in a water body. Lake Kinneret suspended solids are of great potential value for estimating transport, exposure to water body elements, and fate of many toxic substances. Therefore the distribution of admixtures in two longitudinal and five vertical segmentation schemes were examined with the two-dimensional water body quality box model “BETTER” (Bender et al, 1990). The transects were taken in the north-western part of Lake Kinneret close to the Jordan River mouth and the National Water Carrier (NWC) head pumping station. The outflow volumes were given according to regular sampling of natural speed of water outflow from different lake layers under calm conditions. Temporal distribution of mixing concentrations as well as turbulent diffusion horizontal coefficients due to the spatial distribution of turbulent scale were obtained during the model's run with the December 1991 data.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Yuan Xu ◽  
Jieming Chou ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Mingyang Sun ◽  
Weixing Zhao ◽  
...  

Quantitatively assessing the spatial divergence of the sensitivity of crop yield to climate change is of great significance for reducing the climate change risk to food production. We use socio-economic and climatic data from 1981 to 2015 to examine how climate variability led to variation in yield, as simulated by an economy–climate model (C-D-C). The sensitivity of crop yield to the impact of climate change refers to the change in yield caused by changing climatic factors under the condition of constant non-climatic factors. An ‘output elasticity of comprehensive climate factor (CCF)’ approach determines the sensitivity, using the yields per hectare for grain, rice, wheat and maize in China’s main grain-producing areas as a case study. The results show that the CCF has a negative trend at a rate of −0.84/(10a) in the North region, while a positive trend of 0.79/(10a) is observed for the South region. Climate change promotes the ensemble increase in yields, and the contribution of agricultural labor force and total mechanical power to yields are greater, indicating that the yield in major grain-producing areas mainly depends on labor resources and the level of mechanization. However, the sensitivities to climate change of different crop yields to climate change present obvious regional differences: the sensitivity to climate change of the yield per hectare for maize in the North region was stronger than that in the South region. Therefore, the increase in the yield per hectare for maize in the North region due to the positive impacts of climate change was greater than that in the South region. In contrast, the sensitivity to climate change of the yield per hectare for rice in the South region was stronger than that in the North region. Furthermore, the sensitivity to climate change of maize per hectare yield was stronger than that of rice and wheat in the North region, and that of rice was the highest of the three crop yields in the South region. Finally, the economy–climate sensitivity zones of different crops were determined by the output elasticity of the CCF to help adapt to climate change and prevent food production risks.


1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Law ◽  
T. W. Fileman ◽  
P. Matthiessen

Concentrations of a range of industrial organic chemicals (xylene, styrene, chlorobenzene and five phthalate esters) have been determined in surface waters near the Humber, Mersey, Tamar, Tees and Tyne estuaries. Analyses were conducted using GC/MS in the multiple ion detection mode. In general, the highest concentrations (in the ng to µg dm−3 range) for all determinands were found at sites within the estuaries. Selected samples were also analysed by scanning GC/MS and other compounds tentatively identified. There was only minor overlap between the compounds found at each of the estuaries, presumably a reflection of the industrial activities in the area. A preliminary ecotoxicological assessment was made of both datasets.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 2927-2934 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Carpenter ◽  
D. J. Wevill ◽  
S. O'Doherty ◽  
G. Spain ◽  
P. G. Simmonds

Abstract. In situ atmospheric observations of bromoform (CHBr3) made over a 2.5 year period at Mace Head, Ireland from May 2001- Dec 2003, including during the NAMBLEX (North Atlantic Marine Boundary Layer Experiment) campaign, show broad maxima from spring until autumn and winter minima, with mixing ratios of 5.3+1.0 pptv (mid March - mid October) and 1.8+0.8 pptv (December-February). This indicates that, unlike CHCl3, which has a summer minimum and winter maximum at Mace Head, local biological sources of CHBr3 have a greater influence on the atmospheric data than photochemical decay during long-range transport. The emission sources are predominantly macroalgal, but we find evidence for a small terrestrial flux from peatland ecosystems, which so far has not been accounted for in the CHBr3 budget. Sharp increases in CHCl3 and CHBr3 concentrations and decreases in O3 concentrations occurred at night when the wind direction switched from an ocean- to a land-based sector (land breeze) and the wind speed dropped to below 5 ms-1. These observations infer a shallow atmospheric boundary layer with increased O3 deposition and concentration of local emissions of both CHCl3 and CHBr3. The ratio of ΔCHCl3/ΔCHBr3 varied strongly according to the prevailing wind direction; from 0.60+0.15 in south-easterly (100-170° and northerly (340-20°) air to 2.5+0.4 in north-easterly (40-70°) air. Of these land-sectors, the south-easterly air masses are likely to be strongly influenced by macroalgal beds along the coast and the emission ratios probably reflect those from seaweeds in addition to land sources. The north-easterly airmasses however had an immediate fetch inland, which locally is comprised of coastal peatland ecosystems (peat bogs and coastal conifer plantations), previously identified as being strong sources of atmospheric CHCl3 under these conditions. Although we cannot entirely rule out other local land or coastal sources, our observations also suggest peatland ecosystem emissions of CHBr3. We use correlations between CHCl3 and CHBr3 during the north-easterly land breeze events in conjunction with previous estimates of local wetland CHCl3 release to tentatively deduce a global wetland CHBr3 source of 20.4(0.4-948) Gg yr-1, which is approximately 7% of the total global source.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elin Andrée ◽  
Jian Su ◽  
Martin Drews ◽  
Morten Andreas Dahl Larsen ◽  
Asger Bendix Hansen ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The potential impacts of extreme sea level events are becoming more apparent to the public and policy makers alike. As the magnitude of these events are expected to increase due to climate change, and increased coastal urbanization results in ever increasing stakes in the coastal zones, the need for risk assessments is growing too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The physical conditions that generate extreme sea levels are highly dependent on site specific conditions, such as bathymetry, tidal regime, wind fetch and the shape of the coastline. For a low-lying country like Denmark, which consists of a peninsula and islands that partition off the semi-enclosed Baltic Sea from the North Sea, a better understanding of how the local sea level responds to wind forcing is urgently called for.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We here present a map for Denmark that shows the most efficient wind directions for generating extreme sea levels, for a total of 70 locations distributed all over the country&amp;#8217;s coastlines. The maps are produced by conducting simulations with a high resolution, 3D-ocean model, which is used for operational storm surge modelling at the Danish Meteorological Institute. We force the model with idealized wind fields that maintain a fixed wind speed and wind direction over the entire model domain. Simulations are conducted for one wind speed and one wind direction at a time, generating ensembles of a set of wind directions for a fixed wind speed, as well as a set of wind speeds for a fixed wind direction, respectively.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For each wind direction, we find that the maximum water level at a given location increases linearly with the wind speed, and the slope values show clear spatial patterns, for example distinguishing the Danish southern North Sea coast from the central or northern North Sea Coast. The slope values are highest along the southwestern North Sea coast, where the passage of North Atlantic low pressure systems over the shallow North Sea, as well as the large tidal range, result in a much larger range of variability than in the more sheltered Inner Danish Waters. However, in our simulations the large fetch of the Baltic Sea, in combination with the funneling effect of the Danish Straits, result in almost as high water levels as along the North Sea coast.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Although the wind forcing is completely synthetic with no spatial and temporal structure of a real storm, this idealized approach allows us to systematically investigate the sea level response at the boundaries of what is physically plausible. We evaluate the results from these simulations by comparison to peak water levels from a 58 year long, high resolution ocean hindcast, with promising agreement.&lt;/p&gt;


1900 ◽  
Vol 66 (424-433) ◽  
pp. 484-485

In this paper an attempt is made to investigate the normal circulation of the surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean north of 40° N. lat., and its changes, by means of a series of synoptic charts showing the distribution of temperature and salinity over the area for each month of the two years 1896 and 1897.


Rodriguésia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Martín Costas ◽  
Norma Canton ◽  
Juan Manuel Rodríguez

Abstract The altitudinal patterns of lichen communities in altitudinal gradients are very variable. The changes that occur along the mountains depend on climatic factors but also on microsite variables such as substrate type and aspect. The effect of altitude and aspect on richness, cover and composition of saxicolous lichens communities along an elevation gradient in extra Andean mountains from the central-west of Argentina was studied. Rock outcrops on the north and south aspect of three mountain summits distributed between 2,500 and 4,500 m.a.s.l. were sampled. Lichen species present in a 20 × 20 cm square were identified and the relative cover was measured using digital photography. Richness, cover and composition were analyzed through linear models and multivariate analysis. Fifty-eight saxicolous lichen species were identified between the three sites. Richness and cover were maximum at middle altitude. Also compositional differences among communities of each mountain summit were found. Finally, the effect of the aspect was significant at lower altitudes for cover and composition.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Stouffer ◽  
Dan Seidov ◽  
Bernd J. Haupt

Abstract The response of an atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) to perturbations of freshwater fluxes across the sea surface in the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean is investigated. The purpose of this study is to investigate aspects of the so-called bipolar seesaw where one hemisphere warms and the other cools and vice versa due to changes in the ocean meridional overturning. The experimental design is idealized where 1 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of freshwater is added to the ocean surface for 100 model years and then removed. In one case, the freshwater perturbation is located in the Atlantic Ocean from 50° to 70°N. In the second case, it is located south of 60°S in the Southern Ocean. In the case where the North Atlantic surface waters are freshened, the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) and associated northward oceanic heat transport weaken. In the Antarctic surface freshening case, the Atlantic THC is mainly unchanged with a slight weakening toward the end of the integration. This weakening is associated with the spreading of the fresh sea surface anomaly from the Southern Ocean into the rest of the World Ocean. There are two mechanisms that may be responsible for such weakening of the Atlantic THC. First is that the sea surface salinity (SSS) contrast between the North Atlantic and North Pacific is reduced. And, second, when freshwater from the Southern Ocean reaches the high latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean, it hinders the sinking of the surface waters, leading to the weakening of the THC. The spreading of the fresh SSS anomaly from the Southern Ocean into the surface waters worldwide was not seen in earlier experiments. Given the geography and climatology of the Southern Hemisphere where the climatological surface winds push the surface waters northward away from the Antarctic continent, it seems likely that the spreading of the fresh surface water anomaly could occur in the real world. A remarkable symmetry between the two freshwater perturbation experiments in the surface air temperature (SAT) response can be seen. In both cases, the hemisphere with the freshwater perturbation cools, while the opposite hemisphere warms slightly. In the zonally averaged SAT figures, both the magnitude and the pattern of the anomalies look similar between the two cases. The oceanic response, on the other hand, is very different for the two freshwater cases, as noted above for the spreading of the SSS anomaly and the associated THC response. If the differences between the atmospheric and oceanic responses apply to the real world, then the interpretation of paleodata may need to be revisited. To arrive at a correct interpretation, it matters whether or not the evidence is mainly of atmospheric or oceanic origin. Also, given the sensitivity of the results to the exact details of the freshwater perturbation locations, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, a more realistic scenario must be constructed to explore these questions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haddad Amar ◽  
Beldjazia Amina ◽  
Kadi Zahia ◽  
Redjaimia Lilia ◽  
Rached-Kanouni Malika

Mediterranean ecosystems are considered particularly sensitive to climate change. Any change in climatic factors affects the structure and functioning of these ecosystems and has an influence on plant productivity. The main objective of this work is to characterize one of the Mediterranean ecosystems; the Chettaba forest massif (located in the North-East of Algeria) from a vegetation point of view and their link with monthly variations using Landsat 8 satellite images from five different dates (June 25, 2017, July 27, 2017, August 28, 2017, October 15, 2017). The comparison of NDVI values in Aleppo pine trees was performed using analysis of variance and the use of Friedman's non-parametric test. The Mann-Kendall statistical method was applied to the monthly distribution of NDVI values to detect any trends in the data over the study period. The statistical results of NDVI of Aleppo pine trees indicate that the maximum value is recorded in the month of June, while the lowest values are observed in the month of August where the species studied is exposed to periods of thermal stress.


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