Distribution and fluxes of suspended sediments in the offshore waters of the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary

The offshore waters of the Changjiang Estuary are the transitional areas where river-supplied water and sediment are transported to the sea, and material exchanges occur with the neighbored Hangzhou Bay and the Jiangsu waters. Field observations of currents and sediment properties were conducted to study temporal and spatial distributions of suspended sediments under various dynamical conditions. The high sediment concentrations were found to occur in the western and southern waters of the offshore, and the low concentrations occurred in the eastern and northern waters. This pattern of the suspended sediment concentration （SSC） distribution is obviously influ- enced by the runoff and tidal current. The significant difference of along-estuary SSC distribution indicates that the SSC is reduced gradually from the west to the east, and that in the spring tide is obviously higher than in the neap tide. The methods of mechanism analysis and equal-area grids were used to calculate the suspended sediment fluxes at the typical cross sections. It was found that 44 percent of total suspended sediments from the Changjiang River were deposited in the submarine delta, and more than 27 percent of sediments were transported southernly into the Hangzhou Bay, and only 9 percent of sediments was supplied and exchanged with the northern Jiangsu waters, and about 20 percent of sediments was delivered offshore to the sea.

A STUDY OF RAPID DECAY TYPHOONS IN OFFSHORE WATERS OF CHINA

On the basis of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and yearbooks of CMA tropical cyclones, statistical analysis is performed for 1949—2013 offshore typhoons subjected to rapid decay(RD). This analysis indicates that RD typhoons are small-probability events, making up about 2.2% of the total offshore typhoons during this period. The RD events experience a decadal variation, mostly in the 1960 s and 1970 s(maximal in the 1970 s), rapidly decrease in the 1980 s and 1990 s and quickly increase from 2000. Also, RD typhoons show remarkable seasonal differences: they arise mainly in April and July-December, with the prime stage being in October-November. The offshore RD typhoons occur mostly in the South China Sea(SCS) and to a lesser extent in the East China Sea(ECS); however, none are observed over the Huang Sea and Bo Sea.Composite analysis and dynamic diagnosis of the RD typhoon-related large-scale circulations are performed.Physical quantities of the composite analysis consist of 500-h Pa height and temperature fields, vapor transfer, vertical wind shear(VWS), density of core convection(DCC), and high-level jet and upper-air outflow of the typhoon. The results suggest that(1) at the 500-h Pa height field, the typhoon is ahead of a westerly trough and under the effects of its passing trough;(2) at the temperature field, the typhoon is ahead of a temperature trough, with an invading cold tongue present;(3) at the vapor transfer field, water transfer into the RD typhoon is cut off; and(4) at higher levels, the related jet weakens and the outbreak of convection becomes attenuated in the typhoon core. In addition, VWS bears a relation to the RD typhoon; in particular, strong VWS favors RD occurrence.The differences in RD events between the SCS and ECS show that for the RD, the VWS of the ECS environmental winds is markedly stronger in comparison with its SCS counterpart. The cold advection invading into the typhoons is more intense in the SCS than in the ECS, and the low-level vapor transfer and high-level outflow are weaker in the SCS RD typhoons.Data analysis shows that sea surface temperature(SST), VWS, and DCC can be employed as efficient factors to predict RD occurrence. With appropriate SST, VWS, and DCC, a warning of RD occurrence can be given 36, 30-36,and 30 h, respectively, in advance. These values suggest that atmospheric SST responses lag. Owing to this time lag,the prediction of RD typhoons is possible.

Dynamic Characteristics and Simplified Numerical Methods of An All-Vertical-Piled Wharf in Offshore Deep Water

There has been a growing trend in the development of offshore deep-water ports in China. For such deep sea projects, all-vertical-piled wharves are suitable structures and generally located in open waters, greatly affected by wave action. Currently, no systematic studies or simplified numerical methods are available for deriving the dynamic characteristics and dynamic responses of all-vertical-piled wharves under wave cyclic loads. In this article, we compare the dynamic characteristics of an all-vertical-piled wharf with those of a traditional inshore high-piled wharf through numerical analysis; our research reveals that the vibration period of an all-vertical-piled wharf under cyclic loading is longer than that of an inshore high-piled wharf and is much closer to the period of the loading wave. Therefore, dynamic calculation and analysis should be conducted when designing and calculating the characteristics of an all-vertical-piled wharf. We establish a dynamic finite element model to examine the dynamic response of an all-vertical-piled wharf under wave cyclic loads and compare the results with those under wave equivalent static load; the comparison indicates that dynamic amplification of the structure is evident when the wave dynamic load effect is taken into account. Furthermore, a simplified dynamic numerical method for calculating the dynamic response of an all-vertical-piled wharf is established based on the P-Y curve. Compared with finite element analysis, the simplified method is more convenient to use and applicable to large structural deformation while considering the soil non-linearity. We confirmed that the simplified method has acceptable accuracy and can be used in engineering applications.

A POSSIBLE IMPACT OF EL NINO MODOKI ON SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF CHINA'S OFFSHORE AND ITS ADJACENT REGIONS

El Nio Modoki,similar to but different from canonical El Nio,has been observed since the late1970s.In this paper,using HadISST and NCEP/NCAR wind data,we analyze the relationship between El Nio Modoki and Sea Surface Temperature(SST)in the offshore area of China and its adjacent waters for different seasons.Our results show a significant negative correlation between El Nio Modoki in summer and SST in autumn in the offshore area of China and its adjacent waters,particularly for regions located in the east of the Kuroshio.It is also found that during El Nio Modoki period,anomalous northerlies prevail over the regions from the northern part of the Philippines to the offshore area of China,indicating that the northerlies are unfavorable for the transport of warm water from the western tropical Pacific to the mid-latitude area.Consequently,El Nio Modoki in summer may play a substantial role in cold SST anomalies in the offshore area of China and its adjacent waters in autumn through the influence of the Kuroshio,with a lagged response of the ocean to the atmospheric wind field.

Prediction of regular wave loads on a fixed offshore oscillating water column-wave energy converter using CFD

In this paper,hydrodynamic wave loads on an offshore stationary-floating oscillating water column(OWC)are investigated via a 2D and 3D computational fluid dynamics(CFD)modeling based on the RANS equations and the VOF surface capturing scheme.The CFD model is validated against previous experiments for nonlinear regular wave interactions with a surface-piercing stationary barge.Following the validation stage,the numerical model is modified to consider the pneumatic damping effect,and an extensive campaign of numerical tests is carried out to study the wave-OWC interactions for different wave periods,wave heights and pneumatic damping factors.It is found that the horizontal wave force is usually larger than the vertical one.Also,there a direct relationship between the pneumatic and hydrodynamic vertical forces with a maximum vertical force almost at the device natural frequency,whereas the pneumatic damping has a little effect on the horizontal force.Additionally,simulating the turbine damping with an orifice plate induces higher vertical loads than utilizing a slot opening.Furthermore,3D modeling significantly escalates and declines the predicted hydrodynamic vertical and horizontal wave loads,respectively.