Gorgan Bay： a microcosm for study on macrobenthos speciesenvironment relationships in the southeastern Caspian Sea

The relationship between spatial patterns of macrobenthos community characteristics and environmental conditions（salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, organic matter content, sand, silt and clay） was investigated throughout the Gorgan Bay in June 2010. Principal components analysis（PCA） based on environmental data separated eastern and western stations. The maximum（4 500 ind./m2） and minimum（411 ind./m2） densities were observed at Stas 1 and 6, respectively. Polychaeta was the major group and Streblospio gynobranchiata was dominant species in the bay. According to Distance Based Linear Models results, macrofaunal total density was correlated with silt percentage and salinity and these two factors explaining 64% of the variability while macrofaunal community structure just correlated with salinity（22% total variation）. In general, western part of the bay showed the highest number of species and biodiversity while, the highest density was found at Sta. 1 and in the middle part of the bay. Furthermore, relationship between diversity indices and macrobenthic species with measured factors is also discussed. Our results confirm the effect of salinity as an important factor on distribution of macrobenthic fauna in south Caspian brackish waters.

使用非定常粘性和无粘求解器研究双螺旋桨在不同船舶尾流场中的性能

In this study,the performance of a twin-screw propeller under the influence of the wake field of a fully appended ship was investigated using a coupled Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes(RANS)/boundary element method(BEM)code.The unsteady BEM is an efficient approach to predicting propeller performance.By applying the time-stepping method in the BEM solver,the trailing vortex sheet pattern of the propeller can be accurately captured at each time step.This is the main innovation of the coupled strategy.Furthermore,to ascertain the effect of the wake field of the ship with acceptable accuracy,a RANS solver was developed.A finite volume method was used to discretize the Navier–Stokes equations on fully unstructured grids.To simulate ship motions,the volume of the fluid method was applied to the RANS solver.The validation of each solver(BEM/RANS)was separately performed,and the results were compared with experimental data.Ultimately,the BEM and RANS solvers were coupled to estimate the performance of a twin-screw propeller,which was affected by the wake field of the fully appended hull.The proposed model was applied to a twin-screw oceanography research vessel.The results demonstrated that the presented model can estimate the thrust coefficient of a propeller with good accuracy as compared to an experimental self-propulsion test.The wake sheet pattern of the propeller in open water(uniform flow)was also compared with the propeller in a real wake field.

Spectral Wave Modeling in Very Shallow Water at Southern Coast of Caspian Sea

This study evaluates the capability of the Simulating WAves Nearshore(SWAN)wave model(version 41.01)in predicting significant wave height and spectral peak energy content for swell waves in very shallow water of surf zone during depth-induced wave breaking and dissipation.The model results were compared with field measurements at five nearshore stations.The results demonstrated that some breaker index formulations were successful for significant wave height prediction in surf zones.However,an incorrect shape of the energy spectrum and overestimated near spectral peak energy content at shallow water stations were obtained using all of the embedded depth-induced wave breaking formulations in SWAN.The dependent breaker index on relative depth(Kpd)formulation,which was successful in predicting near spectral peak energy content,resulted in an average error of 30%.Finally,this formulation was modified to enhance the model performance in reproducing the spectral peak energy content.

Nematode community structure in relation to metals in the southern of Caspian Sea

Spatial distribution and structure of nematode assemblages in coastal sediments of the southern part of the Caspian Sea were studied in relation to environmental factors. By considering metals, organic matter, Shannon diversity index（H）, maturity index（MI） and trophic diversity（ITD）, ecological quality status of sediment was also determined. Fifteen nematode species belonging to eleven genera were identified at the sampling sites. Average density of nematode inhabiting in sediment of the studied area was 139.78±98.91（ind. per 15.20 cm^2）. According to redundancy analysis（RDA）, there was high correlation between metals and some species. Based on biological indicators, the studied area had different environmental quality. Generally, chemical and biological indices showed different results while biological indices displayed similar results in more sites.

Assessment of thermal stratification, stability and characteristics of deep water zone of the southern Caspian Sea

Variations of seawater properties and stratification of water column in the southern deep water zone(470 m depth)of the Caspian Sea were evaluated based on field measured data.Variations of physical characteristics(temperature,salinity,density and sound speed)of seawater mainly were limited to the upper 100 m layers.Below this layer,seasonal changes of seawater parameters were minor.Vertical structure of temperature in the southern Caspian Sea waters was characterized by a significant seasonal thermocline approximately between 20 and 50 m depths in summer with a vertical gradient of around 16℃.Destruction of the thermocline occurred with the general cooling of the sea surface water and deepening of the mixed layer during late of autumn and winter.Frequency of stability in water column often across the upper layers(surface mixed and thermocline)was more than deeper levels.Variations of salinity were around 12.4 PSU in the time of measurements.Structures of thermocline and pycnocline were characterized by a significant homogeneity especially in offshore stations during the year.According to high agreement between density and temperature in the Caspian Seawater,a strong seasonal pycnocline was observed in the position of the thermocline.Furthermore,structure of sound speed variations followed vertical variations of seawater temperature.Variations of chemical characteristics(dissolved oxygen and pH)of seawater mainly were continued from sea surface to near the sea bed in deep water zone.