Search Results (12)

In this study, we utilized exposure time ($\overline{\theta }$) as a key metric to investigate water exchange and its spatiotemporal variations in the Northern South China Sea (NSCS). The Eulerian adjoint method and Lagrangian tracking were adopted to capture a comprehensive view of water exchange in coastal regions. Our findings reveal distinct spatial and seasonal variations in $\overline{\theta }$. Spatially, a long $\overline{\theta }$ (exceeding 150 days) appears in the coastal region, and the largest values occur in the Beibu Gulf (300 days). Temporally, $\overline{\theta }$ exhibits clear seasonal patterns across the extensive shelf area, influenced by the seasonal monsoon which induced seasonally reversing shelf current and results in symmetrical distribution patterns of $\overline{\theta }$ across the board shelf during both winter and summer months. $\overline{\theta }$ is longer in winter than in summer. The study also revealed pronounced vertical contrasts in cross-isobath transport over the NSCS shelf, though significant vertical variations in net exchange time were noted only in specific locations, including the northeast side of Hainan Island, the Beibu Gulf mouth, and along the west side of Taiwan Island. The Beibu Gulf emerged as a critical factor in the NSCS’s water exchange dynamics in both seasons. In summer, it impacts more than 20% of the water exchange over adjacent areas, particularly through its westward transport against typical northeastward shelf currents. This highlights the combined effect of the westward spread of the Pearl River freshwater and the stable slope current on regional hydrodynamics. In winter, the Gulf’s retention characteristics profoundly affected even distant areas, contributing to up to 50% of water exchange, showing its broad impact on the NSCS’s water dynamics throughout the year. Full article

In the Lagrangian approach, the transport processes in the ocean and atmosphere are studied by tracking water or air parcels, each of which may carry different tracers. In the ocean, they are salt, nutrients, heat, and particulate matter, such as plankters, oil, radionuclides, and microplastics. In the atmosphere, the tracers are water vapor, ozone, and various chemicals. The observation and simulation reveal highly complex patterns of advection of tracers in turbulent-like geophysical flows. Transport barriers are material surfaces across which the transport is minimal. They can be classified into elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic barriers. Different diagnostics in detecting transport barriers and the analysis of their role in the dynamics of oceanic and atmospheric flows are reviewed. We discuss the mathematical tools, borrowed from dynamical systems theory, for detecting transport barriers in simple kinematic and dynamic models of vortical and jet-like flows. We show how the ideas and methods, developed for simple model flows, can be successfully applied for studying the role of barriers in oceanic and atmospheric flows. Special attention is placed on the significance of transport barriers in important practical issues: anthropogenic and natural pollution, advection of plankton, cross-shelf exchange, and propagation of upwelling fronts in coastal zones. Full article

Cross-slope eddies play an important role in the exchange of water, salt, heat, nutrients, chlorophyll, phytoplankton and other biogeochemical elements between basin and shelf in the South China Sea. The cross-slope transport process by a mesoscale anticyclonic eddy is studied by ROMS model and satellite data. The 1000 m isobath was considered as a proxy for the slope. The anticyclone shows different features at different places on the slope: (a) the volume transport at the northeast of the slope was off-slope, while at the southwest was on-slope; (b) both on and off-slope transports were greatly enhanced during the cross-slope process, and gradually weakened after crossing the slope. The total cross-slope water transport was 5.97 Sv, which was higher than the along-slope component with −0.58 Sv. The Eulerian results also showed that enhanced cross-slope transport was related to the distance between the eddy and slope, the eddy radius, and the eccentricity of the eddy. The offline passive tracer experiment showed that particles were floating up during and after the crossing process, mainly due to the strong Ekman pumping. Full article

The characteristics of eddy mass transport are estimated depending on the values of the parameters of a large-scale flow that forms under the conditions of the shelf seas in the Arctic. For this, the results of numerical simulation of the Kara Sea with a horizontal resolution permitting the development of mesoscale eddies are used. The multiple realizations of eddy mass flux resulting from a numerical experiment are considered as a statistical sample and are analyzed using methods of sensitivity study and clustering of sample elements. Functional dependencies are obtained that are closest to the simulated distributions of quantities. These expressions make it possible, within the framework of large-scale models, to evaluate the characteristics of the cross-isobathic eddy mass transport in the diffusion approximation with a counter-gradient flux. Numerical experiments using the SibCIOM model showed that areas along the Fram branch of the Atlantic waters trajectory in the Arctic as well as the shelf of the East Siberian and Laptev seas with adjacent deep water areas are most sensitive to the proposed parametrization of eddy exchanges. Accounting for counter-gradient eddy fluxes turned out to be less important. Full article

Cross-shelf exchanges in the Black Sea were investigated using remote sensing data and an ocean circulation model to which an eddy-tracking algorithm and Lagrangian particle tracking model was applied. An anticyclonic eddy in 1998 and a cyclonic eddy in 2000 were investigated in detail. Eddy-induced cross-shelf transport of low salinity and high Chl-a waters reached a maximum in the presence of filaments associated with these eddies. The daily mean volume transport by the eddies was comparable with the previously documented transport by eddies of similar size in the north-western shelf region. Lagrangian particle tracking results showed that 59% of particles initially released over the shelf were transported offshore within 30 days by the 1998 anticyclone and 27% by the 2000 cyclone. The net volume transport across the Black Sea shelf-break reached the maxima in winter, coinciding with the increase in wind stress curl and mean kinetic energy that is a measure of the intensity of the boundary current. Ekman transport directly influences the cross-shelf exchanges in the surface layer. The south-eastern Black Sea is presented as an important area for cross-shelf transport. The total cross-shelf transport can be divided into its “large-scale” and “eddy-induced” components. Eddy-induced transport was 34% and 37% of the total cross-shelf transport (1998–2014) in the Black Sea in the off-shelf and on-shelf directions, respectively, but these values ranged between 25% and 65% depending on the eddy activity over time. Full article

The response of inner shelf circulation and bottom temperature variability to synoptic wind forcing and freshwater outflow is evaluated in an area with a wide continental shelf off central Chile. This forced circulation, with a strong seasonal evolution from upwelling- to downwelling-favorable conditions, is a key process modulating the exchange of water properties in a coastal zone characterized by multiple river outflows and high biological productivity. Ocean currents on the inner shelf (34 m depth) off the Itata River mouth were obtained and analyzed for a nine-month record (December 2008 to September 2009). The synoptic wind and current variability was defined between 2 and 16 days (0.02 to 0.0026 cph). The subinertial coastal circulation within the inner shelf off Itata River was dominated by the along-shelf flow, while cross-shelf flows driven by along-shelf winds were substantially reduced. The alongshore synoptic currents showed two distinct modal structures: (i) A mean two-layer flow field during upwelling-favorable wind stress with northward (southward) flow at the surface (bottom), and (ii) a mean southward flow through the entire water column during downwelling-favorable wind stress periods, which were intensified during peak river discharge events in winter. Calculations of the wind index clarified the relative importance of wind versus buoyancy forcing on the alongshore flow. The wind forcing dominated during summer when the river discharge was minimum, whereas the relative importance of the freshwater outflow from the Itata River became dominant in winter (May-August) when the buoyancy forcing, in conjunction with southward wind events, modulated strong barotropic southward flows. The change in the long-term regime of coastal winds and river discharges, with a dominance of upwelling winds and reduced river outflows in the last decade, is discussed in the context of observations of thinner river plumes under frequent upwelling conditions off central Chile. Full article

The physical processes governing coastal exchange between the surf zone, the inner shelf, and the open ocean is critical for estimating mass exchange and its impact on ecological processes. The present study combined field measurements and theoretical approaches to explore the hydrodynamics in the coastal boundary layer (CBL) in which both bottom drag and shore friction affect the transport and mixing processes. Observed drifter-cluster trajectories in a nearly alongshore-uniform coastal area showed that the occurrence of current reversal varies with cross-shore distance, which confirmed the tidal phase difference between different cross-shore distances predicted by the proposed CBL model. According to the CBL model, tidal phase difference is affected by the bottom drag coefficient and horizontal eddy viscosity coefficient. With the results of three experiments under different wave conditions, this study also discusses the effects of waves on the CBL. Data analysis based on observations indicates that the bottom drag term is closely related to the bottom shear stress induced by the interactions of waves and currents. The bottom drag coefficient under the more energetic wave condition was much greater than that under milder wave conditions during the experiment. The study also suggests that in addition to pressure gradient and bottom drag, flow structure is subject to lateral stress, which reflects the impact of shoreline roughness in the nearshore region and that the estimated eddy viscosity coefficient decreases linearly with distance from the shoreline. Full article

Coastal mesoscale eddies are important oceanic structures partially responsible for regulating ocean-shelf exchanges. However, their description and characterization are challenging; observations are often too scarce for studying their physical properties and environmental impacts at the required spatio-temporal resolution. Therefore, models and data extrapolation methods are key tools for this purpose. Observations from high-frequency radar, one satellite and two gliders, are used here to better characterize the three-dimensional structure of a coastal mode-water eddy from a multiplatform approach in the southeastern Bay of Biscay in spring 2018. After the joint analysis of the observations, a three-dimensional data reconstruction method is applied to reconstruct the eddy current velocity field and estimate the associated water volume transport. The target eddy is detected by surface observations (high-frequency radar and satellite) for two weeks and presents similar dimensions and lifetimes as other eddies studied previously in the same location. However, this is the first time that the water column properties are also observed for this region, which depicts a mode-water eddy behavior, i.e., an uplift of the isopycnals in the near-surface and a downlift deeper in the water column. The reconstructed upper water column (1–100 m) eddy dynamics agree with the geostrophic dynamics observed by one of the gliders and result in cross-shelf inshore (offshore) volume transports between 0.04 (−0.01) and 0.15 (−0.11) Sv. The multiplatform data approach and the data reconstruction method are here highlighted as useful tools to characterize and three-dimensionally reconstruct coastal mesoscale processes in coastal areas. Full article

While there is no rigorous framework to develop nanosatellites flight software, this manuscript aimed to explore and establish processes to design a reliable and reusable flight software architecture for cost-efficient student Cubesat missions such as Masat-1. Masat-1 is a 1Unit CubeSat, developed using a systems engineering approach, off-the-shelf components and open-source software tools. It was our aim to use it as a test-bed platform and as an initial reference for Cubesat flight software development in Morocco. The command and data handling system chosen for Masat-1 is a system-on-module-embedded computer running freeRTOS. A real-time operating system was used in order to simplify the real-time onboard management. To ensure software design reliability, modularity, reusability and extensibility, our solution follows a layered service oriented architectural pattern, and it is based on a finite state machine in the application layer to execute the mission functionalities in a deterministic manner. Moreover, a client-server model was elected to ensure the inter-process communication and resources access while using uniform APIs to enhance cross-platform data exchange. A hierarchical fault tolerance architecture was also implemented after a systematic assessment of the Masat-1 mission risks using reliability block diagrams (RBDs) and functional failure mode, effect and criticality analysis (FMECA). Full article

Along the majority of Australian shallow coastal regions, summer evaporation increases the salinity of shallow waters, and subsequently in autumn/winter, the nearshore waters become cooler due to heat loss. This results in the formation of horizontal density gradients with density increasing toward the coast that generates gravity currents known as dense shelf water cascades (DSWCs) flowing offshore along the sea bed. DSWCs play important role in ecological and biogeochemical processes in Australian waters through the transport of dissolved and suspended materials offshore. In this study a numerical ocean circulation model of Rottnest continental shelf, validated using simultaneous ocean glider and mooring data, indicated that the passage of cold fronts associated with winter storms resulted in rapid heat loss through evaporative cooling. These conditions resulted in enhancement of the DSWCs due to modifications of the cross-shelf density gradient and wind effects. Specifically, onshore (offshore) directed winds resulted in an enhancement (inhibition) of DSWCs due to downwelling (vertical mixing). Consequently, the largest DSWC events occurred during the cold fronts when atmospheric temperatures reinforced density gradients and onshore winds promoted downwelling that enhanced DSWCs. Advection of DSWCs was also strongly influenced by the wind conditions, with significantly more transport occurring along-shelf compared to cross-shelf. Full article

This paper explores the dynamical origin and physical characteristics of flow disturbances induced by ocean currents in interaction with shelf-incised submarine canyons. To this end, a process-oriented hydrodynamic model is applied in a series of case studies. The focus of studies is the canyon-upwelling process in which seawater is moved from the upper continental slope onto the shelf within a shelf-break canyon. Results reveal that the generation of canyon upwelling, to zero-order approximation, is a barotropic and friction-independent quasi-geostrophic process. Hence, the principle of conservation of potential vorticity for such flows is sufficient to explain the fundamental physical properties of the canyon-upwelling process. For instance, this principle explains the direction-dependence of the canyon-upwelling process. This principle also explains the formation of stationary topographic Rossby waves downstream from the canyon that can lead to far-field effects. Density effects, being of secondary influence to the canyon-upwelling process, result in the intensification of canyon-upwelling flows via the formation of narrow near-bottom density fronts and associated baroclinic geostrophic frontal flows. Findings of this work reveal that the apparently complex canyon-upwelling process is much more basic than previously thought. Full article

In recent years, the improvement of wireless protocols, the development of cloud services and the lower cost of hardware have started a new era for smart homes. One such enabling technologies is fog computing, which extends cloud computing to the edge of a network allowing for developing novel Internet of Things (IoT) applications and services. Under the IoT fog computing paradigm, IoT gateways are usually utilized to exchange messages with IoT nodes and a cloud. WiFi and ZigBee stand out as preferred communication technologies for smart homes. WiFi has become very popular, but it has a limited application due to its high energy consumption and the lack of standard mesh networking capabilities for low-power devices. For such reasons, ZigBee was selected by many manufacturers for developing wireless home automation devices. As a consequence, these technologies may coexist in the 2.4 GHz band, which leads to collisions, lower speed rates and increased communications latencies. This article presents ZiWi, a distributed fog computing Home Automation System (HAS) that allows for carrying out seamless communications among ZigBee and WiFi devices. This approach diverges from traditional home automation systems, which often rely on expensive central controllers. In addition, to ease the platform’s building process, whenever possible, the system makes use of open-source software (all the code of the nodes is available on GitHub) and Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware. The initial results, which were obtained in a number of representative home scenarios, show that the developed fog services respond several times faster than the evaluated cloud services, and that cross-interference has to be taken seriously to prevent collisions. In addition, the current consumption of ZiWi’s nodes was measured, showing the impact of encryption mechanisms. Full article