Thesis--Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Wodds Hole Oceanographic Institution. / Vita. Photocopy of typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-127).

Current measurements were made in Knight Inlet during the period, July 4th to 11th, 1956. A current drag, designed at the Chesapeake Bay Institute, was employed for current measurements in the upper 20 meters of the water column. An Ekman current meter was used at depths below 20 meters. Corrections for ship motion were applied to the Ekman current meter readings. This investigation consists of : (1) a general analysis of the techniques used in the collection and treatment of the data, (2) a description of the currents obtained from the above treatment of the data. Currents at every depth of measurement showed oscillating or fluctuating components superimposed on a net current. Tidal forces appear to act at all depths. The direct effect of wind stress on currents is apparent to depths of at least 10 meters. Indirect wind effects are indicated at greater depths. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

A three component drag probe has been built, calibrated, and used to measure velocities beneath deep water ocean waves and turbulence in a tidal channel. Simple variable inductance devices which may be submerged in water were used as displacement transducers and the associated electronics provided voltage outputs which were proportional to the three components of force that were exerted on a small 5 cm diameter sphere. The force components were due to both the water drag force and the water inertial force in an accelerating flow field. Techniques are described for interpreting measurements made with the drag probe and for obtaining the three velocity components from the measured force components. From the drag probe calibration and its use in the field, it is concluded that the drag probe is a suitable instrument for the measurement of wave velocities and turbulence. Modifications are suggested to improve the performance of the drag probe. For the wave velocity measurements, the experimental results indicate that linear wave theory is adequate to describe the relations between the wave pressure and the wave velocity components. At frequencies higher than the predominant wave frequency the velocity spectra are roughly proportional to f⁻³ where f is the frequency in Hz. The wave velocity components were used to obtain an estimate of the directional energy spectrum. From the measurements in a tidal channel, it appears that the instrument is suitable to measure turbulent fluctuations with scale sizes larger than about 20 cm. If the turbulence were isotropic the velocity spectra would be proportional to f[⁻⁵/³]. Due to the influence of boundaries, the flow was not isotropic but the results appear to be consistent with other observations that turbulent velocity spectra usually show a f⁻¹ to f⁻² behavior and are quite different from wave velocity spectra. / Graduation date: 1971

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Flinders University of South Australia, 1976. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-163).

The interaction between rip channels and cuspate shoreline was examined by analyzing data obtained by the Naval Postgraduate School Imaging System (NAPSIS) during the winter of 2004-2005 in Southern Monterey Bay. Video imaging data was used to determine rip channel locations. The rip fields had constantly changing shapes and sizes, and the beach underwent a transformation from a Transverse-barred-beach (TBB) to a Longshore-bar-trough (LBT) state. Mean rip spacing was determined to be 173 and 258m respectively for the two different beach states (TBB and LBT). Directional wave spectra measured at the offshore NOAA buoy in deep water were refracted to the 10m depth contour at the actual study site. Estimated alongshore sediment transport, Qs, was calculated using the refracted wave data. The hypothesis that rip channel migration is due to alongshore sediment transport is qualitatively confirmed. Little or no migration occurred when Qs values were close to zero. Migration rates were calculated over a three week period during a time of high rip mobility with an average migration rate of 3.2m per day. The rip channel orientations were constantly changing. Three distinct rip channel shapes were common: straight, slanted, or C shaped. The rip channels tended to slant in the opposite direction of the estimated sediment transport, since the rip channels migrated more rapidly at their base (nearest to shore) and more slowly offshore. The hypothesis that the mega-cusps on the beach are erosional features of rip currents was tested by crosscorrelating the 2m beach contour obtained using GPS beach surveys with an alongshore video pixel intensity line. During a time of steady rip channel migration, it was found on average that the cusps lagged the rip channels by 50m with a maximum correlation near one. Assuming the system is in steady state, a response time of 14.7 days was obtained by dividing the lag distance by the average migration rate.

Accurate prediction of nearshore waves and currents is of critical importance in littoral naval operations. This study examines the effects of complex bathymetry on nearshore currents. Data collected by an array of 12 pressure and velocity sensors in the Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX), conducted near La Jolla, California in 2003, were analyzed to investigate the variability of nearshore currents near a submarine canyon. Time series of pressure, 3-component velocity, and wave heights along the 10 meter depth contour were analyzed to determine the relative importance of tides, waves, and winds in the forcing of nearshore currents outside the surf zone. Additionally, the spatial variability of the observed currents was investigated in relation to the nearby canyon head. Case studies are examined to determine how different wave and tide conditions affect the currents near the canyon. In low-moderate wave conditions, tides dominate longshore currents, whereas cross-shore currents show the passage of irregular bore-like features. The currents are coherent away from the submarine canyon and decay towards the canyon head. Strong longshore currents were observed near the canyon head during a large wave event that were likely driven by an alongshore pressure gradient associated with wave set-up variations.

Many processes in the ocean are interrelated. The direction with which an eddy rotates will determine if nutrients are moved closer to the surface where they can be utilized by plankton to increase the base of the food chain, or it can restrict growth by causing the surface layer of nutrient poor water to deepen below the photic layer. The direction of current flow will also affect the temperature structure, which is a contributing factor in the density of water. A change in density can act as a barrier between the surface and deeper waters, effectively isolating the surface from deep waters. It is important to understand the physical properties in a study area in order to understand the dynamics controlling the distributions of nutrients, which influence the distribution of plankton, which influences the distribution of predator species like squid and whales. The Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) tracked the locations of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico. This study seeks to describe the physical environment in which they live. To that end, various physical properties observed during the SWSS cruises were processed and used in conjunction with sea surface height (SSH) fields from satellite altimetry data. The data from different years and from the same years are used to provide descriptions of the physical environment present during the SWSS cruises and how that environment changed between cruises. A time-series of currents, collected over a six month time period in 2006, is included to document how the currents are influenced by different processes found along the continental slope in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The findings indicate the observed currents are related to local SSH features. Temperature structure can be influenced throughout the upper 1000 m by these SSH features. The temperature structure is stable over time but depends on local SSH features. Properties nearer to the surface are more variable than at depth. Although the overlying wind field most likely influences the currents at 51 m no correlation between winds observed at the Brutus platform and currents observed at 51 m at the Ocean Star platform was found.

Thesis--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. / Prepared under contract N00014-67-A-0204-0048 and grant NSF-GA30616 for Office of Naval Research. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-213).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.