In this thesis, the phenomenon of flow-topography interaction is considered in the context of two dynamically distinct case studies. In the first study, tidally-driven upwelling is investigated usingfield data collected in Hydrographers Passage (20????S), a narrow, navigable channel in the dense outer reef matrix of the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. In the second study, island wake formations at Cato Island (155????32????E, 23????15????S) in the deep, Western Coral Sea are examined using a combination of field data and numerical experiments. The result of the Hydrographers Passage study are of considerable scientific interest since they apply to numerous smaller non-navigable reef-edge passages dotted throughout the southern Great Barrier Reef. Strong, semi-diurnal flood tides flowing through a gap in a distal patch reef system at the shelf break generate strong upwelling, providing a pulsed, semi-diurnal input of nutrients to the reefs offshore of the passage. If stable in the long term, this mechanism could have profound evolutionary implications for large reefal areas in the southern Great Barrier Reef. In the second study, two sets of field observations at Cato Island coincided with conditions of strong (~0.7m s-1), vertically sheared incident currents and weaker (~0.3m s-1), more variable incident flows. The combination of dynamically distinct flow regimes and a tall, steep-sided island penetrating oligotrophic surface waters provides a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of island wakes on hydrographic structure and biological enhancement. Field data indicate that flow disturbances downstream of Cato Island are likely to generate biological enhancement during conditions of eddy shedding and non-shedding wakes. A primitive equation numerical model configured on the basis of field observations faithfully reproduces the key features of both data sets; mechanisms responsible for producing these key features are proposed. Previous numerical studies of island wakes have concentrated primarily on eddy shedding flows. In this thesis, the sub-critical (non-shedding) flow scenario is also considered. It is demonstrated that particle retention in island wakes has a ????hair trigger???? characteristic controlled by incident flow speed. This observation leads to a new proposal to explain the long-standing recruitment problem of biological oceanography.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-68).

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 1996. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [111]-116).

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Sharon Nicholson, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Meteorology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Aug. 26, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Cesar Luongo, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 23, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 23, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (109-111)