An inexpensive method for calibrating an infrared analyzer to measure varying ranges of carbon dioxide partial pressures (Pco₂) is described. A discussion is made of the hydrographic (temperature, salinity, and sigma-t) and chemical (dissolved oxygen, AOU, Pco₂ pH, and nutrients) variables that were observed along the Newport hydrographic line in March and June 1971. A winter storm in late March led to an inshore feature of doming isolines. Indications of early seasonal upwelling and photosynthesis were also observed. June conditions were characterized by a deteriorated upwelling regime and an inshore phytoplankton bloom. The Columbia River plume was also driven abnormally close (65 kilometers) to shore by southwesterly winds. Chemical variables as observed in the Columbia and Willamette Rivers in June, 1971 are compared to data from a study made in December, 1968. A large gradient in Pco₂ and temperature is observed in the Willamette River approximately 3.5 kilometers upstream from the confluence in June, but not in December. This observation is related to the seasonal flow patterns of the two rivers. Chemical variables in the Columbia River are influenced by seasonal phytoplankton activity, but oxidation of organic matter is the predominating factor in the Willamette River. Pco₂ values calculated from pH and alkalinity measurements agreed to ± 5 percent with directly measured Pco₂ values in the Columbia River. / Graduation date: 1973

Using the hydrographic data collected by the ACONA from June 1961 to May 1963, the Oregon coastal front has been examined. Representative sigma-t surfaces were chosen to delineate the front, and changes in position of these surfaces with time were used to obtain zonal flow rates for the frontal and surface layers. From May to early October upwelling resulted in offshore flow. Onshore flow was indicated from late October to January, and indeterminate zonal flow occurred during the remainder of the year. Flow within the front agreed with these surface flows in ten of the fourteen observational periods. / Graduation date: 1964

The climate and the exchange of heat between atmosphere and ocean are examined in a region adjacent to Washington and Oregon, and in two sub-regions adjacent to Oregon. The sub-regions are chosen such that one contains the nearshore upwelling region and the other borders it on the seaward side. The data (ship weather observations, 1953 to 1962) reveal the general seasonal variation of climatic factors in the regions studied and the effects of the nearshore upwelling of cold water on the climate over the coastal ocean region and the adjacent coastal land mass. In the nearshore sub-region, summer values of temperature (air, wet bulb, and sea surface) are lower than those to seaward, but winter values are higher inshore than to seaward. The effects of these differences, and of other factors, on the heat exchange processes are examined with the use of empirical equations. It is seen that the processes of evaporation and conduction are suppressed considerably and net long wave radiation is slightly suppressed in the upwelling region during the summer. The effects of the reduction of heat loss to the atmosphere in the summer upwelling region on the climate of coastal Oregon are seen to be a slight reduction of air temperatures and, despite reduced evaporation, a very slight increase of relative humidity. Monthly means of daily net heat exchange between the sea and the atmosphere are examined and correlated with the difference between monthly means of the heat used per day in the oceanic evaporation process and the monthly means of daily totals of heat estimated to be used in the evaporation from a shallow pan under climatic conditions identical to those accompanying the net heat exchange and oceanic evaporation. / Graduation date: 1965