Located at the northern edge of the Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGOA), Prince William Sound(PWS) is a small, two-strait semi-enclosed sea. The general ocean circulation pattern inside PWS is significantly affected by external forcings, for instance, the large-scale circulation in NGOA, atmospheric pressure and surface winds, surface heating/cooling, runoff, and tides. Motivated by multi-year experience with a well-validated, quasi-operational ocean circulation nowcast/forecast system for PWS (viz., Extended PWS Nowcast/Forecast System (EPWS/NFS)), the present study addresses some aspects of the PWS response to various external forcings, via numerical simulations. Based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), four numerical implementations have been examined, viz., PWS-POM, Extended PWS-POM (EPWS-POM), Idealized PWS-POM (IPWS-POM), and a 2-D tidal model. These implementations are used to simulate physical processes with various spatial and temporal scales in PWS. A series of numerical simulations are conducted, driven by various external forcings ranging from large scale and mesoscale circulation in NGOA represented by the Global Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM), to atmospheric pressure observed by National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoys and mesoscale winds predicted by Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), and to tides simulated by the 2-D tidal model. These simulations, along with analysis from a Helmholtz resonance model, demonstrate and help interpret some phenomena in PWS; for instance, barotropic Helmholtz resonance in coastal sea levels, and volume transports through the two PWS straits, and a dominant cyclonic gyre in the Central Sound in August and September. The simulation results are used to study a wide range of oceanic phenomena in PWS; e.g., two-layer/three-layer baroclinic transports through the straits, a "transition band" in the coherence pattern between volume transports through the two straits, mesoscale circulation in the Central Sound, the deep water circulation, and the annual tidal energy budget.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 106-114.

The circular wave basin provides a means of physically modeling the nearshore without the typical problems associated with end walls. Three different coastal processes were examined to demonstrate the use of a spiral wavemaker in a circular wave basin. These were longshore currents, shear waves, and groin circulation. A beach was designed and constructed to concentrate breaking in a narrow region and minimize wave reflection. Currents in the longshore direction were generated by both the motion of the wavemaker and oblique wave approach. Two methods for measuring nearshore currents were employed. First, a 3-D acoustic current meter was positioned at various locations in the cross shore and the local radial and tangential velocities were recorded. Second, a video camera was placed approximately 8 meters above the wave basin to record the motion of a ball in the nearshore. The video tape was digitized by an image processor and the motion of the ball was determined. Measurements of nearshore circulation in the circular wave basin were used to investigate longshore currents, shear waves, and groin circulation. Average measured longshore current profiles in the cross shore were compared with numerical model predictions. An analysis of the existence of shear waves in the circular wave basin was performed by calculating longshore and cross shore current spectra. Particular attention was focused on the low frequency end of the spectra where shear waves are most energetic. Model groins were placed in the circular wave basin and measured currents were compared to predicted circulation patterns. All three applications indicated that the circular wave basin is a useful device for simulating coastal processes in a laboratory environment. / Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Geological Sciences." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-188).

The representation of deep convection in ocean models is a fundamental challenge for climate science. Here a regional simulation of the Labrador Sea circulation and convective activity obtained with the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) over the period 1980-2009 is used to characterize the response of convection to atmospheric forcing and the variability in its seasonal cycle. This integration compares well with the sparse in time and space hydrographic surveys and ARGO data (Luo et al. 2012). It is found that convection in the convective region of the Labrador Sea has experienced variability in three key aspects over the 30 years considered. First, the magnitude of convection varies greatly at decadal scales. This aspect is supported by the in-situ observations. Second, the initiation and peak of convection (i.e. initiation and maximum) shift by two to three weeks between strong and weak convective years. Third, the duration of convection varies by approximately one month between strong and weak years. The last two changes are associated to the variability of winter and spring time heat fluxes in the Labrador Sea, while the first results from changes in both atmospheric heat fluxes and oceanic conditions through the inflow of warm Irminger Water from the boundary current system to the basin interior. Changes in heat fluxes over the Labrador Sea convective region are strongly linked to large scale modes of variability, the North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation. Correlations between the mode indices and the local heat fluxes in the convective area are largest in winter during strong, deep events and in spring whenever convection is shallow.

No description available.

Bibliography: leaves 169-178 / iv, 201 leaves : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, 1989

Thesis (Ph. D. ) University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [143]-146).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Flinders University, School of Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences. / Typescript bound. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves167-173) Also available online.