Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, 1982. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science / Includes bibliographies. / by Sandro Rambaldi. / Ph.D.

Both instantaneous current and chemical propagation predictions are of utmost importance for all littoral naval operations, including diving, amphibious and mine warfare ones. Undoubtedly, the operating limits and environmental thresholds are crucial and highly reliant on the accuracy and precision of the predictions. San Diego Bay is important because it hosts a large part of the U.S. fleet and has special ecological significance. A hydrodynamic model, "Water Quality Management and Analysis Package" (WQMAP), is used to predict the instantaneous currents with various forcing functions (tides, winds, and lateral boundary fluxes) and a hydrochemical model, "Chemical Management and Analysis Package", (CHEMMAP) to predict the water contamination and to simulate chemical attacks/accidents in San Diego Bay, which raise considerations regarding public health, economy, ecology or even national security. The study shows the barotropic nature of San Diego Bay, the slight significance of wind and the vulnerability of a semi-enclosed tidal basin in a possible chemical attack or accident. Simultaneously, it evaluates and uses two models used by NAVOCEANO. / Hellenic Navy author.

A global, multi-level, wave-mean flow model based on an approximate version of the primitive equations is developed to investigate the development of a baroclinic wave field initially confined to a single zonal wavenumber. The effects of physical processes (surface drag and thermal damping) and internal diffusion on the evolution have been examined. The nature of the mean flow adjustment by the nonlinear baroclinic waves is also studied. For a simulation with a relatively strong internal diffusion it is found that a single life cycle characterized by baroclinic growth and barotropic decay is obtained (as in Simmons and Hoskins, 1978), whereas with weaker diffusion the wave undergoes secondary life cycles before a nearly wave-free state is reached (as in Barnes and Young, 1991). In an experiment with weak 4th order diffusion secondary life cycles occur with little net decay. Relatively strong barotropic growth follows the initial life cycle. In experiments with surface drag (Rayleigh friction) and thermal damping (Newtonian cooling), repeated life cycles of baroclinic growth and barotropic decay can be obtained. It is found that in the complete absence of surface drag, the flow evolves to a nearly wave-free state after one secondary cycle. This demonstrates that surface drag plays an important role in nonlinear baroclinic instability. With relatively strong surface drag multiple life cycle behavior is found for sufficiently strong thermal damping. Such a behavior strengthens for very strong thermal damping. A steady wave state in which the wave amplitude equilibrates at an essentially constant level has only been obtained with very strong "potential vorticity damping". Both the "barotropic governor" process (James and Gray, 1986) and the baroclinic adjusment process are responsible for major parts of the stabilization of the mean flow in simulations with and without surface drag and thermal damping. However, the "barotropic governor" process dominates the flow evolution in the model simulations without surface drag and thermal damping. The "barotropic governor" modifies the meridional gradient of zonal mean potential vorticity, which influences the baroclinic adjustment. / Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (M.S. in Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Peter C. Chu. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, 1981. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 193-200. / by Lee Edward Branscome. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography, 1982. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science / Bibliography: leaves 228-233. / Lynne D. Talley. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1979. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 136-137. / by John Newell McHenry. / M.S.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1979. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 231-234. / by James William Anthony Fullmer. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1979. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 143-146. / by Charles Augustin Lin. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Meteorology, 1979. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography : leaf 83. / by Richard St. Pierre. / M.S.