Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Meteorology. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 169-174. / Ph.D.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Meteorology. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 241-244. / by Dale B. Haidvogel. / Ph.D.

Despite the fact that considerable information now exists on the major oceanic current system, off the Pacific Coast, little is known about the near shore currents in many regions of the west coast states. The Bodega Bay area of California is a case in point. Because of the proposed construction of a nuclear-powered steam plant on Bodega Head and its proximity to both the Pacific Marine Station of the University of the Pacific and to the future marine laboratory of the University of California, it has become necessary to learn as much as possible about the currents in the immediate vicinity of Bodega head. Prior to 1962, few or no current studies were made within the fifty fathom curve off Bodega Bay, although the Pacific Marine Station maintained two oceanographic stations off Bodega Head monthly from 1959 to 1963 as part of the CALCOFI program. One of these stations was at the head of Bodega Canyon, some 25 miles offshore, and the was on the 50 fathom isobath, about five miles offshore. This study describes the results of 28 drift bottle experiments performed from July 1962 to July 1963 in the Bodega Bay region. The point of release of the drift bottles in all experiments except the last three was the cove of Bodega Head about 4000 feet south of Horseshoe Cove. (This cove would be the outfall area for the effluent waters from a power generation plant on Bodega Head.) Two of the other three drift bottle releases were on a line WSW from Bodega Head to the head of Bodega Canyon, while the third release was just north of the mouth of Stemple Creek in Bodega Bay.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis. 1977. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Vita. / Bibliography : leaves 198-204. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-181).

The upwelling and cross-shelf transport dynamics along the Pacific Eastern Boundary is explored using a high resolution ocean model for the last 60 years. Three ocean circulations have been modeled. From North to South, we investigate the dynamics of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), the California Current System (CCS) and the Humboldt Current System (HCS, also known as the Peru-Chile Current System). The statistics of coastal waters transport are computed using a model passive tracer, which is continuously released at the coast. By looking at the passive tracer concentration distribution, we find that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation modulates the coastal variability of the GOA, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation controls the upwelling of the CCS, while the El-Niño Southern Oscillation affects the upwelling of Peru and Chile mainly through coastally trapped Kelvin waves. Results also emphasize the key role of the mesoscale eddies in the offshore transport of coastal waters masses. The passive tracer experiments, performed in this study in the GOA, CCS, and HCS, therefore could provide a dynamical framework to understand the dynamics of the upwelling/downwelling and offshore transport of nutrient rich coastal water and to interpret how it responds to atmospheric forcing. This also could reinforce our interpretation (and therefore predictions) in the changes in vertical and offshore advection of other important biogeochemical quantities, essential in understanding ecosystem variability.

The circulation along the south coast of Western Australia was examined using field data and numerical modelling. Physical processes in this region, particularly along the continental shelf and slope regions, were poorly understood due to a paucity of field measurements. Data were collected during a research cruise on RV Southern Surveyor (04/2006) during April 2006 consisting of 18 CTD transects from Twilight Cove (126oE) to Cape Leeuwin (115oE) and was augmented by shipborne ADCP data. The field data set provided a detailed understanding of three major current systems: Leeuwin Current (LC), Leeuwin Undercurrent (LU) and Flinders Current (FC). The LC along the south coast exhibits different characteristics when compared to that along the west coast. The LC flows into the colder and lower salinity subantarctic environment of the south coast. This is evident in a strong geopotential gradient off the south-west corner of Australia (Cape Leeuwin) resulting in rapid acceleration of the LC as it reaches a maximum velocity in this region. Numerical modelling studies, using the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) indicated that wind stress is an important component of the dynamics in this region. This was identified when comparing summer and winter conditions when the winds act in opposite directions, from north-westerly to southeasterly respectively. Along the shelf break and slope, the Flinders Current (FC) interacts with LC. As the dominant current, the FC serves both as a surface and as an undercurrent, transporting sub Antarctic mode water (SAMW). This interconnection the FC and LU can be seen clearly from the salinity, temperature and velocities within the depth range 200-700m postulating a connection between subsurface waters off Tasmania (origin of the Flinders Current) and the tropical Indian Ocean through the Flinders and Leeuwin Undercurrents.

[Truncated abstract] This work was the first large-scale biological oceanographic study to be undertaken in the coastal eastern Indian Ocean adjacent to Western Australia, and covered both northwest (Exmouth Peninsula to the Abrolhos Islands) and southwest (Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin) regions. The study area was dominated by the Leeuwin Current (LC), an anomalous eastern boundary current that transports tropical water poleward and prevents deep nutrients from reaching the surface by creating large-scale downwelling. Indeed, LC and offshore waters were consistently associated with low nitrate concentrations and low phytoplankton biomass and production (< 200 mg C m-2 d-1). However, the physical forcing of the LC was offset, during the summer months, by upwelling associated with wind-driven inshore countercurrents (Ningaloo and Capes Currents), which provided a mechanism to access high nutrient concentrations normally confined to the base of the LC. ... Limited seasonal investigations off the Capes region of southwestern Australia showed that the winter production scenario can be very different than summer conditions, with strong Leeuwin Current flow that meanders onto the continental shelf and entrains seasonally nutrient-enriched shelf waters. However, production in the LC was still low (≤450 mg C m-2 d-1) due to light limitation resulting from both increased light attenuation and reduced surface irradiance characteristic of the winter months. This investigation provides fundamental knowledge on physical-biological coupling off Western Australia, with implications for fisheries management in view of seasonal and inter-annual variability in the strength of both the Leeuwin Current and inshore countercurrents.