The fall-winter surface current field off Oregon was determined
by analysis of ten years of drift bottle data. Computer programs were
developed for generating bottle tracks on a numerical grid, for interpolating
bottle velocity components to fill void grid points and for
smoothing irregularities in the velocity fields. Charts are presented
showing the spatial distribution of surface currents determined in the
study area of 5° latitude by 2-1/2° longitude.
The mean currents for the fall-winter season have a predominantly
northerly flow with speeds increasing from the south to the
north (from 0.01 to 0.35 knots). This probably is a consequence of
the increase in speed of southerly winds from south to north in the
study area during the fall-winter season. The northly flow in October
during the years 1961-70, when compared with the dominant southerly
flow during this month from measurements prior to 1935, may indicate
a major change of Davidson-California Current System within the
past forty years. Apparent onshore flow may be introduced by bottle
diffusion; this flow is prominant at all latitudes along which bottle
releases are concentrated. An offshore flow component north of
46°30'N may be related to the Columbia River discharge and the
westward extension of land. / Graduation date: 1973
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28332 |
| Date | 30 April 1973 |
| Creators | Lung, Hu Ernest |
| Contributors | Crew, Henry |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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