A pair of high-resolution oceanographic surveys in March and April 1995 revealed a large and rapid transition from late winter to spring conditions in the coastal zone off central and southern California. These data are unique in capturing the detailed three-dimensional physical structure of and biological response to the spring...
In July 1993 we collected hydrographic data and information on chlorophyll distribution on the continental shelf north of Cape Hatteras and across the shelf break at Cape Hatteras. The data show that a warm, transparent mixed layer lies over much colder, euphotic, chlorophyll-rich bottom water on the shelf. This layer...
Observed changes in the nutrient levels in the halocline of the California Current during 2002 indicated a natural eutrophication that was accompanied by increased chlorophyll and oxygen in surface water. Decreased oxygen in the lower water column over the shelf indicated that much of the phytoplankton production was respired rather...
This report is an intermediate step in analyzing part of the hydrographic data from the 1972 Coastal Upwelling Experiment (CUE) off the coast of Oregon. It presents the author's interpretation of the vertical distribution of temperature, salinity and sigma-t along lines occupied on hydrographic cruises by R/V Yaquina during CUE....
CTD observations were made in the Code region near Pt. Arena on the northern California coast at 39° N during 14-27 July 1982. The observations in the Code region included three repeated sections along the Central Line, two mesoscale surveys of the shelf/slope region, and an alongshore section over the...
CTD observations were made in the CODE region between Pt. Arena (39°N) and Pt. Reyes (38°N) during 20-24 April 1982. The observations were made along seven sections: Irish Gulch, Arena, North, Code-North, Code Central, Code-2 Central and Ross Lines, and along the fifty fathom contour. Maximum sampling depth was 1000...
CTD observations were made in the CODE region between Pt. Arena(39° N) and Pt. Reyes(38°N), during 1-4 August 1981. The observations included two repeated sections along the Central Line, one section along the North Line, and one section in the region of the Pt. Ross Line rur during previous cruises....
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River and Crescent City, OR, to deploy drifters at...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net tow stations along the Newport Hydro line, to make continuous bio-acoustic observations between the 50-500m. isobath, and to make continuous observations of...
As part of the GLOBEC Northeast Pacific Program, a Long Term Observation Program (LTOP) of repeated hydrographic observations along lines off Oregon began in September 1997 (Fleischbein et al, 1999). Of these lines, NH, off Newport, had been sampled frequently during the decade from 1961 to 1970, and another, FM,...
As part of the U. S. GLOBEC NorthEast Pacific Program we made repeated seasonal hydrographic surveys in the northern California Current system (Figure 1) between July 1997 and September 2003. These surveys included early spring sampling along a pair of hydrographic sections, one north (at 44.6ºN) and one south (at...
Conductivity‐temperature‐depth surveys during 1988 encountered strong baroclinic jets that were evident in acoustic Doppler current profiler and hydrographic data. During June and July 1988 a filament with high surface nitrate, high chlorophyll, abundant populations of neritic centric diatoms, and higher rates of primary production was evident perpendicular to the coast...
Seasonal variations in the hydrography of the waters over the continental shelf off Oregon were observed in a set of hydrographic data collected along 44º39′N at intervals of a few weeks to a few months from 1961 through 1970. The temperature is determined only partly by the local heating and...
This thesis demonstrates that at low frequencies (periods longer
than 2.5 days) local currents off the coast of Oregon are closely
related to the wind. Wind and current observations made during
August and September 1969 are described and compared to demonstrate
that a relationship exists; the physics of the interaction...
Observations of wind, currents, sea level and hydrography
obtained during the 1972 Coastal Upwelling Experiment (CUE-I) are
described. Only phenomena with periods longer than a day are considered.
One section describes the changes observed during a period
of variable winds in early July 1972. Another describes a ribbon of
relatively...
Current observations over the continental shelf at locations off central Oregon and southern Washington
had the period from July 18 to September 18, 1972, in common. Low-frequency fluctuations (less than
one cycle per day) in the currents are compared by means of visual display, linear regression, and spectral
analysis. The...
Near‐inertial motions were observed at all current meters in an array of five moorings spanning the continental margin off central Oregon during October 1977 to January 1978. All moorings were between 10 and 130 km from shore, in water depths between 100 m and 2500 m. Largest near‐inertial amplitudes (>30...
Repeated mesoscale surveys of a 40-km-wide, 100-km-long, coastal region near Point Arena, California, were conducted during the upwelling season (April-August) in 1981 and 1982. Each survey included conventional conductivity-temperature-depth casts at standard locations over the continental shelf and slope between 38°N and 39°10'N, and continuous operation of a Doppler acoustic...
In summer 1988, we made repeated mesoscale surveys of a grid extending 200 km offshore between
37°N and 39°N in the coastal transition zone off northern California, obtaining continuous acoustic
Doppler current profiler data and conductivity-temperature-depth data at standard stations 25 km apart
on alongshore sections 40 km apart. All...
Repeated conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) sections were made across the continental
margin off Peru at 5°S and 10°S between November 1981 and May 1984, i.e., before, during, and after El
Nino of 1982-1983. Coastal sea level at Paita (5°S) and Callao (12°S) began to rise in early October 1982...
We investigated sea level fluctuations at seven locations from San Francisco to Torino, British
Columbia, during a 2-year period beginning in August 1973. Using overlapping 2-month periods, we
found the alongshore correlation to vary with time and with location along the coast. In winter the
fluctuatioans are correlated along the...
Two mesoscale surveys were conducted (in July 1981 and July 1982) near Point Arena, California, to
determine the structure and circulation associated with tongues of cold surface water extending seaward
from the coastal zone. Both surveys were designed at sea on the basis of available satellite IR data, and
each...
Current and conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) measurements were made over the Oregon
shelf near 43°N between February 1981 and April 1984 as part of a large-scale west coast shelf experiment
(SuperCODE). The data set includes a nearly continuous record of current velocity and temperature
over the continental shelf off...
Seasonal cycles of coastal wind stress, adjusted sea level (ASL), shelf currents, and water
temperatures off the west coast of North America (35°N to 48°N) are estimated by fitting annual and
semiannual harmonics to data from 1981-1983. Longer records (9-34 years) of monthly ASL indicate
that these two harmonics adequately...
Past measurements off the coast of central Oregon and Washington have shown that the rapid change
from northward monthly mean winter winds to southward summer winds forces a "spring transition" of
the coastal ocean: sea levels and temperatures drop, and mean surface currents shift from northward to
southward. Current and...
Knowledge of the physical oceanography of continental shelves has increased tremendously in recent years, primarily as a result of new current and hydrographic measurements made in locations where no comparable measurements existed previously. In general, observations from geographically distinct continental shelves have shown that the nature of the flow may...
The dynamics of the coastal transition zone off Northern California during late May and early June 1987 art
examined through assimilation modeling studies. A regional baroclinic quasi-geostrophic model is driven by the
data through initial and boundary conditions. These initial and boundary conditions are specified by objective
analysis of hydrographic...
High concentrations of chlorophyll are found in the California Current System over
300 km offshore, far from the productive coastal upwelling region, and between 150 and
250 m, well below the depth to which photosynthetically active solar radiation penetrates.
This exceptionally deep chlorophyll feature is formed near the coast and...
Data from the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) experiment are used to describe the velocity fields and water properties associate with cold filaments in the California Current. Combined with previous field surveys and satellite imagery, these show seasonal variability with maximum dynamic height ranges and velocities in summer and minimum values...
Satellite thermal imagery and in situ biological and physical data are presented that describe the spatial variability of phytoplankton biomass and species composition in relation to the physical structure at the sea surface during persistent upwelling off northern California. Surface patterns in temperature, geostrophic velocity, chlorophyll, and particle size structure...
In June 1987 the geostropic flow in the coastal transition zone off northern California (between 50 and 150 km off the coast from Point Reyes to just north of Cape Mendocino) was dominated by a well-defined, southward-meandering current. Three vertical sections are presented that show the hydrographic structure of the...
During the summers of 1987 and 1988, 77 near-surface satellite-tracked drifters were deployed in or near cold filaments near Point Arena, California (39ºN), and tracked for up to 6 months as part of the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) program. The drifters had large drogues centered at 15 m, and the...
Physical and biological fields in the coastal transition zone off northern California were measured during February, March, May and June 1987 in an extended alongshore region between 60 km and 150 km offshore. The spring transition, as seen in coastal sea level and winds, occurred in mid-March. Surface variability during...
Subsurface upper ocean waters off Oregon and Vancouver Island were about 1° cooler in July 2002 than in July 2001. The anomalously cool layer coincides with the permanent halocline which has salinities of 32.2 to 33.8, suggesting an invasion of nutrient-rich Subarctic waters. The anomalously cool layer lies at 30–150...
Zonal and meridional Seasoar sections centered at 1°50’S, 156°06’E were repeated >30 times in three 20-day periods between November 13, 1992, and February 15, 1993. Both sections were 130 km long, and sampling depth was 0–280 m, with a vertical resolution of ~2 dbar (2 x 104 Pa) and a...
This special section discusses a rare phenomenon: strong enhancement of Subarctic influence in the California Current system in the summer of 2002. This cold, fresh anomaly in the upper halocline was more extreme than any prior observation, though historical records extend back for several decades. The Subarctic anomaly extended more...
Horizontal wave number spectra of temperature in the unstably stratified oceanic surface layer were determined from measurements on a bow boom at a depth of 2 m. Spectra were estimated in the wavelength band from 2 m to 2 km, normalized in accordance with Monin-Obukhov similarity theory, and averaged in...
From the Dennis Barstow Photographs (P 280) in the OSU Archives. The Dennis Barstow Photographs consist of color slides taken by Barstow of oceanographic research conducted on Oregon State University research vessels. Dennis Barstow joined the Oregon State University Oceanography Department in 1962 as a research assistant. He served as...
This report summarizes physical and biological conditions in the California Current System (CCS), from Oregon to Baja California, in 2001 and 2002. The principal sources of the observations described here are the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations), IMECOCAL (Investigaciones Mexicanas de la Corriente de California), and U.S. GLOBECLTOP (Global...
This report summarizes the recent state of the California Current System (CCS), primarily during the period of April 2004 to January 2005. The report is based on observations made between Oregon and Baja California by various ocean observing programs. The CCS was not forced by any coherent basin-wide processes during...
This report describes the state of the California Current System (CCS)—meteorological, physical, chemical, and biological—from January 2003 to the spring of 2004. The area covered in this report ranges from Oregon coastal waters to southern Baja California. Over the past year, most physical, chemical, and biological parameters were close to...
This report is the eighth in a series that describe recent oceanographic observations within the California Current system, from Oregon to Baja California. The emphasis here is placed on the observations conducted concurrently by the CalCOFI (California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations), IMECOCAL (Investigaciones Mexicanas de la COrriente de CALifornia), and...
The seasonal variation in the alongshore velocity field is inferred from direct current observations made over the Oregon continental shelf at various locations and irregular intervals since 1965. Monthly mean currents are computed and compared with earlier studies to give a description of the seasonal variation in the alongshore currents....
A pair of hydrographic sections, one north and one south of Cape Blanco at 42.9N, was sampled in five summers (1998–2000 and 2002–2003). The NH line at 44.6N lies about 130 km south of the Columbia River, and spans a relatively wide shelf off Newport, Oregon. The CR line at...
This report summarizes the SeaSoar and CTD observations from R/V Wecoma cruise
W9408A (23 August to 2 September 1994) conducted as part of the Coastal Jet Separation
(CJS) experiment, under funding from the National Science Foundation. The goal of this
study is to establish how and why a strong alongshore...
This report summarizes the Seasoar and CTD observations from Wecoma
cruises W9306A (5 June to 12 July, 1993) and W9308B (14 August to 22 September
1993) conducted as part of the Eastern Boundary Currents Accelerated Research
Initiative, under funding by the Office of Naval Research. The cruises were
designed to...
Over the continental shelf at 15°S off Peru, sigma-t is a well-defined
function of temperature (Figure 1) and hence temperature alone may be used
to monitor the changes in stratification, to test the thermal wind equation,
and to monitor the hydrographic response to wind events. In this report we
present...
An international Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment
(COARE) was conducted in the warm-pool region of the western equatorial
Pacific Ocean over a four-month period from November 1992 through
February 1993 (Webster and Lukas, 1992). Most of the oceanographic and
meteorological observations were concentrated in the Intensive Flux Array
(IFA) centered at...
An international Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment
(COARE) was conducted in the warm-pool region of the western equatorial
Pacific Ocean over a four-month period from November 1992 through February
1993 (Webster and Lukas, 1992). Most of the oceanographic and meteorological
observations were concentrated in the Intensive Flux Array (IFA) centered at...
CTD observations were made in the Code region near Pt Arena on the northern California coast at 39°N, off Purisima Pt. at 34°45'N and off Crescent City at 41°54'N, during 25 April - 7 May 1981. The observations in the Code region included four repeated sections along the Central Line,...
CTD observations of temperature and salinity were made off the coast of Peru between 5°S and 16°S from the R/V MELVILLE, 4 March - 22 May 1977, and the R/V ISELIN, 5 April - 19 May 1977. These observations were made as part of MAM 77, the final phase of...
Oregon State University installed and recovered moorings along the coast of Peru during the period late March 1976 through mid-May 1977. A mid-shelf mooring near 15°S (MILA)
was maintained for the full duration of the experiment, through five successive installations. This site was complemented by six other moorings in the...
As part of the SuperCODE project, three hydrographic cruises were conducted
off Oregon and California in July 1983, and January to February 1984,
and April 1984. CTD observations were made near Coos Bay at 43°13'N during 12
July 1983 and 31 January 1984, and off Newport at 44°39'N on 11-12...
In this report we will present vertical sections of temperature, salinity and sigma-t from both CTD and bottle casts made on legs 1-5 of the R/V Eastward during JASON, and from CTD casts made on legs 1, 2 and 4 of the R/V Melville and legs .2 and 4 of...
During some of the CODE mooring deployment and recovery cruises, CTD
observations were made on an ancillary basis. In conjunction with the recovery
of the CODE-2 array, CTD observations were made during 3-5 August
(CODE-2 Leg 10) and 19 August (CODE-2 Leg 13). The CTD observations were
made alongside current...
CTD observations were made in the CODE region between Pt. Arena (39°N) and Pt. Reyes (38°N) during 17 March - 4 April 1982. The observations were along three sections: Code Central, Code - 2 Central, and Irish Gulch Lines; and alongside seven current meter moorings.
Maximum sampling depth was 500...
CTD observations were made in the Code region near Pt. Arena on the
northern California coast at 39°N, off Coos Bay at 43°12'N, off Crescent
City at 41°54'N, of Eureka at 40°51'N, off Half Moon Bay at 37°25'N, off
Pt. Purisima at 34°45'N and in the Santa Barbara Channel during...
CTD observations were made in the CODE region between Pt. Arena (39°N) and Pt. Reyes (38°N) during 28 February - 1 March 1982. The observations were made along three sections: the Arena Line, the North Line and the Code Central Line. An additional single CTD cast was made off Eureka...
CTD observations were made near Coos Bay at 43°08'N, off Crescent
City at 41°54'N and in the vicinity of the LLWODP Pacific Study Area W-N
west of Cape Mendocino between 24 August and 6 September 1981. The maximum
sampling depth was 4405 db. This data report includes vertical sections,
mesoscale...
CTD observations of temperature and salinity were made
off the coast of Peru between 12°S and 16°S from the
R/V EASTWARD, between 23 July and 16 August 1976. The
observations were made during Legs 0, 1, and 2 of JASON,
which was the middle phase of the JOINT-II project conducted...
Hydrographic observations were made over the continental shelf and slope off Oregon during the 1973 Coastal Upwelling Experiment (CUE-II) from three ships: R/V OCEANOGRAPHER, R/V THOMAS G. THOMPSON, and R/V YAQUINA. This report contains the observations made on four YAQUINA cruises between June and August 1973 (Table I). Observations were...
CTD observations were made along the CODE Central Line, extending offshore toward 225°T from the California coast at 38°40'N, during 12-14 April, 1981. The complete section with nine stations was occupied twice; the offshore portion was occupied three times. The maximum sampling depth was 1000 m. This report includes a...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 4 lines (off Newport, Coos Bay, Crescent City and Eureka), to make additional
stations along a fifth line (off...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along one lines off Newport, OR, and to make continuous observations of currents using ADCP and of surface-layer temperature, salinity...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along one line off Newport, OR, and to make continuous observations of currents using
ADCP and of surface-layer temperature, salinity...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA., to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net tow stations along the Newport Hydro line, to make continuous bio-acoustic observations between the 50-500m. isobath, and to make continuous observations of...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in the NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD/rosette and
net tow stations along the Newport Hydro line, to make continuous bio-acoustic observations
between the 50-500m. isobath, and to make continuous observations of currents...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along the Newport Hydro line, to make continuous bio-acoustic observations between
the 50-500m. isobath, and to make continuous observations of...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to make continuous...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along the Newport Hydro line, and to make continuous observations of currents using
ADCP and of surface-layer temperature, salinity and...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along the Newport Hydro line, and to make continuous observations of currents using
ADCP and of surface-layer temperature, salinity and...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, the Rogue River, OR. and Crescent
City, CA.), to deploy drifters...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 5 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, OR. and Crescent City, CA.), to
deploy drifters at selected locations...
PURPOSE (W0408D): To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the
continental margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/
rosette and net tow stations along 3 lines (off Newport, Strawberry Hill and Heceta Head, OR.), and
to make continuous observations of currents...
PURPOSE: To determine physical, plankton and nutrient/chemical conditions over the continental
margin for climate change studies in NE Pacific. In particular, to make CTD and CTD/rosette and net
tow stations along 4 lines (off Newport, Heceta Head, Coos Bay, OR. and Crescent City, CA.), to
deploy drifters at selected locations...
As part of the U. S. GLOBEC NorthEast Pacific
Program we made repeated seasonal hydrographic surveys in
the northern California Current system between July
1997 and September 2003. These surveys included sampling
along a pair of hydrographic sections, one north (at 44.6ºN)
and one south (at 41.9ºN) of Cape Blanco...