An empirical statistical model is developed that relates the non-tidal motion of the ocean surface currents off the Oregon coast to forecasts of the coastal winds. The empirical statistical model is then used to produce predictions of the surface currents that are evaluated for their agreement with measured currents. Measurements...
This thesis describes the development of a rare earth element (REE) proxy for paleoceanographic studies of climate change. This work was done in three stages with the goal: (1) To develop a cleaning method that overcomes the problems of REE readsorption; (2) To measure pore water REEs for evaluation of...
We sharpen our view of an eastern boundary current region during
the upwelling season through the analysis of several data sets.
We focus on the mesoscale flow field off of northern California,
observed during the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) experiment of 1988.
First, we estimate tidal currents in the region...
A criterion is defined to compare seasonal ice coverage in the
Greenland Sea for the years 1900-57, and the areal coverage is
graphed using the 1898-1913 average as a standard. The factors
wielding possible influence on short-term variations of the ice cover
are examined individually and their relative importance established....
Spectral analysis was used to investigate semidaily mean sea
levels and atmospheric pressures at San Francisco, California,
Coos Bay, Oregon, and Tofino, British Columbia, in the frequency
band 0 to 0.5 cpd. Cross spectral analysis of semidaily mean sea
levels and atmospheric pressures at the three stations show that the...
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...
The relationship between sea level and wind stress in a region of
known upwelling was studied for an eleven-month period during
1933-34.
Sea level data, obtained from observations taken by the Coast and
Geodetic Survey, were processed to remove astronomic tidal constituents
and inverted barometer effect. Regression analysis was used...
Moored instrument records, drogue displacements, and hydrographic
observations are used in describing the coastal currents and
upwelling off Peru. The data were obtained over the continental shelf
near 15°S. during a two week study in late March and early April of
1969.
First order statistics and graphical representations of current...
An inexpensive method for calibrating an infrared analyzer to measure varying ranges of carbon dioxide partial pressures (Pco₂) is described. A discussion is made of the hydrographic (temperature, salinity, and sigma-t) and chemical (dissolved oxygen, AOU, Pco₂ pH, and nutrients) variables that were observed along the Newport hydrographic line in...
Direct measurements of vertical water motions were made in
the Oregon coastal region during the 1972 summer upwelling season.
The instruments used were the Webb-Voorhis vertical current meters
which are freely drifting neutrally buoyant floats capable of sensing
vertical motion. It was found that in the region studied, water tended...
The physical characteristics of continental shelf waters off
Oregon during late winter and spring of 1975 are described and compared
with observations taken previously during summer. The currents
in winter are barotropic in the monthly means while in summer
the currents are baroclinic. Alongshore current fluctuations on the
time scale...
A method is described for determining the absolute dynamic topography of the sea surface. Using hydrographic and wind data obtained in 1963, the surface topography and the horizontal and vertical mass transports off the southeast Arabian coast during the summer monsoon are calculated. As indicated by the calculations, upwelling occurs...
Temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentration
measured in an estuary were analyzed to determine if the effects of
coastal upwelling could be observed and used to effectively monitor
the degree of upwelling.
Hydrographic data collected weekly at a point four miles from
the entrance of Yaquina Bay (Buoy 15) were...
Plankton and surface sediment samples from the Gulf of California
were analyzed to determine the present geographic distribution of silicoflagellate
species in this area. Variations in the composition of the
silicoflagellate assemblage are related to water mass distributions.
Seven species and three forms were identified in these samples. Octactis
pulchra...
This study was part of the Antarctic Environment and Southern Ocean Study (AESOPS) program, whose main goal was to investigate the role of the biota in the carbon flux from the atmosphere to the interior of the ocean. We quantified the abundance of the major phytoplankton classes and examined the...
Eleven cruises were conducted on the Oregon continental slope from April 1973 to March 1975 to assess the biology and ecology of the Tanner crab, Chionoecetes tanneri Rathbun. Bathymetric and seasonal analysis of the distribution of adult Tanner crabs west of Coos Bay, Oregon, revealed no segregation of sexes or...
Several series of measurements of the hydrography, currents,
and winds during the past ten years are used as a basis for an overview
of the physical oceanography and meteorology during the
upwelling season near Newport, Oregon. Data are described using
elementary statistics, progressive vector diagrams, coordinate system
independent spectra, and...
The oceanic phenomenon of upwelling along the Oregon coast is
examined. Upwelling in both the open ocean and coastal regions is
discussed. An idealized model is used, envisaging the ocean off
Oregon to consist of homogeneous surface and deep layers separated
by a pycnocline. The equations of motion are solved...
The response on the continental shelf of a baroclinic ocean to
driving by an alongshore coastal wind stress and by barotropic and
baroclinic wind forced interior motions is studied as a function of
latitude. The relative excitation of continental shelf waves and
internal Kelvin waves is studied.
The response of...
Sea level and current observations made over the Oregon
continental shelf exhibit wavelike characteristics in a frequency band
from approximately 0.15 to 0.45 cpd. In a narrow band around
0.22 cpd the current-sea level relationship is consistent with the
predicted values for the first mode of Robinson's continental shelf
waves....
Eight years (1994-2000) of data from the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimeter
are used to investigate the variability of the sea surface height and geostrophic
velocity of the California Current system. The TOPEX/Posiedon satellite measures
SSH along an exact-repeat set of groundtracks with a 10-day repeat cycle.
In the domain studied here...
Methane derived authigenic carbonate (MDAC) precipitation occurs within marine sediments as a byproduct of the microbial anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). While these carbonates form in chemical and isotopic equilibrium with the fluids from which they precipitate, burial diagenesis and recrystallization can overprint these signals. Plane polarized light (PPL) and...
Micropaleontological data have been analyzed through mathematical
and statistical procedures, in order to: (1) establish the distribution
pattern of radiolarian assemblages in the surface sediments,
(2) establish the relationship of these assemblages with oceanographic
variables, (3) determine the faunal composition down-core with
respect to the faunal surface pattern, and (4)...
The increase in modern atmospheric CO₂ concentration (360 ppm) from
pre-industrial levels (280 ppm) raises concern over the impact of anthropogenic
carbon dioxide input on atmospheric chemistry. For this reason, it is important to
understand the natural fluctuations of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the past. The
Vostok ice core record...
Based on the principle that the history of a discipline is important to the discipline itself, this thesis devotes two chapters to ROBERT HOOKE AND THE FOUNDATION OF GEOLOGY and two chapters to modern geology, viz. THE TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE OREGON CONTINENTAL MARGIN. The first part of this abstract...
The distribution patterns of quartz and opal contents and the distribution
patterns of radiolarian assemblages, in the sediments of the
southeastern Pacific, are largely controlled by both the surface winds
and the mixed-layer oceanic circulation. The distribution pattern of
quartz is related to eolian and ice-rafted transport, as well as...
Salmon survival and eventual recruitment success have long been thought to be determined within the first summer following ocean migration. Juvenile growth during this period is largely influenced by ocean conditions such as temperature, prey availability, abundance, and quality. Shifts in these conditions due to climatic perturbations are particularly prevalent...
An intensive chemical investigation, that includes the
determinations of salinity, oxygen, nutrients, pH, alkalinity, and
total carbon dioxide of the Columbia River plume off the Oregon
coast in July 1967 shows the following unique features:
1. Along the axis of the river plume both the salinity minimum and
temperature maximum...
The refractive index of particulate matter suspended in seawater
is nonuniform and potentially is an indicator of composition and
origin. A method is described for determining the refractive index
distribution. The method requires the measurement of the volume
scattering function and assumes the total size distribution to be
capable of...
The concentrations of calcite, opal and quartz have been measured in 113 South Atlantic core tops. The remainder of the total sample has been calculated as clay. A method for the quantitative determination of opal has been developed.
Calcite is the dominant factor in South Atlantic sediments; its pattern can...
The inherent and apparent optical properties of different ocean regimes are the basis for all optical remote sensing of the ocean. Ecological information derived from remote sensors therefore relies on having a detailed understanding of how particulate backscattering and absorption contribute to the bulk optical signal. The absorption
characteristics of...
In January-February 1971 five replicate 0.07 m² Van Veen grabs
were obtained from each of 12 stations in Arthur Harbor and nine Van
Veen grabs were obtained from two stations in nearby Bismark Strait.
The 69 grab samples yielded 78,395 individuals which were separated
into 282 taxa, including 108 species...
The quantification and description of sea surface temperature (SST) is critically important because it can influence the distribution, migration, and invasion of marine species; furthermore, SSTs are expected to be affected by climate change. Recent research indicates that there has been a warming trend in ocean temperatures over the last...
Seismic refraction measurements along two unreversed lines
indicate that the earth's crust is 26 km thick in southeastern Alaska
and 30 km thick along the Inside Passage of British Columbia. The
crust in southeastern Alaska, north of Dixon Entrance, consists of
a layer 9 km thick with a seismic velocity...
The first cycle of seismic waves recorded at distances of 45,
300 and 355 km. from the GNOME nuclear explosion was used to determine
whether the near source wave characteristics at 0.3 km.
could be determined from distance measurements. Both head wave
and body wave propagation were considered. First the...
