Several methods are developed for analyzing data containing a highly variable internal tide. In particular, the methods are aimed at the analysis of moored observations with relatively few measurements in the vertical. The analysis depends upon an "elliptical decomposition" that is a generalization of the familiar "rotary decomposition." The technique...
The variability of sea level and surface geostrophic currents in the Southern Ocean is investigated from the first 26 months of unclassified Geosat altimeter data (November 1986 to December 1988). Because of problems unique to Geosat, it has been necessary to develop new techniques for analyzing the height data. These...
The location of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF) was mapped over a 7-year period (1987-1993) within images of satellite-deprived sea surface temperature. The mean path of the PF is strongly steered by the topographic features of the Southern Ocean. The topography places vorticity constraints on the dynamics of the PF...
Analysis of satellite ocean color, sea surface temperature, and sea ice cover data reveals consistent patterns between biological production, iron availability, and physical forcings in the Southern Ocean. The consistency of these patterns, in conjunction with information on physical conditions during the last glacial maximum (LGM), enables estimates of export...
This paper examines the effect of “stencil width” on surface ocean geostrophic velocity and vorticity estimated from differentiating gridded satellite altimeter sea surface height products. In oceanographic applications, the value of the first derivative at a central grid point is generally obtained by differencing the sea surface heights at adjacent...
Medusahead [Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski], a non-native, winter-annual grass (Poaceae), has
invaded rangelands throughout the western USA. Medusahead is an aggressive competitor that crowds out native plants
and reduces forage for wildlife and livestock. Sulfometuron methyl is a sulfonylurea herbicide used to control medusahead,
but its effect on non-target native...
A simple parameterization of mixing processes originally developed by Kraus and Turner (1967) is included in a two-dimensional, two-layer theory of wind-driven coastal upwelling. Mixed-layer deepening is a competition between entrainment due to wind stirring, stabilization due to surface beating, and upwelling vertical velocity. For longshore winds favorable to upwelling,...
A theory of a two-dimensional wind-driven diabatic ocean mixed layer with strong horizontal gradients is formulated analytically. An equation that allows the relaxation of the strict Ekman balance—Coriolis force against wind stress—is derived from a careful consideration of the cross-gradient momentum balance. The relaxation scale depends implicitly on mixed-layer depth...
SeaWiFS estimates of surface chlorophyll concentrations are reported for the region of the U.S. JGOFS study in the Southern Ocean (∼ 170 °W, 60 °S). Elevated chlorophyll was observed at the Southern Ocean fronts, near the edge of the seasonal ice sheet, and above the Pacific Antarctic Ridge. The elevated...
The path of the Antarctic Polar Front (PF) is mapped using satellite sea surface temperature data from the NOAA/NASA Pathfinder program. The mean path and variability of the PF are strongly influenced by bathymetry. Meandering intensity is weaker where the bathymetry is steeply sloped and increases in areas where the...
