Search

Search Results

• 1. [Article] Cold halocline, increased nutrients and higher chlorophyll off Oregon in 2002

  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. ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Cold halocline, increased nutrients and higher chlorophyll off Oregon in 2002 Author: Wheeler, Patricia A., Huyer, Adriana, 1945-, Fleischbein, Jane 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 than passed on to higher trophic levels. In 2002 the halocline water was >1ºC colder than usual and 0.5ºC colder than any previous observation. Four transect lines off the coast of Oregon show a 50% increase in nitrate, phosphate and silicate at 33 psu in 2002 compared to 1998–2001. The increase in nutrients resulted in a 2-fold increase in chlorophyll standing stocks during the summer of 2002 compared with the preceding four years. A significant portion of the increased production was subsequently respired resulting in low oxygen water over the shelf. Title: Cold halocline, increased nutrients and higher chlorophyll off Oregon in 2002 Author: Wheeler, Patricia A., Huyer, Adriana, 1945-, Fleischbein, Jane 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 than passed on to higher trophic levels. In 2002 the halocline water was >1ºC colder than usual and 0.5ºC colder than any previous observation. Four transect lines off the coast of Oregon show a 50% increase in nitrate, phosphate and silicate at 33 psu in 2002 compared to 1998–2001. The increase in nutrients resulted in a 2-fold increase in chlorophyll standing stocks during the summer of 2002 compared with the preceding four years. A significant portion of the increased production was subsequently respired resulting in low oxygen water over the shelf. Close

• 2. [Article] Currents and water masses of the coastal transition zone off Northern California, June to August 1988

  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 ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Currents and water masses of the coastal transition zone off Northern California, June to August 1988 Author: Ramp, Steven R., Washburn, Libe, Cowles, Timothy J., Fleischbein, Jane, Stanton, Tim, Huyer, Adriana, 1945-, Kosro, P. Michael, 1951-, Smith, Robert L. (Robert Lloyd), 1935-, Pierce, Stephen D., Chavez, Francisco P. 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 surveys showed a baroclinic equatorward jet, with core velocities of >50 cm/s at the surface decreasing to about 10 cm/s at 200m , a width of 50-75 km, and a baroclinic transporotf about4 Sv. The core of the jet lay between the 8.6 and9 .4 m²/s² contours of geopotential anomaly (relative to 500 dbar). Three current meter moorings, deployed at 25-km separation across the jet at the beginning of the survey sequence, provided time-series of the velocity; throughout the 37-day deployment, at least one mooring was within the core defined by the 8.6 and9 .4 m²/s² contours. The jet flowed southwestward across the grid from late June until mid-July 1988, when the jet axis moved offshore in the north and onshore in the southern portion of the grid. Temperature-salinity analysis shows that jet waters can be distinguished from both the freshly upwelled coastal waters and the offshore waters. Isopycnal maps indicate alongshore advection of relatively fresh, cool water from farther north, as well as small-scale patchiness not resolved by our survey grid. The baroclinic jet observed here may be continuous with the core of the California Current off central California. The later surveys clearly showed a poleward-flowing undercurrent adjacent to the continental slope, with core velocities up to 20 cm/s at depths of 150-250 m. Its baroclinic transport (relative to 500 dbar) increased from <0.5 Sv to >1.0 Sv between late June and early August 1988. Within the survey grid, there was a definite onshore gradient in the characteristics of North Pacific Intermediate Water. The subsurface waters adjacent to the continental margin were warmer and more saline than those offshore, indicating net northward advection by the California Undercurrent over the inshore 100 km and equatorward advection farther from shore. Title: Currents and water masses of the coastal transition zone off Northern California, June to August 1988 Author: Ramp, Steven R., Washburn, Libe, Cowles, Timothy J., Fleischbein, Jane, Stanton, Tim, Huyer, Adriana, 1945-, Kosro, P. Michael, 1951-, Smith, Robert L. (Robert Lloyd), 1935-, Pierce, Stephen D., Chavez, Francisco P. 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 surveys showed a baroclinic equatorward jet, with core velocities of >50 cm/s at the surface decreasing to about 10 cm/s at 200m , a width of 50-75 km, and a baroclinic transporotf about4 Sv. The core of the jet lay between the 8.6 and9 .4 m²/s² contours of geopotential anomaly (relative to 500 dbar). Three current meter moorings, deployed at 25-km separation across the jet at the beginning of the survey sequence, provided time-series of the velocity; throughout the 37-day deployment, at least one mooring was within the core defined by the 8.6 and9 .4 m²/s² contours. The jet flowed southwestward across the grid from late June until mid-July 1988, when the jet axis moved offshore in the north and onshore in the southern portion of the grid. Temperature-salinity analysis shows that jet waters can be distinguished from both the freshly upwelled coastal waters and the offshore waters. Isopycnal maps indicate alongshore advection of relatively fresh, cool water from farther north, as well as small-scale patchiness not resolved by our survey grid. The baroclinic jet observed here may be continuous with the core of the California Current off central California. The later surveys clearly showed a poleward-flowing undercurrent adjacent to the continental slope, with core velocities up to 20 cm/s at depths of 150-250 m. Its baroclinic transport (relative to 500 dbar) increased from <0.5 Sv to >1.0 Sv between late June and early August 1988. Within the survey grid, there was a definite onshore gradient in the characteristics of North Pacific Intermediate Water. The subsurface waters adjacent to the continental margin were warmer and more saline than those offshore, indicating net northward advection by the California Undercurrent over the inshore 100 km and equatorward advection farther from shore. Close