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• 1. [Article] Water mass subduction and the transport of phytoplankton in a coastal upwelling system

  Observations during the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) experiment in summer 1988 reveal the presence of deep phytoplankton layers in a coastal upwelling system. The layers occur throughout the CTZ study ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Water mass subduction and the transport of phytoplankton in a coastal upwelling system Author: Washburn, Libe, Hayward, Thomas, Kadko, David C., Ramp, Steve, Cowles, Timothy, Kosro, P. Michael, 1951-, Stanton, Timothy P., Jones, Burton H. Observations during the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) experiment in summer 1988 reveal the presence of deep phytoplankton layers in a coastal upwelling system. The layers occur throughout the CTZ study area, including a strong baroclinic jet which was present over the period of the experiment. On the basis of a variety of bio-optical, hydrographic, and geochemical indicators, it is concluded that the water masses associated with the layers result from subduction processes. Criteria are developed for identification of subducted water masses based on the beam attenuation coefficient, chlorophyll fluorescence, and distribution of light in the water column. Temperature-salinity characteristics are consistent with two source regions for the subducted layers, one nearshore and a second farther offshore. Most of the layers correspond to the inshore source which is apparently distributed alongshore. Subducted water masses are found in all six grid surveys of the CTZ experiment and probably result from a variety of physical processes. One of these is flow along sloping isopycnal surfaces due to advection and mixing processes. Advection time scales for flow out the axis of the jet range from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the depth of a particular surface, and the bio-optical indicators for subduction processes persist over these time scales Title: Water mass subduction and the transport of phytoplankton in a coastal upwelling system Author: Washburn, Libe, Hayward, Thomas, Kadko, David C., Ramp, Steve, Cowles, Timothy, Kosro, P. Michael, 1951-, Stanton, Timothy P., Jones, Burton H. Observations during the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) experiment in summer 1988 reveal the presence of deep phytoplankton layers in a coastal upwelling system. The layers occur throughout the CTZ study area, including a strong baroclinic jet which was present over the period of the experiment. On the basis of a variety of bio-optical, hydrographic, and geochemical indicators, it is concluded that the water masses associated with the layers result from subduction processes. Criteria are developed for identification of subducted water masses based on the beam attenuation coefficient, chlorophyll fluorescence, and distribution of light in the water column. Temperature-salinity characteristics are consistent with two source regions for the subducted layers, one nearshore and a second farther offshore. Most of the layers correspond to the inshore source which is apparently distributed alongshore. Subducted water masses are found in all six grid surveys of the CTZ experiment and probably result from a variety of physical processes. One of these is flow along sloping isopycnal surfaces due to advection and mixing processes. Advection time scales for flow out the axis of the jet range from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the depth of a particular surface, and the bio-optical indicators for subduction processes persist over these time scales 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