Other Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

The Tidal Prism, Viable Eelgrass Habitat, And The Effects Of Sea Level Rise In Morro Bay, Kaden A. Caliendo

Master's Theses

The tidal prism, or the volume of water exchanged from the sea to an estuary from mean low to mean high tide, influences system hydrodynamics and ecological functioning. Since 1884, the tidal prism in Morro Bay, California has been estimated to be decreasing over time due to sedimentation from upstream practices. What is the current tidal prism in Morro Bay and how will that change with sea level rise? How will eelgrass respond to rising sea levels?

For this study, inexpensive tidal gauges were deployed at four locations in Morro Bay from March to August 2023 to measure spatially varying …

Heat Flux Dynamics And Seasonal Variability In Morro Bay, California, Mikaela Romanini

Master's Theses

There is a growing need to better understand the dynamics of small and medium Mediterranean low-inflow estuaries (LIEs), which is addressed here by characterizing a heat budget and associated heat transfer processes. A one-dimensional deterministic model was developed from the advection-diffusion equation and applied to Morro Bay, CA using 15-minute water property (temperature, salinity, pressure) and meteorological (wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, irradiance) data collected over a two-year period (2020 – 2021). Seasonal variability is observed in meteorological components, water temperature, and salinity. There is strong seasonal variability in head-mouth temperature and salinity differences. Temperature …

Response And Recovery Of Horn And Petit Bois Islands, Mississippi, Usa To Tropical Cyclone Impacts: 2004 – 2016, Shara Gremillion

Master's Theses

Horn and Petit Bois islands are two of five Mississippi (MS) barrier islands that provide physical protection from tropical cyclones threatening the MS Gulf Coast, in addition to critical habitat for the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan removed a large volume of sediment from the eastern ends of Horn and Petit Bois islands with its 1-2 m storm surge and ~194 kph wind speeds. Then, in August 2005 Hurricane Katrina severely impacted the two islands again with its 3.5-5.5 m storm surge on Horn and Petit Bois islands, and up to 204 kph wind speeds …

Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Environmental Variability On Larval Fish Diet, Growth, And Condition In The Northcentral Gulf Of Mexico, Angie Hoover

Master's Theses

The northern Gulf of Mexico experiences high levels of freshwater runoff annually from various sources including the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay, among other sources. Early life history stages of fishes are especially vulnerable to environmental variability created by freshwater discharge. The objectives of this study were to describe the available prey field, diet, growth and condition of larval fishes with respect to various effects of freshwater discharge in the northern Gulf. The first chapter compared these parameters in larval Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) collected from three different water masses characterized by physical and biological parameters after the …

Determining The Viability Of Recent Storms As Modern Analogues For North-Central Gulf Of Mexico Paleotempestology Through Sedimentary Analysis And Storm Surge Reconstruction, Joshua Caleb Bregy

Master's Theses

The northern Gulf of Mexico has been devastated by recent intense storms. Camille (1969) and Katrina (2005) are two notable hurricanes that made landfall in virtually the same location in Mississippi. However, fully understanding the risks and processes associated with hurricane impacts is impeded by a short and fragmented instrumental record. Paleotempestology could potentially use modern analogues from intense storms in this region to extend the hurricane record back to pre-observational time. Existing empirically based models can back-calculate surge heights over coastal systems as a function of transport distance, particle settling velocity, and gravitational acceleration. We collected cores in a …