Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Arctic Ocean And Subarctic Seas Dynamics In A Changing Climate, Sarah B. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Salinity is the primary determinant of the Arctic Ocean’s vertical density stratification in the upper ocean, which has major implications on the ocean’s physical dynamics alongside a period of rapidly declining sea ice. In recent decades, the Arctic’s freshwater content (FWC) has increased as a result of the accumulation of freshwater source inputs. Additional freshwater exported to the North Atlantic may hinder overturning processes that are vital to the regulation of global climate. This dissertation employs in situ measurements, satellite observations, and ocean model simulations to better understand salinity and freshwater changes in the Arctic Ocean during this changing climate. …

Temperature And Salinity Distributions And Flushing Time Estimates In A Low-Inflow California Estuary, Sydney N. Wewerka

Physics

This study examines the temperature and salinity distributions in Morro Bay, a small, seasonally LIE located on the central coast of California. In Morro Bay, eelgrass (Zostera marina; a temperate seagrass), like all seagrasses, is a critical habitat-forming species that supports a large variety of invertebrate, fish, and bird species in the estuary (MBNEP, 2018). Since 2007, eelgrass in the estuary has declined by over 90%, with most losses occurring in the back regions (i.e., head) of the estuary (MBNEP, 2018). Near the mouth, eelgrass meadows have remained resilient, indicating that gradients in environmental conditions throughout the bay may be …

Measurement And Interpolation Of Sea Surface Temperature And Salinity In The Tropical Pacific: A 9,000 Nautical Mile Research Odyssey, Amber Brooks

Earth and Soil Sciences

The purpose of this project was to compare spline and inverse distance weighting interpolation tools on data collected in the tropical Pacific Ocean by ship and data from a global network of CTD floats, known as Argo floats (fig.1), to provide evidence that technological advancement and integration is aiding our understanding of the ocean-atmosphere system of planet Earth. Thirty-one sea surface temperature and salinity samples were manually taken across a 9,000 nautical mile trek of the Pacific Ocean for the months of April, May and June 2008. Argo ASCII globally gridded monthly averaged sea surface temperature and salinity data, from …

Salt Fluxes At The Chesapeake Bay Entrance, Ruth Lane

OES Theses and Dissertations

Underway measurements of salinity and flow profiles were used to compute salt fluxes at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in spring and summer. Waters were sampled along a cross-bay transect over four tidal cycles in 1997: at the end of April, during neap tides, and in mid-July, during spring tides. Data were interpolated onto a uniform grid along the transect area. A least squares regression with semidiurnal and diurnal harmonics was fit on both salinity and flow at each point of the grid to separate tidal from non-tidal influences. The results of the least squares fit were used to …

Distribution Of Suspended Particulate Matter, Patuxent River Estuary, Maryland, Christopher W. Frye

OES Theses and Dissertations

Physical processes which may affect estuarine circulation in a coastal plain estuary were monitored to determine their relative importance on temporal and spatial variability of the concentration, composition, and particle-size of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in Patuxent River estuary, MD, during 1985-86. Discharge rates from Patuxent River determined the character of fresh and estuarine water mixing, and magnitude of SPM concentration in the upper estuary. The mixing zone between fresh and estuarine water, defined as 0 - 1.5 °‰, and turbidity maximum were geographically separated during most of the study period. This suggests that two-layer circulation may be less important …

Temperature And Salinity Tolerance Of The Larvae Of The Sand Shrimp, Crangon Septemspinosa (Say), Karen Lyttle Hinsman

OES Theses and Dissertations

The effects of temperature and salinity on the larval development of the sand shrimp, Crangon septemspinosa, were investigated in the laboratory using 30 combinations of temperature and salinity in a five by six factorial experiment. The five temperatures were 5°c, 10°c, 15°c, 20°c, and 25°c and the six salinities were 10°/oo, 15°/oo, 20°/oo, 25°/oo, 30°/oo and 35°/oo. Thirty-six larvae were used for each temperature-salinity combination. Temperature and salinity produced significant differences (1% level) in survival and the duration of larval development. Highest survival occurred at 15°c and 20°/oo. At optimum temperatures (15°c to 20°c) larvae exhibited the broadest tolerance …

A Seasonal Distributional Survey Of The Epiphytic Diatoms Of The Outer Banks Region Of North Carolina With Respect To Temperature And Salinity, Charles Welles Belin Jr.

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study was initiated to investigate epiphytic diatoms at selected stations along the North Carolina coast and bay region. The relationships between these organisms and the season of the year and salinity and temperature of the water in which they were found are considered. The special affinity between the epiphytic diatoms and their host plants is also discussed. The specific data were analyzed statistically via linear correlation coefficients, graphs of least squares-best fit, and multiple linear regression analysis.

From the statistical tests, it was found that the mean number of epiphytic diatoms shows a significant multiple linear regression with respect …

A Graphic Analysis Of Current Velocity Salinity Density And Temperature During Periods Of Ebb And Flood In The Entrance To Thimble Shoals Channel, Stanley Hecker

OES Theses and Dissertations

A graphic analysis is presented of the observed patterns of longitudinal current velocity, salinity, density and temperature through a group of tidal cycles in Thimble Shoals Channel. Graphs of the properties indicate that this estuary passes through a sequence of estuarine types during a tidal cycle. In spite of this observation, the net non-tidal profiles of salinity are patterns of a partially mixed estuary.

The most noteworthy observation in this study was that longitudinal velocity was essentially constant throughout the water column at any increment of a tidal cycle as well as in the net non-tidal profile of the water …