Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Effect Of Arctic River Hydrological Cycles On Arctic Ocean Circulation, Peter Becker

OES Theses and Dissertations

Understanding Arctic Ocean circulation may be critical to fully understanding the global oceanic salt and heat cycles and their response to climate variability. This thesis examines how one important aspect of Arctic Ocean circulation, the effect of freshwater inflow, may contribute to the variability of these cycles. The multiple roles that freshwater runoff performs in the Arctic Ocean include: (1) the formation of shelf and basin scale density currents; (2) maintenance of the strong density stratification; (3) control of the thickness and strength of the ice pack; and (4) control of deep convection. Sources and sinks of freshwater in the …

Dynamics Of Dipoles In The Middle Atlantic Bight, Bruce L. Lipphardt Jr.

OES Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with the observations made by the Warm-Core Rings program in the early 1980's, several Gulf Stream warm-core rings (WCR's) in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) have been observed with one or more cyclones around their periphery. These ring systems are observed in the slope water between the Gulf Stream's western boundary and the shelf break. Observations of ring systems have motivated a reanalysis of existing satellite surface temperature imagery, which revealed that multipole structure is common for both warm and cold core rings. This suggests that rings are better characterized as one part of multipole systems rather than as …

A Feasibility Study Of Dynamical Assimilation Of Tide Gauge Data In The Chesapeake Bay, Yvette H. Spitz

OES Theses and Dissertations

The feasibility of dynamical assimilation of surface elevation from tide gauges is investigated to estimate the bottom drag coefficient and surface stress as a first step in improving modeled tidal and wind-driven circulation in the Chesapeake Bay. A two-dimensional shallow water model and an adjoint variational method with a limited memory quasi-Newton optimization algorithm are used to achieve this goal.

Assimilation of tide gauge observations from ten permanent stations in the Bay and use of a two-dimensional model adequately estimate the bottom drag coefficient, wind stress and surface elevation at the Bay mouth. Subsequent use of these estimates in the …

Thermocline Circulation Driven At Surface Outcrops Of Isopycnal Surfaces, Gudavalli V. R. K. Vittal

OES Theses and Dissertations

Potential vorticity (PV) defined as: q = Δθ ^.(fk + Ω)

where θ is density anomaly, Ω (Δ x u) is relative vorticity, k is unit vertical vector and f the coriolis parameter, is used as a dynamical tracer to study the interior thermocline circulation. Using the generalized flux form of PV equation (Haynes and McIntyre, 1987), wind stress and buoyancy fluxes at surface outcrops of isopycnal surface are translated into PV fluxes. The PV flux condition so derived considers seasonal movement of the isopycnal outcrops and geostrophic turbulence.

A constant layer depth model, forced by the above flux …

Seasonal Variability Of Heat And Mass Transport Process In The Upper Tropical Atlantic Ocean: A Numerical Model Study, Sang-Ki Lee

OES Theses and Dissertations

A simple 2.5 layer numerical model was developed and used to illustrate the seasonal variability of heat and mass transports in the upper tropical Atlantic Ocean, associated with the seasonal movement of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The model ocean was forced by seasonally varying climatological wind and heat flux fields. The entrainment at the base of the mixed layer was scaled by wind stress and shear at the bottom of the mixed layer. On an annual average, the northward transport of the tropical warm water is about 11 Sv, with roughly 10 Sv associated with entrainment of upper thermocline …