Geology topics

M.A. Noble

Publications and source records attributed to M.A. Noble.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2009

Currents in monterey submarine canyon

Flow fields of mean, subtidal, and tidal frequencies between 250 and 3300 m water depths in Monterey Submarine Canyon are examined using current measurements obtained in three yearlong field experiments. Spatial variations in flow fields are mainly controlled by the topography (shape and width) of the canyon. The mean currents flow upcanyon in the offshore reaches (>1000 m) and downcanyon in the shallow reaches (<800 m) of the canyon. Tidal currents, especially the semidiurnal components, are dominant and account for more than 90% of total energy. Pulses of strong currents near the canyon floor, which last several days at a time and have a magnitude as high as 60+ cm/s, are attributed to intense baroclinic processes occurring within the canyon. The V-shaped canyon walls and the near-critical slope of the canyon floor focus the baroclinic tides of semidiurnal and higher frequencies to the canyon bottom to produce the >100-m amplitude isotherm oscillations and associated high-speed rectilinear currents. The 15-day spring-neap cycle and a ???3-day??? band are the two prominent frequencies in subtidal flow field. Neither of them seems directly correlated with the spring-neap cycle of the sea level.

Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans↗

USGS2009

Variability of the Southern California wave climate and implications for sediment transport

We analyzed wave and wind data from 18 buoys in the Southern California Bight to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of the regional wave climate. Point Conception shelters most of the Bight from being directly impacted by North Pacific weather. The wave height inside the sheltered zone and to the east of the Channel Islands is less than half the wave height in the open ocean to the west. Within the sheltered Bight, storm waves (by proxy of being greater than the 95th percentile wave height for more than 6 hours) are mainly from the west, but long period swells (T p >15 seconds) are mainly from the south-southwest. There are on average two to four storms during each winter month (November-March) and fewer than two storms per month for the rest of the year. The Channel Islands selectively block the westerly swells and make the wave climate in the Santa Barbara Channel different from the rest of the sheltered Bight. A statistically significant wave-height minimum exists in the area offshore Dana Point and Oceanside. The multiyear (2-23 years) wave-data records from all 18 buoys show negligible temporal trend, positive or negative. Like the wave climate, the long-term probability of sediment transport on the continental shelves of the Bight displays large difference between the sheltered and open-ocean (near Point Conception) sites. The return period of incipient sediment motion on the sheltered shelf breaks (one to five months) is at least two orders of magnitude longer than that on the Point Conception shelf break (0.6 day). Similar to the spatial distribution of wave heights, there is a systematic return-period maximum on the shelf off Dana Point and Oceanside. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗

USGS2009

Coastal ocean transport patterns in the central Southern California Bight

In the past decade, several large programs that monitor currents and transport patterns for periods from a few months to a few years were conducted by a consortium of university, federal, state, and municipal agencies in the central Southern California Bight, a heavily urbanized section of the coastal ocean off the west coast of the United States encompassing Santa Monica Bay, San Pedro Bay, and the Palos Verdes shelf. These programs were designed in part to determine how alongshelf and cross-shelf currents move sediments, pollutants, and suspended material through the region. Analysis of the data sets showed that the current patterns in this portion of the Bight have distinct changes in frequency and amplitude with location, in part because the topography of the shelf and upper slope varies rapidly over small spatial scales. However, because the mean, subtidal, and tidal-current patterns in any particular location were reasonably stable with time, one could determine a regional pattern for these current fields in the central Southern California Bight even though measurements at the various locations were obtained at different times. In particular, because the mean near-surface flows over the San Pedro and Palos Verdes shelves are divergent, near-surface waters from the upper slope tend to carry suspended material onto the shelf in the northwestern portion of San Pedro Bay. Water and suspended material are also carried off the shelf by the mean and subtidal flow fields in places where the orientation of the shelf break changes abruptly. The barotropic tidal currents in the central Southern California Bight flow primarily alongshore, but they have pronounced amplitude variations over relatively small changes in alongshelf location that are not totally predicted by numerical tidal models. Nonlinear internal tides and internal bores at tidal frequencies are oriented more across the shelf. They do not have a uniform transport direction, since they move fine sediment from the shelf to the slope in Santa Monica Bay, but carry suspended material from the mid-shelf to the beach in San Pedro Bay. It is clear that there are a large variety of processes that transport sediments and contaminants along and across the shelf in the central Southern California Bight. However, because these processes have a variety of frequencies and relatively small spatial scales, the dominant transport processes tend to be localized and have dissimilar characteristics even in adjacent regions of this small part of the coastal ocean. ?? 2009 The Geological Society of America.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗

USGS2008

Rapid formation of hyperpycnal sediment gravity currents offshore of a semi-arid California river

Observations of sediment dispersal from the Santa Clara River of southern California during two moderately sized river discharge events suggest that river sediment rapidly formed a negatively buoyant (hyperpycnal) bottom plume along the seabed within hours of peak discharge. An array of acoustic and optical sensors were placed at three stations 1 km from the Santa Clara River mouth in 10-m water depth during January-February 2004. These combined observations suggest that fluid mud concentrations of suspended sediment (>10 g/l) and across-shore gravity currents (???5 cm/s) were observed in the lower 20-40 cm of the water column 4-6 h after discharge events. Gravity currents were wave dominated, rather than auto-suspending, and appeared to consist of silt-to-clay sized sediment from the river. Sediment mass balances suggest that 25-50% of the discharged river sediment was transported by these hyperpycnal currents. Sediment settling purely by flocs (???1 mm/s) cannot explain the formation of the observed hyperpycnal plumes, therefore we suggest that some enhanced sediment settling from mixing, convective instabilities, or diverging plumes occurred that would explain the formation of the gravity currents. These combined results provide field evidence that high suspended-sediment concentrations from rivers (>1 g/l) may rapidly form hyperpycnal sediment gravity currents immediately offshore of river mouths, and these pathways can explain a significant portion of the river-margin sediment budget. The fate of this sediment will be strongly influenced by bathymetry, whereas the fate of the remaining sediment will be much more influenced by ocean currents.

Continental Shelf Research↗

USGS2007

Sea level fluctuations in central California at subtidal to decadal and longer time scales with implications for San Francisco Bay, California

Sea level elevations from near the mouth of San Francisco Bay are used to describe the low-frequency variability of forcing of the coastal ocean on the Bay at a variety of temporal scales. About 90% of subtidal fluctuations in sea level in San Francisco Bay are driven by the sea level variations in the coastal ocean that propagate into the Bay at the estuary mouth. We use the 100-year sea level record available at San Francisco to document a 1.9 mm/yr mean sea level rise, and to determine fluctuations related to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other climatic events. At time scales greater than 1 year, ENSO dominates the sea level signal and can result in fluctuations in sea level of 10–15 cm. Alongshore wind stress data from central California are also analyzed to determine the impact of changes in coastal elevation at the mouth of San Francisco Bay within the synoptic wind band of 2–30 days. At least 40% of the subtidal fluctuations in sea level of the Bay are tied to the large-scale regional wind field affecting sea level variations in the coastal ocean, with little local, direct wind forcing of the Bay itself. The majority of the subtidal sea level fluctuations within the Bay that are not related to the coastal ocean sea level signal are forced by an east–west sea level gradient resulting from tidally induced variations in sea level at specific beat frequencies that are enhanced in the northern reach of the Bay. River discharge into the Bay through the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta also contributes to the east–west gradient, but to a lesser degree.

California↗

USGS2006

Alongshore wind forcing of coastal sea level as a function of frequency

The amplitude of the frequency response function between coastal alongshore wind stress and adjusted sea level anomalies along the west coast of the United States increases linearly as a function of the logarithm (log10) of the period for time scales up to at least 60, and possibly 100, days. The amplitude of the frequency response function increases even more rapidly at longer periods out to at least 5 yr. At the shortest periods, the amplitude of the frequency response function is small because sea level is forced only by the local component of the wind field. The regional wind field, which controls the wind-forced response in sea level for periods between 20 and 100 days, not only has much broader spatial scales than the local wind, but also propagates along the coast in the same direction as continental shelf waves. Hence, it has a stronger coupling to and an increased frequency response for sea level. At periods of a year or more, observed coastal sea level fluctuations are not only forced by the regional winds, but also by joint correlations among the larger-scale climatic patterns associated with El Nin??o. Therefore, the amplitude of the frequency response function is large, despite the fact that the energy in the coastal wind field is relatively small. These data show that the coastal sea level response to wind stress forcing along the west coast of the United States changes in a consistent and predictable pattern over a very broad range of frequencies with time scales from a few days to several years.

Journal of Physical Oceanography↗

USGS2006

Cross-shelf subtidal variability in San Pedro Bay during summer, 2001

A total of 16 moorings were deployed across the San Pedro shelf, one of the two wider embayments in the Southern California Bight, from near the surfzone to the upper-slope. On the middle and outer shelf in the summer of 2001, the currents flowed strongly equatorward at the surface and had large vertical shears through the well-stratified water column. This equatorward flow differs from predominantly poleward flow found in previous studies of the coastal margin further west. In deeper water, near the shelf break, the shears were such that near-bottom flows were poleward and incorporated into the upper parts of the Southern California Undercurrent over the slope. Mid-shelf current fluctuations, with periods of 10-25 days, along with upwelling over the shelf, were not related to local winds, but were significantly correlated with the large-scale alongshore pressure gradient. Shorter period (???7-10 days) inner shelf alongshore currents, however, were significantly correlated with the alongshore wind at the shelf break. A CEOF analysis gives two significant modes, with the first mode dominant over the outer and middle shelf. The wind-forced second mode connects the inner shelf to the poleward undercurrent over the slope such that increases in the poleward flow over the slope are correlated with increases in the equatorward current inshore of the 15 m isobath.

Continental Shelf Research↗

USGS2006

Temporal and spatial variability of fecal indicator bacteria in the surf zone off Huntington Beach, CA

Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations measured in the surf zone off Huntington Beach, CA from July 1998-December 2001 were analyzed with respect to their spatial patterns along 23 km of beach, and temporal variability on time scales from hourly to fortnightly. The majority of samples had bacterial concentrations less than, or equal to, the minimum detection limit, but a small percentage exceeded the California recreational water standards. Areas where coliform bacteria exceeded standards were more prevalent north of the Santa Ana River, whereas enterococci exceedances covered a broad area both north and south of the river. Higher concentrations of bacteria were associated with spring tides. No temporal correspondence was found between these bacterial events and either the timing of cold water pulses near shore due to internal tides, or the presence of southerly swell in the surface wave field. All three fecal indicator bacteria exhibited a diel cycle, but enterococci rebounded to high nighttime values almost as soon as the sun went down, whereas coliform levels were highest near the nighttime low tide, which was also the lower low tide. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Marine Environmental Research↗

USGS2006

Distribution and sources of surfzone bacteria at Huntington Beach before and after disinfection on an ocean outfall - A frequency-domain analysis

Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were measured approximately 5 days a week in ankle-depth water at 19 surfzone stations along Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, California, from 1998 to the end of 2003. These sampling periods span the time before and after treated sewage effluent, discharged into the coastal ocean from the local outfall, was disinfected. Bacterial samples were also taken in the vicinity of the outfall during the pre- and post-disinfection periods. Our analysis of the results from both data sets suggest that land-based sources, rather than the local outfall, were the source of the FIB responsible for the frequent closures and postings of local beaches in the summers of 2001 and 2002. Because the annual cycle is the dominant frequency in the fecal and total coliform data sets at most sampling stations, we infer that sources associated with local runoff were responsible for the majority of coliform contamination along wide stretches of the beach. The dominant fortnightly cycle in enterococci at many surfzone sampling stations suggests that the source for these relatively frequent bacteria contamination events in summer is related to the wetting and draining of the land due to the large tidal excursions found during spring tides. Along the most frequently closed section of the beach at stations 3N-15N, the fortnightly cycle is dominant in all FIBs. The strikingly different spatial and spectral patterns found in coliform and in enterococci suggest the presence of different sources, at least for large sections of beach. The presence of a relatively large enterococci fortnightly cycle along the beaches near Newport Harbor indicates that contamination sources similar to those found off Huntington Beach are present, though not at high enough levels to close the Newport beaches. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Marine Environmental Research↗

USGS2005

Comparison of shelf currents off central California prior to and during the 1997-1998 El Nino

Moored current, temperature, salinity, and pressure data were collected at three sites that transect the narrow continental shelf offshore of Davenport, CA, starting in August 1996 and continuing to the spring of 1998. This data set allowed a comparison of oceanographic conditions prior to (8/96-3/97) and during (8/97-3/98) the last major El Nin??o. During this El Nin??o, mean temperatures over the 8-month time period were about 3??C warmer than during the prior year at all of the sites. Correlations between near-surface and near-bottom temperatures, and between near-surface temperature and wind stress decreased during the El Nin??o compared to conditions the year before. The mean alongshore currents were more strongly poleward during El Nin??o at sites over the mid-shelf and near the shelf break. There was a general tendency for the energy in alongshore currents to move toward lower frequencies during the El Nin??o, particularly at the sites farther offshore. The processes that forced the shelf flows changed in relative importance throughout the study. The local alongshore wind stress was less important in driving shelf currents during the El Nin??o when much of the wind-induced upwelling was confined to less than 5 km of the coast. The observed strong poleward shelf currents on the mid- to outer-shelf were not clearly tied to local forcing, but were remotely driven, most likely by slope currents. The response of the Davenport shelf to an El Nin??o event may differ from other areas since the shelf is narrow, the wind forcing is weaker than areas to the north and south, and the shelf may be at times isolated by fronts that form at strong upwelling centers. In the winter, strong storm-related winds are important in driving currents at periods not only in the synoptic wind band, but also for periods on the order of 20 d and longer.

Continental Shelf Research↗

USGS2005

Temporal and spatial patterns for surf zone bacteria before and after disinfection of the orange county sanitation district effluent

Data from pre- and post-disinfection fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) samples from final effluent, an offshore ocean outfall, and surf zone stations off Huntington Beach, CA were compared. Analysis of the results from these data sets confirmed that the ocean outfall was not the FIB source responsible for the postings and closures of local beaches that have occurred each summer since 1999. While FIB counts in the final effluent and offshore showed several order of magnitude reductions after disinfection, there were no significant reductions at the nearby surf zone stations. Additionally, the FIB spectral patterns suggest different sources. The dominant fortnightly cycle suggested that the source was related to the wetting and draining of the land from large spring tide tidal excursions.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2004

In-situ measurements of velocity structure within turbidity currents

Turbidity currents are thought to be the main mechanism to move ???500,000 m3 of sediments annually from the head of the Monterey Submarine Canyon to the deep-sea fan. Indirect evidence has shown frequent occurrences of such turbidity currents in the canyon, but the dynamic properties of the turbidity currents such as maximum speed, duration, and dimensions are still unknown. Here we present the first-ever in-situ measurements of velocity profiles of four turbidity currents whose maximum along-canyon velocity reached 190 cm/s. Two turbidity currents coincided with storms that produced the highest swells and the biggest stream flows during the year-long deployment. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS2003

Observations of large-amplitude cross-shore internal bores near the shelf break, Santa Monica Bay, CA

Two sets of moorings were deployed along a cross-shelf transect in central Santa Monica bay for four months in the winter of 1998-1999. Both sites had an array of instruments attached to tripods set on the seafloor to monitor currents over the entire water column, surface waves, near-bed temperature, water clarity and suspended sediment. A companion mooring had temperature sensors spaced approximately 10 m apart to measure temperature profiles between the surface and the seafloor. One array was deployed in 70 m of water at a site adjacent to the shelf break, just northwest of a major ocean outfall. The other was deployed on the mid shelf in 35 m of water approximately 6 km from the shelf break site. The subtidal currents in the region flowed parallel to the isobaths with fluctuating time scales around 10 days, a typical coastal-ocean pattern. However, during the falling phase of the barotropic spring tide, sets of large-amplitude, sheared cross-shore current pulses with a duration of 2-5 h were observed at the shelf break site. Currents in these pulses flowed exclusively offshore in a thin layer near the bed with amplitudes reaching 30-40 cm/s. Simultaneously, currents with amplitudes around 15-20 cm/s flowed exclusively onshore in the thicker layer between the offshore flow layer and the sea surface. The net offshore transport was about half the onshore transport. Near-surface isotherms were depressed 30-40 m. These pulses were likely internal bores generated by tidal currents. Bed stresses associated with these events exceeded 3 dynes/cm2. These amplitudes are large enough to resuspend and transport not only fine-grained material, but also medium to coarse sands from the shelf toward the slope. Consequently, the seafloor over the shelf break was swept clear of fine sediments. The data suggest that the internal bores dissipate and are reduced in amplitude as they propagate across this relatively narrow shelf. There is evidence that they reach the 35 m site, but other coastal ocean processes obscure their distinctive characteristics.

Marine Environmental Research↗

USGS2003

Sediment transport and deposition processes near ocean outfalls in southern California

An urbanized coastal ocean that has complex topography and large-scale atmospheric and oceanographic forcing can contain a variety of sediment and pollutant distribution patterns. For example, the central southern California Bight has two large embayments, Santa Monica and San Pedro Bays, that are connected by a short, very narrow shelf off the Palos Verdes peninsula. The complex topography causes quite different oceanographic and sediment distribution patterns in this fairly small region of the coastal ocean. In addition, three sewage outfalls discharge material over the outer shelf. A large suite of sediment cores was obtained and analyzed for contaminants, physical properties, accumulation rates, and grain sizes. Arrays of instrumented moorings that monitor currents, waves, water clarity, water density and collect resuspended materials were deployed. The data and models developed for the Palos Verdes margin suggest that a large reservoir of DDT and its byproducts exists in the coastal ocean sediment and will continue to be exhumed and transported along the shelf for a long time. On the Santa Monica shelf, very large internal waves, or bores, are generated at the shelf break. The near-bottom currents associated with these waves sweep sediment and the associated contaminants from the shelf onto the continental slope. On the San Pedro margin an initial examination of recent data collected in the coastal ocean does not suggest that bacterial contamination on local beaches is primarily caused by transport of material from the adjacent ocean outfall.

California↗

USGS2002

The dynamics of subtidal poleward flows over a narrow continental shelf, Palos Verdes, CA

The Palos Verdes peninsula is a short, very narrow (< 3 km) shelf in southern California that is bracketed by two large embayments. In May 1992, arrays of up to 4 moorings and 2 benthic tripods were deployed in a yearlong study of the circulation processes over this shelf and the adjacent slope. Wind stress, coastal sea level, atmospheric pressure and wave records were obtained from offshore sites and from coastal stations surrounding Palos Verdes. Bottom stress calculated for the mid-shelf sites using a boundary-layer model and data from the above instruments indicated the bottom drag coefficient over this shelf is about 0.003 Currents flow toward the northwest along the shelf and upper slope. Speeds are generally around 20-30 cm/s. There was no obvious seasonal structure in the flow. The first EOF for subtidal alongshelf current accounted for nearly 70% of the variance at sites on the shelf and upper slope. The dominant fluctuations had periods between 5 and 20 days, periods longer than seen in the regional wind stress field. Coastal sea level and the alongshore gradient in sea level had a similar concentration of energy in the 5-20 day frequency band. About 30% of the alongshelf flow was coherent with the alongshelf pressure gradient; currents flowed down the pressure gradient with minimal phase lag. Winds accounted for only 15-20% of the variance in subtidal currents, but the measured effect of wind stress was large. A 1 dyne/cm2 wind stress was associated with a 20-30 cm/s alongshore current. Both the regional wind stress and the alongshelf pressure gradients had spatial scales much larger than found on this small shelf. Subtidal flows forced by these regional fields were set up in the adjacent, much broader basins. The currents amplified as they moved onto the narrow shelf between the basins. Hence, local wind-driven currents had anomalously large amplitudes. The momentum equations for alongshelf wind or pressure gradients did not balance because some of the measured terms were associated with regional fields, others with local process. Our observations suggest that it is more difficult to determine which measured fields reflect the local processes in regions with rapidly changing topography. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continental Shelf Research↗

USGS2002

Hydrographic and particle distributions over the Palos Verdes continental shelf: Spatial, seasonal and daily variability

Moorings and towyo mapping were used to study the temporal and spatial variability of physical processes and suspended particulate material over the continental shelf of the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles, California during the late summer of 1992 and winter of 1992-93. Seasonal evolution of the hydrographic structure is related to seasonal atmospheric forcing. During summer, stratification results from heating of the upper layer. Summer insolation coupled with the stratification results in a slight salinity increase nearsurface due to evaporation. Winter cooling removes much of the upper layer stratification, but winter storms can introduce sufficient quantities of freshwater into the shelf water column again adding stratification through the buoyancy input. Vertical mixing of the low salinity surface water deeper into the water column decreases the sharp nearsurface stratification and reduces the overall salinity of the upper water column. Moored conductivity measurements indicate that the decreased salinity persisted for at least 2 months after a major storm with additional freshwater inputs through the period. Four particulate groups contributed to the suspended particulate load in the water column: phytoplankton, resuspended sediments, and particles in treated sewage effluent were observed in every towyo mapping cruise; terrigenous particles are introduced through runoff from winter rainstorms. Terrigenous suspended particulate material sinks from the water column in <9 days and phytoplankton respond to the stormwater input of buoyancy and nutrients within the same period. The suspended particles near the bottom have spatially patchy distributions, but are always present in hydrographic surveys of the shelf. Temporal variations in these particles do not show a significant tidal response, but they may be maintained in suspension by internal wave and tide processes impinging on the shelf. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continental Shelf Research↗

USGS2001

Transport processes near coastal ocean outfalls

The central Southern California Bight is an urbanized coastal ocean where complex topography and largescale atmospheric and oceanographic forcing has led to numerous sediment-distribution patterns. Two large embayments, Santa Monica and San Pedro Bays, are connected by the short, very narrow shelf off the Palos Verdes peninsula. Ocean-sewage outfalls are located in the middle of Santa Monica Bay, on the Palos Verdes shelf and at the southeastern edge of San Pedro Bay. In 1992, the US Geological Survey, together with allied agencies, began a series of programs to determine the dominant processes that transport sediment and associated pollutants near the three ocean outfalls. As part of these programs, arrays of instrumented moorings that monitor currents, waves, water clarity, water density and collect resuspended materials were deployed on the continental shelf and slope information was also collected on the sediment and contaminant distributions in the region. The data and models developed for the Palos Verdes shelf suggest that the large reservoir of DDT/DDE in the coastal ocean sediments will continue to be exhumed and transported along the shelf for a long time. On the Santa Monica shelf, very large internal waves, or bores, are generated at the shelf break. The near-bottom currents associated with these waves sweep sediments and the associated contaminants from the shelf onto the continental slope. A new program underway on the San Pedro shelf will determine if water and contaminants from a nearby ocean outfall are transported to the local beaches by coastal ocean processes. The large variety of processes found that transport sediments and contaminants in this small region of the continental margin suggest that in regions with complex topography, local processes change markedly over small spatial scales. One cannot necessarily infer that the dominant transport processes will be similar even in adjacent regions.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2000

Subtidal currents over the central California slope: Evidence for offshore veering of the undercurrent and for direct, wind-driven slope currents

In February 1991, an array of six current-meter moorings was deployed for one year across the central California outer shelf and slope. The main line of the array extended 30 km offshore of the shelf break, out to water depths of 1400 m. A more sparsely-instrumented line, displaced 30 km to the northwest, extended 14 km offshore. Though shorter, the northern line spanned similar water depths because the gradient of the topography steepened in the northern region. A poleward flow pattern, typical of the California undercurrent, was seen across both lines in the array over most of the year. The poleward flow was surface intensified. In general, the portion of the undercurrent that crossed the southern line had larger amplitudes and penetrated more deeply into the water column than the portion that crossed the northern line. Transport over the year ranged from 0 to 2.5 Sverdrups (Sv) poleward across the southern line; 0 to 1 Sv poleward across the northern line. We suggest the difference in transport was caused by topographic constraints, which tended to force the poleward flow offshore of the northern measurement sites. The slope of the topography steepened too abruptly to allow the poleward flow to follow isobaths when currents were strong. When current velocities lessened, a more coherent flow pattern was seen across both lines in the array. In general, the poleward flow patterns in the undercurrent were not affected by local winds or by the local alongshore pressure gradient. Nor was a strong seasonal pattern evident. Rather unexpectedly, a small but statistically significant fraction of the current variance over the mid- and outer slope was driven by the surface wind stress. An alongshelf wind stress caused currents to flow along the slope, parallel to the wind field, down to depths of 400 m below the surface and out to distances of 2 Rossby radii past the shelf break. The transfer functions were weak, 3-4 cm/s per dyn cm-2, but comparable to wind-driven current amplitudes of 4-6 cm/s per unit wind stress over the middle shelf. Equatorward, alongshelf winds also caused water from 200-300 m over the slope to upwell onto the shelf as the surface water moved offshore.

Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Ocea↗