Record Details

Atmospheric forcing of the Oregon coastal ocean during the 2001 upwelling season

ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University

Field Value
Title Atmospheric forcing of the Oregon coastal ocean during the 2001 upwelling season
Names Bane, John M. (creator)
Levine, Murray D. (creator)
Samelson, Roger M. (creator)
Haines, S. M. (creator)
Meaux, M. F. (creator)
Perlin, Natalie (creator)
Kosro, P. Michael (creator)
Boyd, Timothy John, 1958-2013 (creator)
Date Issued 2005-10-27 (iso8601)
Note Copyrighted by American Geophysical Union.
Abstract Meteorological conditions during an intensive oceanographic observational program
in May through August 2001 along the central Oregon coast are described and related to
larger-scale and longer-term conditions. Southward wind stresses of 0.05-0.1 N m⁻²
occurred roughly 75% of the time, with a sustained period of dominantly southward stress
from mid-June through July. Wind variations were correlated with variations in the large-scale
Aleutian Low and North Pacific High pressure centers; correlations with the
continental Thermal Low were small. Intraseasonal oscillations in alongshore wind stress
(periods near 20 days) correlated with the north-south position of the jet stream. These
stress oscillations drove 20 day oscillations in upper ocean temperature, with a lag of
roughly 5 days for maximum correlation and amplitudes near 4°C. The sum of sensible
and latent air-sea heat fluxes was generally into the atmosphere through June, then weakly
into the ocean thereafter, with fluctuations on synoptic timescales. Semidiurnal
fluctuations in surface air temperature were observed at two northern moorings, apparently
forced indirectly by nonlinear internal ocean tides. The diurnal cycle of wind stress
was similar for both southward and northward wind conditions, with the diurnal
alongshore fluctuation southward in the evening and northward in the morning. During
southward winds the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) was typically defined
clearly by a strong temperature inversion, and a shallow stable internal boundary layer
often formed within the MABL over cool upwelled waters, with surface air temperature
roughly 1°C lower inshore than offshore. During northward winds, essentially no
low-level temperature stratification was observed.
Genre Article
Topic coastal upwelling
Identifier Bane, J. M., M. D. Levine, R. M. Samelson, S. M. Haines, M. F. Meaux, N. Perlin, P. M. Kosro, and T. Boyd (2005), Atmospheric forcing of the Oregon coastal ocean during the 2001 upwelling season, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C10S02.

© Western Waters Digital Library - GWLA member projects - Designed by the J. Willard Marriott Library - Hosted by Oregon State University Libraries and Press