Record Details
A physical oceanographic study of the nearshore zone at Newport, Oregon
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | A physical oceanographic study of the nearshore zone at Newport, Oregon |
| Names |
Keene, Donald Frederick
(creator) Neal, Victor T. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1971-05-10 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1971 |
| Abstract | The nearshore zone at Newport, Oregon was studied during the period September, 1968 to August, 1969. Particular emphasis was placed on those physical factors affecting the distribution of pulp mill wastes discharged within the study area (referred to as Yaquina Bight in this thesis). Temperatures and seawater samples were obtained from a small boat. Nearshore and longshore currents were measured from a light aircraft using dye markers and drift bottles, respectively. Winds, waves and tides were measured from shore stations. This thesis describes the waters of the bight throughout the year and how they are affected by the effluent of the pulp mill and by seasonal oceanic and local conditions. The waters within Yaquina bight reflect the large scale seasonal oceanic conditions which occur off the Oregon coast, i.e., the summer upwelling season and the winter Davidson current season. On a smaller scale the waters of the bight are influenced by the pulp mill effluent. The effluent mixes rapidly with seawater and the mixture is generally colder, Less saline and less dense than the surrounding surface waters. The dissolved oxygen content of the mixture is also lower than the surrounding seawater. The analyses of different effluent-seawater dilutions indicated that the low oxygen content is not caused by chemical reactions of the effluent. Measurements of current velocity at a depth of two meters were regressed on concurrent measurements of the prevailing wind, waves and tide. The local wind of the hour previous to the time of observation accounted for 56.9% of the variance of the currents flowing in the north-south direction at the outfall station. The wind also accounted for 26.6% of the variance of the east-west flowing currents at the outfall station. Currents at other stations within the bight were also analyzed. The unexplained variance of the currents at the other stations was higher than those at the outfall station. Deviations between the surface current direction and the current direction at two meters ware apparently related to the season and to the wind speed. At wind speeds greater than seven meters per second the angle between the two current directions approached zero. The data did not indicate that the deeper current flowed to the left or the right of the surface current as a function of wind speed. However, during the upwelling season the current at two meters was observed to flow consistently to the left of the surface current. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Waste disposal in the ocean |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/22013 |
