Regional Fisheries Oceanography of the California Current System
Regional Fisheries Oceanography of the California Current System

Author: Sam McClatchie

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-09-30

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 9400772238

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The California Current System is one of the best studied ocean regions of the world, and the level of oceanographic information available is perhaps only surpassed by the northeast and northwest Atlantic. The current literature (later than 1993) offers no comprehensive, integrated review of the regional fisheries oceanography of the California Current System. This volume summarizes information of more than 60-year California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CalCOFI). While providing a large bibliography, the intent was to extract themes relevant to current research rather than to prepare a compendious review of the literature. The work presents a useful review and reference point for multidisciplinary fisheries scientists and biological oceanographers new to working in the California Current System, and to specialists wishing to access information outside their core areas of expertise. In addition it aims to deliver an up to date reference to the current state of knowledge of fisheries oceanography in the California Current System.

Upwelling Systems of the World
Upwelling Systems of the World

Author: Jochen Kämpf

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-08-29

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 3319425242

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Upwelling systems are special places in the oceans where nutrient-enriched water is brought into the euphotic zone to fuel phytoplankton blooms that, via marine food-web interactions, create the world’s richest fish resources. This book introduces the reader to the interdisciplinary science of upwelling and provides a comprehensive overview of the world’s most productive marine ecosystems in the context of climate variability, climate change and human exploitation. This material presented is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate study or just for anyone interested to learn about the creation of life in the oceans and how this is compromised by human activities.

Ecosystems of California
Ecosystems of California

Author: Harold Mooney

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 1008

ISBN-13: 0520278801

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This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.

The California Current
The California Current

Author: Stan Ulanski

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2016-02-13

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1469628252

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The California Current--part of the large, swirling North Pacific gyre--flows slowly southward along the west coast of North America, stretching nearly 2,000 miles from southern British Columbia to the tip of Baja California in Mexico. To a casual observer standing on the shore, the vast current betrays no discernible signs, yet life abounds just over the horizon. Stan Ulanski takes us into the water on a journey through this magnificent, unique marine ecosystem, illuminating the scientific and biological marvels and the astonishing array of flora and fauna streaming along our Pacific coast. The waters of the California Current yield a complex broth of planktonic organisms that form the base of an elaborate food web that many naturalists have compared to the species-rich Serengeti ecosystem of Africa. Every year, turtles, seals, fish, and seabirds travel great distances to feast in the current's distinct biological oases and feeding sites. Apex predators, such as the California gray whale, humpback whale, salmon shark, and bluefin tuna, undertake extensive north-south migrations within the current to find enough to eat. The California Current energizes us to celebrate and protect a marine ecosystem integral to the myriad fisheries, coastal communities, and cultures of the Pacific coast.

Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington
Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0309255945

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Tide gauges show that global sea level has risen about 7 inches during the 20th century, and recent satellite data show that the rate of sea-level rise is accelerating. As Earth warms, sea levels are rising mainly because ocean water expands as it warms; and water from melting glaciers and ice sheets is flowing into the ocean. Sea-level rise poses enormous risks to the valuable infrastructure, development, and wetlands that line much of the 1,600 mile shoreline of California, Oregon, and Washington. As those states seek to incorporate projections of sea-level rise into coastal planning, they asked the National Research Council to make independent projections of sea-level rise along their coasts for the years 2030, 2050, and 2100, taking into account regional factors that affect sea level. Sea-Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future explains that sea level along the U.S. west coast is affected by a number of factors. These include: climate patterns such as the El Niño, effects from the melting of modern and ancient ice sheets, and geologic processes, such as plate tectonics. Regional projections for California, Oregon, and Washington show a sharp distinction at Cape Mendocino in northern California. South of that point, sea-level rise is expected to be very close to global projections. However, projections are lower north of Cape Mendocino because the land is being pushed upward as the ocean plate moves under the continental plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. However, an earthquake magnitude 8 or larger, which occurs in the region every few hundred to 1,000 years, would cause the land to drop and sea level to suddenly rise.

Upwelling Ecosystems
Upwelling Ecosystems

Author: R. Boje

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 3642669859

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Upwelling areas are among the most fertile regions of the ocean. In principle, upwelling is caused by the divergence of the flow in the surface layer of the ocean which arises as a consequence of a particular wind field, the presence of a coastline, or other special conditions. Since deeper oceanic layers are usually enriched wi th nutrients, it is the permanent supply of nutrients which forms the basis for the high producti vi ty of upwelling reg ions. The study of upwelling and its consequences were, for a long time, the task of individual scientists from all disciplines of marine science. Today, it is perhaps the branch of oceanography where interdisciplinary coopera tion has developed best. Becoming aware of the large potential yield of upwelling regions, governments in creased the funds for upwelling research. With research activities developed on a larger scale, interdisciplin ary cooperation became a necessity. On the international level, several symposia documented the rapid development. Three volumes reflect the results of these scientific meetings (Rapp. Proc.-Verb. 159, 1970; Inv. Pesq. 35, 1, 1971; Tethys §.' 1-2, 1974). The present book contains selected papers from the Third Symposium on Upwelling Ecosystems, which was held in Kiel in September 1975. Although the third of a series of meetings, it was the first where the word "ecosystem" stood in the title for a scientific program.

Ocean Modeling in an Eddying Regime
Ocean Modeling in an Eddying Regime

Author: Matthew W. Hecht

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 654

ISBN-13: 1118671996

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Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 177. This monograph is the first to survey progress in realistic simulation in a strongly eddying regime made possible by recent increases in computational capability. Its contributors comprise the leading researchers in this important and constantly evolving field. Divided into three parts Oceanographic Processes and Regimes: Fundamental Questions Ocean Dynamics and State: From Regional to Global Scale, and Modeling at the Mesoscale: State of the Art and Future Directions The volume details important advances in physical oceanography based on eddy resolving ocean modeling. It captures the state of the art and discusses issues that ocean modelers must consider in order to effectively contribute to advancing current knowledge, from subtleties of the underlying fluid dynamical equations to meaningful comparison with oceanographic observations and leading-edge model development. It summarizes many of the important results which have emerged from ocean modeling in an eddying regime, for those interested broadly in the physical science. More technical topics are intended to address the concerns of those actively working in the field.

Wind Stress and Wind Stress Curl Over the California Current
Wind Stress and Wind Stress Curl Over the California Current

Author: Craig S. Nelson

Publisher:

Published: 1976

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13:

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Historical surface marine observations are summarized by 1-degree square area and long term month to describe the seasonal distribution of wind stress over the California Current. Off the coasts of southern California and Baja California, an alongshore equatorward component is present throughout the year. The distributions north of Cape Mendocino are characterized by marked changes in direction and magnitude between summer and winter. The predominant wind stress maximum shifts northward coherently from off Point Conception in March to south of Cape Blanco in September, and extends approximately 500 km in the offshore direction and 1000 km in the alongshore direction. Maximum values of surface wind stress occur during July near Cape Mendocino. The wind stress curl is positive near the coast and negative in the region offshore.

Mesoscale to Large-scale Variability in the California Current System from High-resolution Observations
Mesoscale to Large-scale Variability in the California Current System from High-resolution Observations

Author: Alice Sonya Ren

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13:

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Our understanding of the ocean historically has moved forward in parallel with our ability to make observations. In the thesis, high-resolution observations of the California Current System made by Spray underwater gliders are used to discuss extreme events, eddy across-shore transport, and the annual cycle of dissolved oxygen in the upper ocean. The time scales covered in the thesis include annual to interannual changes while the spatial scales are mesoscale and larger. The availability of high-resolution ocean glider data for over 13 years provides the backbone to conduct analyses over these time and spatial scales. The thesis starts by examining temperature and salinity extremes from 2014-2019 in the California Current System and its source waters. The 2014-2019 period was anomalously warm. In addition, a salinity anomaly from 2017-2019 in the California Current System was found to have formed in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre in 2015 and subsequently advected into the source waters of the California Current. Next, the thesis examines the offshore propagation of subthermocline eddies from the coast. Subthermocline eddies are observed to propagate at near the local first baroclinic Rossby wave speed. It is estimated that the subthermocline eddies are important to the salt budget in the California Current System and are difficult to track with surface observations alone. The thesis next discusses dissolved oxygen observations collected from 2017 to 2020. First, the thesis considers the procedure to correct for drift in the optical sensors used to make dissolved oxygen observations. A model is fit to changes in the gain correction coefficient over time and predicts the drift for 5 years after sensor calibration. Second, the thesis describes the annual cycle of dissolved oxygen in the upper 500 m of the central and southern California Current System. A subsurface dissolved oxygen maximum is described in the oligotrophic region on the offshore edge of the California Current System. During seasonal coastal upwelling, heave of isopycnals is the primary mechanism that deoxygenates the water column, while mixing and biological sources and sinks also cause changes. Evidence of ventilation is found along sloping isopycnals which oxygenates the ocean above 300 m. The collection of work in the thesis is relevant to extreme climate events and climate change in the oceans, including impacts to the biological environment. The thesis also touches on basic research questions related to geostrophic turbulence. The discoveries in the thesis are made possible by the high-resolution ocean data collected by autonomous Spray gliders used together in a network to create sustained observations of a regional ocean.