AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting (Feb. 2002) COAST abstracts:

• Ashe et al.
  
• Bane et al.
  
• Barth et al.
  
• Coletti et al.
  
• Haines et al.
  
• Karp-Boss et al.
  
• Kosro et al.
  
• Kurapov et al.
  
• Okeefe et al.
  
• Ott et al.
  
• Perlin et al.
  
• Ruttenberg et al.
  
• Sutor et al.
  

OS41O-01

Oceanic and Atmospheric Structure and Evolution Observed by Aircraft
During COAST 2001

John M. Bane, Sara M. Haines, Melanie F. Meaux

Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, 
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300

Twenty-seven flights with an instrumented aircraft were made
to observe the structure and evolution of the ocean and lower
atmosphere over the Oregon continental margin during the COAST
summer 2001 field program.  Flights were executed in a manner that
coordinated with and extended measurements made by the COAST ship
and moored instrumentation efforts.  Aircraft measurements were made
of oceanic surface temperature, oceanic subsurface temperature to
depths up to 500m, upper-ocean color, atmospheric wind, temperature,
humidity and pressure.

Atmospheric structure varied throughout the summer on periods
ranging from diurnal to several days (the atmospheric synoptic
scale), and an atmospheric temperature inversion typically,
though not always, developed during episodes of northerly winds.
An inversion rarely accompanied southerly winds.  The principal
oceanic response to atmospheric forcing was the onset of upwelling
during sustained northerly wind events.  The persistence of upwelled
conditions for a number of days after the demise of northerlies
(and sometimes the change to southerlies) was observed in ocean
temperature and color fields.  The nearshore upwelling band and
separated upwelling jet over Heceta Bank were clearly delineated
in the oceanic temperature field, and the chlorophyll field,
as indicated by upper-ocean color data, followed these patterns.
Small, nearshore regions of elevated chlorophyll concentrations were
also seen and were related to terrestrial effects such as outflows
from coastal rivers and lagoons.  These and other characteristics
will be discussed in detail in this presentation.

Additional Resources: http://www.marine.unc.edu/cool/COAST