OCEANOGRAPHY- FINAL REVIEW OUTLINE- FALL 2013

OCEAN CIRCULATION
- Unequal global distribution of solar energy by latitude is driving force for
atmospheric and ocean circulation
Types of ocean circulation:
- wind driven- surface currents
- thermohaline- density driven because of temperature and salinity
differences- subsurface circulation (sigma T = density and is
combination of salinity and temperature)
- gravity driven-the tides
Coriolis effect on surface currents
Patterns of surface oceanic circulation driven by latitudinal wind
patterns (Doldrums, trade winds, westerlies)
- -Equatorial currents- along the equator in all oceans
- -Western Boundary currents- along western edges of all oceans (Examples:
the Gulf Stream and Japan Current), narrow, well-defined, relatively high
velocities, warm and salty.
- -Eastern Boundary currents along eastern edges of oceans (California
Current and Peru Current), wide, slow, diffuse, characterized by upwelling.
- Upwelling and its importance for nutrient availability, biological productivity
and fisheries
WAVES

Sources of waves:
-wind,
-earthquakes/submarine volcanic eruptions/undersea landslides
(tsunamis),
-gravity (tides)
Wave terminology: crest, trough, wavelength, wave height, wave period,
velocity, amplitude
Wave velocity (V) controlled by wavelength (L) in deep water
deep defined by water depth greater than 1/2 wave-length
V= gT/2 (g = gravity; T = wave period)
Wave velocity controlled by water depth (d) in shallow water
V= gd (g= gravity; d = water depth)
Wave size (height & length) determined by 1) wind velocity, 2) duration (time)
of wind blowing, and 3) fetch (distance over which wind blows)

STORM is area where energy is transferred from wind to sea surface; SEA is
area where waves have formed but not yet sorted out; SWELL is area where
waves have moved out from storm area and become regular, well formed.

Waves undergo transformation as they enter shallow water (change from

deep water waves begins at L/2. Velocity, length decrease, wave height
increases, and period remains unchanged as waves enter shallow water.

Longshore current is alongshore flow of water in the surf zone resulting from
waves approaching and breaking at an angle to the beach.

Wave reflection, refraction and diffraction are all important processes waves
undego in shallow water.

Reflection is the return of waves reflected from cliffs or seawalls and possible
transport of sand offshore.

Refraction, or the bending of the wave fronts as they enter shallow water and
is responsible for littoral drift or longshore transport of beach sand. This
process also leads to concentration of energy at high areas or headlands or
points along the shoreline, and the dispersion or reduction of energy over low
areas or submarine canyons. Refraction makes surfing possible.

Diffraction is the lateral flow of wave energy as a wave enters a harbor or

wraps around an island.

Tsunamis: or Seismic Sea Waves (not tidal waves)

Created by either large subduction zone earthquakes, underwater volcanic
eruptions, or large seafloor landslides
Tsunamis are shallow water waves by virtue of very long (90 to 100 mlle)
wavelengths. Move at speeds of 450-500 miles/hour
Few damaging tsunamis in recent time on west coast: Cascadia
Subduction Zone is most likely source.
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of Dec. 24, 2004 and Japan
earthquake and tsunami March 2011) were among the most damaging in
recent years with large loss of life.
BEACHES AND SHORELINES
*Beach morphology and terminology
Variations in beach sand is related to sources of sand. Variations in size of material,
along with wave energy determines beach slope. Coarse material = steeper beach.
Sand moves on and offshore seasonally in response to changing wave climate
*Littoral Cells and Littoral Drift/Sand Budgets
Beach sediment sources: streams, cliffs & bluffs, offshore shelf, dunes,
longshore transport, and artificial nourishment.
Littoral drift: directions and rates are important coastal processes and key to
understanding effects of coastal engineering structures on shoreline
Alongshore and on- and offshore transport of sand takes place as a function of
wave energy and angle of wave approach, and of seasonal changes in wave
energy (winter to summer differences).
Sinks or losses for littoral sand: submarine canyons, dunes, offshore and
mining.
SHORELINE ORIGINS AND CLASSIFICATION
Coastlines are either 1) eroding, 2) accreting, or 3) in equilibrium
Factors influencing variations in coastline morphology:
1. tectonic history or activity
2. sediment supply and presence/absence of a protective beach
3. recent sea level changes
4. resistance of materials to erosion
5. wave energy and direction
6. climate and weathering/storm frequency
7. organic activity
8. human activity/coastal engineering structures
Tectonic Classification of coasts:
1. Leading Edge or Collision coasts (Pacific Coast of USA)
2. Trailing edge or passive margins (Atlantic Coast of USA)
3. Marginal seacoasts (Gulf of Mexico)
Tectonic history of coasts produces variations in a) landforms on and offshore, b)
earthquakes and volcanic activity, c) submarine canyons, d) rivers: size of basins,

 PACIFIC DECADAL OSCILLATIONS (PDO) and El Nio Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

Events
Pacific Decadal Oscillations (PDO) changes ocean conditions around Pacific Basin on
20 to 30 year cycle, based on ocean temperature differences.
El Nio and La Nia events have significant short-term effects on sea level, wave
height, and water temperatures, which influence weather, rainfall, storm approach and
distribution of marine organisms. Caused by changes in trade winds and ocean
circulation.
El Nio: Physical and terrestrial effects storm waves, high rainfall, floods, erosion,
landslides, in Americas; droughts and forest fires in Australia and south Asia.
CLIMATE CHANGE, SEA LEVEL CHANGES AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Climate change from both natural and anthropogenic causes
Natural: short term solar cycles, volcanic eruptions, plate tectonics and Earths
orbital variations
Anthropogenic: greenhouse gas production
Records of climate change from:
1. Ocean drilling-back ~200,000,000 years
2. Ice cores: back 800,000 years
3. Tide Gages: back 150 years
4. Satellite altimetry: back 20 years
Sea level changes are absolute (global) and relative (local)
Most sea level changes are climatic in origin,
Climate changes related primarily to cyclical changes (Milankovitch cycles) in earths
orbit and therefore distance from sun and solar energy :
-wobble on axis- ~21,000 year cycles
-tilt of axis of rotation- ~46,000 year cycle
-eccentricity of orbit- ~100,000 year cycle
Due to regional tectonic setting, relative sea level may be
- rising rapidly in places like New Orleans due to Mississippi delta sinking,
- falling in Alaska due to glacial rebound of land (isostasy)
- staying about the same in San Francisco
Overall, historic global sea level (eustatic) rose at ~ 1.7 mm/year for past century from
averaging tide gages worldwide; evidence from satellite altimetry indicates increase to
3.2 mm/yr for past 20 years.
El Ninos, hurricanes, typhoons and tsunamis and other shorter-term events have very
significant short-term effects on sea level and coastal damage
Global Warming: agreement on warming; magnitude and rate of changes unresolved,
causes have been determined, primarily green house gases with carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxides being the main constituents.
Future rates of sea-level rise very dependent upon rates of greenhouse gas emissions.
Sources include fossil fuel burning, transportation, industrial, agricultural, etc.
COASTAL EROSION
Processes: hydraulic impact, abrasion, solution/weathering, biological activity,
terrestrial processes, and human effects.
Variables in shoreline erosion: rock resistance, structural weaknesses (joints/fractures/
faults), wave exposure, beach presence or absence, storm frequency, tidal range,
human impacts.
Hazardous coastal environments for human habitation: eroding cliffs, the back beach,
and sand dunes.
Solutions or alternatives to areas undergoing shoreline erosion:
1. retreat or relocate structure
2. sand nourishment (costs/responsibilities/lifespan)
3. armoring or protection

 Armoring must withstand: battering, overtopping, undermining, and outflanking

Seawalls and revetments have well defined impacts:
- visual effects
- loss of beach area-placement loss
- loss of sand to beach formerly provided by eroding bluff or cliff
- reduction on beach access
- passive erosion
MINERAL RESOURCES FROM THE SEA
Types of resources:
Renewable: fish and shellfish
Non-renewable:
- mineral resources: - energy resources-oil and gas
Physical: water, beaches, waves,
OIL/GAS AND OTHER ENERGY RESOURCES
Changing societal dependence on various energy resources
Fossil fuels and their formation
-oil and gas-marine
- coal- terrestrial
Oil and Gas
- conditions for the formation of oil and gas in the sea
source materials/rock; Organic matter
reservoir rock: preserving organic matter so no decomposition/increased
temperature and pressure
cap rock/structure/trap
oil offshore & California
Potential and problems associated with offshore oil
Oil Pollution from: 1] natural seepage 2] drilling 3] tankers and spills
Renewable Ocean energy
- Wind / tides / waves / currents
MARINE POLLUTION
Perspective on sources of pollutants ("natural" vs. human)
Varying types and levels of pollutant impacts:
acute, chronic, synergistic, biological magnification
cellular, organism, community, population
Domestic sewage and solid waste:
constituents: oxidizable organics, nutrients, chemical constituents, virus and
bacteria
effects on the marine environment
levels of waste water treatment: primary, secondary, tertiary
Industrial/Agricultural discharges: heavy metals (lead and mercury), toxic chemicals,
chlorofluorocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons and other organics (DDT, PCBs, etc.)
Electrical Power Generation: thermal effluent and impacts;
Nuclear power and its release of radiation, radioactive waste storage, and concerns