Browsing Doctoral Theses by Subject "Ocean circulation"
Now showing items 1-16 of 16
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Cross-shelf circulation and momentum and heat balances over the inner continental shelf near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007)The water circulation and evolution of water temperature over the inner continental shelf are investigated using observations of water velocity, temperature, density, and bottom pressure; surface gravity waves; wind stress; ... -
Geophysical and geochemical constraints on the evolution of oceanic lithosphere from formation to subduction
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)This thesis investigates the evolution of the oceanic lithosphere in a broad sense from formation to subduction, in a focused case at the ridge, and in a focused case proximal to subduction. In general, alteration of the ... -
The influence of geothermal sources on deep ocean temperature, salinity, and flow fields
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1988)This thesis is a study of the effect of geothermal sources on the deep circulation, temperature and salinity fields. In Chapter 1 background material is given on the strength and distribution of geothermal heating. In ... -
Influences on the oceanic biogeochemical cycling of the hybrid-type metals, cobalt, iron, and manganese
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012)Trace metal cycling is one of many processes that influence ocean ecosystem dynamics. Cobalt, iron, and manganese are redox active trace metal micro-nutrients with oceanic distributions that are influenced by both biological ... -
Instabilities of an eastern boundary current with and without Large-scale Flow Influence
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011)Eastern oceanic boundary currents are subject to hydrodynamic instability, generate small scale features that are visible in satellite images and may radiate westward into the interior, where they can be modified by the ... -
Internal hydraulic jumps with upstream shear
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)Internal hydraulic jumps in flows with upstream shear are investigated numerically and theoretically. The role of upstream shear has not previously been thoroughly investigated, although it is important in many oceanographic ... -
Internal tide generation by tall ocean ridges
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009)Internal tides are internal waves of tidal period generated by tidal currents flowing over submarine topography. Tall ridges that are nominally two-dimensional (2-D) are sites of particularly strong generation. The subsequent ... -
Kinematics and energetics of the mesoscale mid-ocean circulation : MODE.
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977) -
Linear and nonlinear stratified spindown over sloping topography
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010)In a stratified rotating fluid, frictionally driven circulations couple with the buoyancy field over sloping topography. Analytical and numerical methods are used to quantify the impact of this coupling on the vertical ... -
Physical controls on copepod aggregations in the Gulf of Maine
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013)This thesis explores the role that the circulation in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) plays in determining the distribution of dense aggregations of copepods. These aggregations are an important part of the marine ecosystem, ... -
Physics of diurnal warm layers : turbulence, internal waves, and lateral mixing
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)The daily heating of the ocean by the sun can create a stably stratified near-surface layer when the winds are slight and solar insolation is strong. This type of shallow stable layer is called a Diurnal Warm Layer (DWL). ... -
Quasigeostrophic flows and turbulence in a rotating homogeneous fluid.
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977) -
Slope/shelf circulation and cross-slope/shelf transport out of a bay driven by eddies from the open ocean
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009)Interaction between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the continental slope/shelf in the Marguerite Bay and west Antarctic Peninsula is examined as interaction between a wind-driven channel flow and a zonally uniform ... -
The southern ocean meridional overturning circulation as diagnosed from an eddy permitting state estimate
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008)A modern general circulation model of the Southern Ocean with one-sixth of a degree resolution is optimized to the observed ocean in a weighted least squares sense. Convergence to the state estimate solution is carried out ... -
Stability of large-scale oceanic flows and the importance of non-local effects
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009)My thesis covers two general circulation problems that involve the stability of largescale oceanic flows and the importance of non-local effects. The first problem examines the stability of meridional boundary currents, ... -
Zinc and cadmium in benthic foraminifera as tracers of ocean paleochemistry
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000)Benthic foraminiferal δ13C, Cd/Ca, and Ba/Ca are important tools for reconstructing nutrient distributions, and thus ocean circulation, on glacial-interglacial timescales. However, each tracer has its own "artifacts" that ...