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Nitrogen cycling in oxygen deficient zones : insights from [delta]¹⁵N and [delta]¹⁸O of nitrite and nitrate
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013)
The stable isotopes, [delta]¹⁵N and [delta]¹⁸O, of nitrite and nitrate can be powerful tools used to interpret nitrogen cycling in the ocean. They are particularly useful in regions of the ocean where there are multiple ...
Thermally driven circulation
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987)
Several problems connected by the theme of thermal forcing are addressed herein. The main topic is the stratification and flow field resulting from imposing a specified heat flux on a fluid that is otherwise confined to a ...
The effect of a shallow low viscosity zone on mantle convection and its expression at the surface of the earth
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987)
Many features of the oceanic plates cannot be explained by conductive cooling with age. A number of these anomalies require additional convective thermal sources at depths below the plate: mid-plate swells, the evolution ...
Adaptive error estimation in linearized ocean general circulation models
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999)
Data assimilation methods, such as the Kalman filter, are routinely used in oceanography. The statistics of the model and measurement errors need to be specified a priori. In this study we address the problem of estimating ...
Mechanisms and variability of salt transport in partially-stratified estuaries
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000)
The variability of salt transport determines the variation of the length of the salinity intrusion and the large-scale density gradient in an estuary. This thesis contains three studies that address salt transport and the ...
The upper ocean response to the monsoon in the Arabian Sea
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000)
Estimation of the upper ocean heat budget from one year of observations at a moored array in the north central Arabian Sea shows a rough balance between the horizontal advection and time change in heat when the one-dimensional ...
Constraining North Atlantic circulation with transient tracer observations
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003)
The capability of transient tracers to constrain the ocean circulation in the North Atlantic is explored. Study of an idealized tracer shows that inferences of circulation properties from transient state distributions are ...
Quantifying channelized submarine depositional systems from bed to basin scale
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004)
The challenges of directly observing active turbidity currents necessitates the consideration of preserved deposits for deciphering the behavior of these systems. In this thesis, I take advantage 3-D subsurface seismic ...
Laboratory and field-based investigations of subsurface geochemical processes in seafloor hydrothermal systems
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010)
This thesis presents the results of four discrete investigations into processes governing the organic and inorganic chemical composition of seafloor hydrothermal fluids in a variety of geologic settings. Though Chapters 2 ...
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 ...