Small-scale processes in the coastal ocean

Abstract

Varied observations over Oregon's continental shelf illustrate the beauty and complexity of geophysical flows in coastal waters. Rapid, creative, and sometimes fortuitous sampling from ships and moorings has allowed detailed looks at boundary layer processes, internal waves (some extremely nonlinear), and coastal currents, including how they interact. These processes drive turbulence and mixing in shallow coastal waters and encourage rapid biological responses, yet are poorly understood and parameterized. The work presented here represents examples of efforts by many physical oceanographers to quantify small-scale, coastal-mixing processes so that their effects might be included in regional circulation models.