Geology topics

L. Washburn

Publications and source records attributed to L. Washburn.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2009

Northern Monterey Bay upwelling shadow front: Observations of a coastally and surface-trapped buoyant plume

During the upwelling season in central California, northwesterly winds along the coast produce a strong upwelling jet that originates at Point A??o Nuevo and flows southward across the mouth of Monterey Bay. A convergent front with a mean temperature change of 3.77 ?? 0.29??C develops between the warm interior waters and the cold offshore upwelling jet. To examine the forcing mechanisms driving the location and movement of the upwelling shadow front and its effects on biological communities in northern Monterey Bay, oceanographic conditions were monitored using cross-shelf mooring arrays, drifters, and hydrographic surveys along a 20 km stretch of coast extending northwestward from Santa Cruz, California, during the upwelling season of 2007 (May-September). The alongshore location of the upwelling shadow front at the northern edge of the bay was driven by: regional wind forcing, through an alongshore pressure gradient; buoyancy forces due to the temperature change across the front; and local wind forcing (the diurnal sea breeze). The upwelling shadow front behaved as a surface-trapped buoyant current, which is superimposed on a poleward barotropic current, moving up and down the coast up to several kilometers each day. We surmise that the front is advected poleward by a preexisting northward barotropic current of 0.10 m s -1 that arises due to an alongshore pressure gradient caused by focused upwelling at Point A??o Nuevo. The frontal circulation (onshore surface currents) breaks the typical two-dimensional wind-driven, cross-shelf circulation (offshore surface currents) and introduces another way for water, and the material it contains (e.g., pollutants, larvae), to go across the shelf toward shore.Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans↗

USGS2007

River plume patterns and dynamics within the Southern California Bight

Stormwater river plumes are important vectors of marine contaminants and pathogens in the Southern California Bight. Here we report the results of a multi-institution investigation of the river plumes across eight major river systems of southern California. We use in situ water samples from multi-day cruises in combination with MODIS satellite remote sensing, buoy meteorological observations, drifters, and HF radar current measurements to evaluate the dispersal patterns and dynamics of the freshwater plumes. River discharge was exceptionally episodic, and the majority of storm discharge occurred in a few hours. The combined plume observing techniques revealed that plumes commonly detach from the coast and turn to the left, which is the opposite direction of Coriolis influence. Although initial offshore velocity of the buoyant plumes was ∼50 cm/s and was influenced by river discharge inertia (i.e., the direct momentum of the river flux) and buoyancy, subsequent advection of the plumes was largely observed in an alongshore direction and dominated by local winds. Due to the multiple day upwelling wind conditions that commonly follow discharge events, plumes were observed to flow from their respective river mouths to down-coast waters at rates of 20–40 km/d. Lastly, we note that suspended-sediment concentration and beam-attenuation were poorly correlated with plume salinity across and within the sampled plumes (mean r 2 =0.12 and 0.25, respectively), while colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence was well correlated (mean r 2 =0.56), suggesting that CDOM may serve as a good tracer of the discharged freshwater in subsequent remote sensing and monitoring efforts of plumes.

California↗

USGS2005

Nutrient contributions to the Santa Barbara Channel, California, from the ephemeral Santa Clara River

The Santa Clara River delivers nutrient rich runoff to the eastern Santa Barbara Channel during brief (???1-3 day) episodic events. Using both river and oceanographic measurements, we evaluate river loading and dispersal of dissolved macronutrients (silicate, inorganic N and P) and comment on the biological implications of these nutrient contributions. Both river and ocean observations suggest that river nutrient concentrations are inversely related to river flow rates. Land use is suggested to influence these concentrations, since runoff from a subwatershed with substantial agriculture and urban areas had much higher nitrate than runoff from a wooded subwatershed. During runoff events, river nutrients were observed to conservatively mix into the buoyant, surface plume immediately seaward of the Santa Clara River mouth. Dispersal of these river nutrients extended 10s of km into the channel. Growth of phytoplankton and nutrient uptake was low during our observations (1-3 days following runoff), presumably due to the very low light levels resulting from high turbidity. However, nutrient quality of runoff (Si:N:P = 16:5:1) was found to be significantly different than upwelling inputs (13:10:1), which may influence different algal responses once sediments settle. Evaluation of total river nitrate loads suggests that most of the annual river nutrient fluxes to the ocean occur during the brief winter flooding events. Wet winters (such as El Nin??o) contribute nutrients at rates approximately an order-of-magnitude greater than "average" winters. Although total river nitrate delivery is considerably less than that supplied by upwelling, the timing and location of these types of events are very different, with river discharge (upwelling) occurring predominantly in the winter (summer) and in the eastern (western) channel. ?? 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science↗

USGS2004

A conceptual model for river water and sediment dispersal in the Santa Barbara Channel, California

The ephemeral Santa Clara River delivers large amounts of freshwater and sediment to the eastern Santa Barbara Channel during brief, episodic discharge events. This discharge into the channel was characterized here with shipboard measurements during floods of 1997 and 1998. Within approximately 1-km of the river mouth, the river discharge quickly stratifies into a freshened, turbid surface plume and a bottom nephloid layer. Observations immediately off the Santa Clara River mouth on a peak day of river discharge revealed that sediment rapidly settled from the freshened surface waters, as suspended sediment in the freshened surface plume contained only ???6% of the sediment mass expected if the sediment mixed conservatively. On the two subsequent days the reduction of sediment mass in the surface plume continued at ???50% per day. These observations suggest that river sediment undergoes rapid initial settling within ???1-km of the river mouth, followed by somewhat slower rates of settling. Although we did not measure sedimentation or bottom boundary layer processes, our mass balance results suggest that almost all of the river sediment either escapes along or deposits upon the inner shelf seabed.

Continental Shelf Research↗