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Marlene A. Noble

Publications and source records attributed to Marlene A. Noble.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2015

Strongly-sheared wind-forced currents in the nearshore regions of the central Southern California Bight

Contrary to many previous reports, winds do drive currents along the shelf in the central portion of the Southern California Bight (SCB). Winds off Huntington Beach CA are the dominant forcing for currents over the nearshore region of the shelf (water depths less than 20 m). Winds control about 50–70% of the energy in nearshore alongshelf surface currents. The wind-driven current amplitudes are also anomalously high. For a relatively weak 1 dyne/cm2 wind stress, the alongshelf surface current amplitudes in this region can reach 80 cm/s or more. Mid-depth current amplitudes for the same wind stress are around 30–40 cm/s. These wind-driven surface current amplitudes are much larger than previously measured over other nearshore shelf regions, perhaps because this program is one of the few that measured currents within a meter of the surface. The near-bed cross-shelf currents over the nearshore region of the Huntington Beach shelf have an Ekman response to winds in that they upwell (downwell) for down (up) coast winds. This response disappears further offshore. Hence, there is upwelling in the SCB, but it does not occur across the entire shelf. Subthermocline water in the nearshore region that may contain nutrients and plankton move onshore when winds are southeastward, but subthermocline water over the shelf break is not transported to the beach. The currents over the outer shelf are not predominately controlled by winds, consistent with previous reports. Instead, they are mainly driven by cross-shelf pressure gradients that are independent of local wind stress.

California↗
USGS2014

Sediment concentrations, flow conditions, and downstream evolution of two turbidity currents, Monterey Canyon, USA

The capacity of turbidity currents to carry sand and coarser sediment from shallow to deep regions in the submarine environment has attracted the attention of researchers from different disciplines. Yet not only are field measurements of oceanic turbidity currents a rare achievement, but also the data that have been collected consist mostly of velocity records with very limited or no suspended sediment concentration or grain size distribution data. This work focuses on two turbidity currents measured in Monterey Canyon in 2002 with emphasis on suspended sediment from unique samples collected within the body of these currents. It is shown that concentration and grain size of the suspended material, primarily controlled by the source of the gravity flows and their interaction with bed material, play a significant role in shaping the characteristics of the turbidity currents as they travel down the canyon. Before the flows reach their normal or quasi-steady state, which is defined by bed slope, bed roughness, and suspended grain size, they might pass through a preliminary adjustment stage where they are subject to capacity-driven deposition, and release heavy material in excess. Flows composed of fine (silt/clay) sediments tend to be thicker than those with sands. The measured velocity and concentration data confirm that flow patterns differ between the front and body of turbidity currents and that, even after reaching normal state, the flow regime can be radically disrupted by abrupt changes in canyon morphology.

Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research P↗
USGS2014

Measurements of slope currents and internal tides on the Continental Shelf and slope off Newport Beach, California

An array of seven moorings housing current meters and oceanographic sensors was deployed for 6 months at 5 sites on the Continental Shelf and slope off Newport Beach, California, from July 2011 to January 2012. Full water-column profiles of currents were acquired at all five sites, and a profile of water-column temperature was also acquired at two of the five sites for the duration of the deployment. In conjunction with this deployment, the Orange County Sanitation District deployed four bottom platforms with current meters on the San Pedro Shelf, and these meters provided water-column profiles of currents. The data from this program will provide the basis for an investigation of the interaction between the deep water flow over the slope and the internal tide on the Continental Shelf.

California↗
USGS2013

Circulation exchange patterns in Sinclair Inlet, Washington

In 1994, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, deployed three sets of moorings in Sinclair Inlet, which is a relatively small embayment on the western side of Puget Sound (fig. 1). This inlet is home to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. One purpose of the measurement program was to determine the transport pathways and fate of contaminants known to be present in Sinclair Inlet. Extensive descriptions of the program and the resultant information about contaminant pathways have been reported in Gartner and others (1998). This report primarily focused on the bottom boundary layer and the potential for resuspension and transport of sediments on the seabed in Sinclair Inlet as a result of tides and waves. Recently (2013), interest in transport pathways for suspended and dissolved materials in Sinclair Inlet has been rekindled. In particular, the USGS scientists in Washington and California have been asked to reexamine the datasets collected in the earlier study to refine not only our understanding of transport pathways through the inlet, but to determine how those transport pathways are affected by subtidal currents, local wind stress, and fresh water inputs. Because the prior study focused on the bottom boundary layer and not the water column, a reanalysis of the datasets could increase our understanding of the dynamic forces that drive transport within and through the inlet. However, the early datasets are limited in scope and a comprehensive understanding of these transport processes may require more extensive datasets or the development of a detailed numerical model of transport processes for the inlet, or both.

Washington↗
USGS2012

Seasonal fluctuations in sea level on the South Carolina shelf and their relationship to the Gulf Stream

Near-bottom pressure measurements obtained over a 9-month period in 1978 on the outer continental shelf off South Carolina document that sea level rose 35 to 50 cm between July and October. Records of coastal sea level showed a similar rise. When the pressure and coastal sea level records were corrected for the effects of wind stress and temperature, the largest portion of the rise in the two variables remained. The amplitude of the change in residual sea level was largest at the shelf break, 28 cm, and decayed to 22 cm at the coast. The relatively small magnitude of the decay suggests that alongshelf pressure gradients imposed at the shelf break have minimum alongshelf wavelengths of 2000 km. The changes in residual sea level were seasonal and associated with seasonal changes in the transport of the Gulf Stream. The 3 years of residual sea level records examined here indicate that the amplitude of a typical decrease in transport of the Gulf Stream off South Carolina between July and October has a strong interannual variability. The change in transport can be 50% lower to over 100% higher than the historical average. The residual sea level records also suggest that a change in transport of the Gulf Stream is not strongly related to the onshore/offshore position of the Gulf Stream.

South Carolina↗
USGS2012

Temporal and spatial patterns in wind stress and wind stress curl over the central Southern California Bight

In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, together with several other federal and municipal agencies, began a series of field programs to determine along and cross-shelf transport patterns over the continental shelves in the central Southern California Bight. As a part of these programs, moorings that monitor winds were deployed off the Palos Verdes peninsula and within San Pedro Bay for six 3–4 month summer and winter periods between 2001 and 2008. In addition, nearly continuous records of winds for this 7-year period were obtained from a terrestrial site at the coast and from a basin site offshore of the long-term coastal site. The mean annual winds are downcoast at all sites. The alongshelf components of wind stress, which are the largest part of the low-frequency wind stress fields, are well correlated between basin, shelf and coastal sites. On average, the amplitude of alongshelf fluctuations in wind stress are 3–4 times larger over the offshore basin, compared to the coastal site, irrespective of whether the fluctuations represent the total, or just the correlated portion of the wind stress field. The curl in the large-scale wind stress tends to be positive, especially in the winter season when the mean wind stress is downcoast and larger at the offshore basin site than at the beach. However, since the fluctuation in wind stress amplitudes are usually larger than the mean, periods of weak negative curl do occur, especially in the summer season when the largest normalized differences in the amplitude of wind stress fluctuations are found in the nearshore region of the coastal ocean. Even though the low-frequency wind stress field is well-correlated over the continental shelf and offshore basins, out to distances of 35 km or more from the coast, winds even 10 km inshore of the beach do not represent the coastal wind field, at least in the summer months. The seasonal changes in the spatial structures in wind stress amplitudes suggest that an assessment of the amplitude of the responses of coastal ocean processes to wind forcing is complex and that the responses may have significant seasonal structures.

California↗
USGS2012

Sources and sinks of filtered total mercury and concentrations of total mercury of solids and of filtered methylmercury, Sinclair Inlet, Kitsap County, Washington, 2007-10

The majority of filtered total mercury in the marine water of Sinclair Inlet originates from salt water flowing from Puget Sound. About 420 grams of filtered total mercury are added to Sinclair Inlet each year from atmospheric, terrestrial, and sedimentary sources, which has increased filtered total mercury concentrations in Sinclair Inlet (0.33 nanograms per liter) to concentrations greater than those of the Puget Sound (0.2 nanograms per liter). The category with the largest loading of filtered total mercury to Sinclair Inlet included diffusion of porewaters from marine sediment to the water column of Sinclair Inlet and discharge through the largest stormwater drain on the Bremerton naval complex, Bremerton, Washington. However, few data are available to estimate porewater and stormwater releases with any certainty. The release from the stormwater drain does not originate from overland flow of stormwater. Rather total mercury on soils is extracted by the chloride ions in seawater as the stormwater is drained and adjacent soils are flushed with seawater by tidal pumping. Filtered total mercury released by an unknown freshwater mechanism also was observed in the stormwater flowing through this drain. Direct atmospheric deposition on the Sinclair Inlet, freshwater discharge from creek and stormwater basins draining into Sinclair Inlet, and saline discharges from the dry dock sumps of the naval complex are included in the next largest loading category of sources of filtered total mercury. Individual discharges from a municipal wastewater treatment plant and from the industrial steam plant of the naval complex constituted the loading category with the third largest loadings. Stormwater discharge from the shipyard portion of the naval complex and groundwater discharge from the base are included in the loading category with the smallest loading of filtered total mercury. Presently, the origins of the solids depositing to the sediment of Sinclair Inlet are uncertain, and consequently, concentrations of sediments can be qualitatively compared only to total mercury concentrations of solids suspended in the water column. Concentrations of total mercury of suspended solids from creeks, stormwater, and even wastewater effluent discharging into greater Sinclair Inlet were comparable to concentrations of solids suspended in the water column of Sinclair Inlet. Concentrations of total mercury of suspended solids were significantly lower than those of marine bed sediment of Sinclair Inlet; these suspended solids have been shown to settle in Sinclair Inlet. The settling of suspended solids in the greater Sinclair Inlet and in Operable Unit B Marine of the naval complex likely will result in lower concentrations of total mercury in sediments. Such a decrease in total mercury concentrations was observed in the sediment of Operable Unit B Marine in 2010. However, total mercury concentrations of solids discharged from several sources from the Bremerton naval complex were higher than concentrations in sediment collected from Operable Unit B Marine. The combined loading of solids from these sources is small compared to the amount of solids depositing in OU B Marine. However, total mercury concentration in sediment collected at a monitoring station just offshore one of these sources, the largest stormwater drain on the Bremerton naval complex, increased considerably in 2010. Low methylmercury concentrations were detected in groundwater, stormwater, and effluents discharged from the Bremerton naval complex. The highest methylmercury concentrations were measured in the porewaters of highly reducing marine sediment in greater Sinclair Inlet. The marine sediment collected off the largest stormwater drain contained low concentrations of methylmercury in porewater because these sediments were not highly reducing.

Washington↗
USGS2011

Palos Verdes Shelf oceanographic study; data report for observations December 2007–April 2008

Beginning in 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined a contaminated section of the Palos Verdes Shelf region in southern California as a Superfund Site, initiating a continuing investigation of this area. The investigation involved the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) data, and other allied agencies. In mid-2007, the Palos Verdes Shelf project team identified the need for additional data on the sediment properties and oceanographic conditions at the Palos Verdes Superfund Site and deployed seven bottom platforms, three subsurface moorings, and three surface moorings on the shelf. This additional data was needed to support ongoing modeling and feasibility studies and to improve our ability to model the fate of the effluent-affected deposit over time. It provided more detail on the spatial variability and magnitude of resuspension of the deposit during multiple storms that are expected to transit the region during a winter season. The operation began in early December 2007 and ended in early April 2008. The goal was to measure the sediment response (threshold of resuspension, suspended-sediment concentrations, and suspended-sediment transport rates) to bed stresses associated with waves and currents. Other objectives included determining the structure of the bottom boundary layer (BBL) relating nearbed currents with those measured at 10 m above bottom (mab) and comparing those with the long-term data from the LACSD Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) deployments for nearbed current speed and direction. Low-profile tripods with high-frequency ADCPs co-located with two of the large tripods were selected for this goal. This report describes the data obtained during the field program, the instruments and data-processing procedures used, and the archive that contains the data sets that have passed our quality-assurance procedures.

California↗
USGS2009

Cross-shelf transport into nearshore waters due to shoaling internal tides in San Pedro Bay, CA

In the summer of 2001, a coastal ocean measurement program in the southeastern portion of San Pedro Bay, CA, was designed and carried out. One aim of the program was to determine the strength and effectiveness of local cross-shelf transport processes. A particular objective was to assess the ability of semidiurnal internal tidal currents to move suspended material a net distance across the shelf. Hence, a dense array of moorings was deployed across the shelf to monitor the transport patterns associated with fluctuations in currents, temperature and salinity. An associated hydrographic program periodically monitored synoptic changes in the spatial patterns of temperature, salinity, nutrients and bacteria. This set of measurements show that a series of energetic internal tides can, but do not always, transport subthermocline water, dissolved and suspended material from the middle of the shelf into the surfzone. Effective cross-shelf transport occurs only when (1) internal tides at the shelf break are strong and (2) subtidal currents flow strongly downcoast. The subtidal downcoast flow causes isotherms to tilt upward toward the coast, which allows energetic, nonlinear internal tidal currents to carry subthermocline waters into the surfzone. During these events, which may last for several days, the transported water remains in the surfzone until the internal tidal current pulses and/or the downcoast subtidal currents disappear. This nonlinear internal tide cross-shelf transport process was capable of carrying water and the associated suspended or dissolved material from the mid-shelf into the surfzone, but there were no observation of transport from the shelf break into the surfzone. Dissolved nutrients and suspended particulates (such as phytoplankton) transported from the mid-shelf into the nearshore region by nonlinear internal tides may contribute to nearshore algal blooms, including harmful algal blooms that occur off local beaches.

California↗
USGS2009

Connections Among the Spatial and Temporal Structures in Tidal Currents, Internal Bores, and Surficial Sediment Distributions Over the Shelf off Palos Verdes, California

The topography of the Continental Shelf in the central portion of the Southern California Bight has rapid variations over relatively small spatial scales. The width of the shelf off the Palos Verdes peninsula, just northwest of Los Angeles, California, is only 1 to 3 km. About 7 km southeast of the peninsula, the shelf within San Pedro Bay widens to about 20 km. In 2000, the Los Angeles County Sanitation District began deploying a dense array of moorings in this complex region of the central Southern California Bight to monitor local circulation patterns. Moorings were deployed at 13 sites on the Palos Verdes shelf and within the northwestern portion of San Pedro Bay. At each site, a mooring supported a string of thermistors and an adjacent bottom platform housed an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler. These instruments collected vertical profiles of current and temperature data continuously for one to two years. The variable bathymetry in the region causes rapid changes in the amplitudes and spatial structures of barotropic tidal currents, internal tidal currents, and in the associated nonlinear baroclinic currents that occur at approximate tidal frequencies. The largest barotropic tidal constituent is M2, the principal semidiurnal tide. The amplitude of this tidal current changes over fairly short along-shelf length scales. Tidal-current amplitudes are largest in the transition region between the two shelves; they increase from about 5 cm/s over the northern San Pedro shelf to nearly 10 cm/s on the southern portion of the Palos Verdes Shelf. Tidal-current amplitudes are then reduced to less than 2 cm/s over the very narrow section of the northern Palos Verdes shelf that lies just 6 km upcoast of the southern sites. Models suggest that the amplitude of the barotropic M2 tidal currents, which propagate toward the northwest primarily as a Kelvin wave, is adjusting to the short topographic length scales in the region. Semidiurnal sea-level oscillations are, as expected, independent of these topographic variations; they have a uniform amplitude and phase structure over the entire region. Because the cross-shelf angle of the seabed over most of the Palos Verdes shelf is 1 to 3 degrees, which is critical for the local generation and/or enhancement of nonlinear characteristics in semidiurnal internal tides, some internal tidal-current events have strong asymmetric current oscillations that are enhanced near the seabed. Near-bottom currents in these events are directed primarily offshore with amplitudes that exceed 30 cm/s. The spatial patterns in these energetic near-bottom currents have fairly short-length scales. They are largest over the inner shelf and in the transition region between the Palos Verdes and San Pedro shelves. This spatial pattern is similar to that found in the barotropic tidal currents. Because these baroclinic currents have an approximate tidal frequency, an asymmetric vertical structure, and a somewhat stable phase, they can produce a non-zero depth-mean flow for periods of a few months. These baroclinic currents can interact with the barotropic tidal current and cause an apparent increase (or decrease) in the estimated barotropic tidal-current amplitude. The apparent amplitude of the barotropic tidal current may change by 30 to 80 percent or more in a current record that is less than three months long. The currents and surficial sediments in this region are in dynamic equilibrium in that the spatial patterns in bottom stresses generated by near-bed currents from surface tides, internal tides, and internal bores partly control the spatial patterns in the local sediments. Coarser sediments are found in the regions with enhanced bottom stresses (that is, over the inner shelf and in the region between the Palos Verdes and San Pedro shelves). Finer sediments are found over the northwestern portion of the Palos Verdes shelf, where near-bottom currents are relatively weak. The nonlinear asymmetries in the i

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2007

Measurements of slope current and environmental geochemistry near the western boundary of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

For nearly a decade, dredged material from San Francisco Bay has been deposited at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX designated disposal site on the continental slope west of the Farallon Islands. Over the past several years, annual disposal volumes have ranged from 136,170 m3 (61 barge loads) to 2,407,600 m3 (1,173 barge loads) (Ota, personal communication, 2000). The EPA has conducted extensive studies to evaluate the fate and effects of the disposed material (Abdelrhman, 1992; Tetra-Tech, 1992; SAIC, 1992). The EPA has also maintained a long-term monitoring program to collect hydrodynamic, sedimentary, chemical, and biological data that are used to determine whether the dredged material adversely affects the ecology of adjacent water bodies and whether it moves from the disposal site, especially into the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. As part of this monitoring program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) deployed arrays of instruments on three moorings near the EPA disposal site from November 1997 to November 1998. This report describes the results and findings of this field monitoring experiment.

California↗
USGS2007

Circulation and physical processes within the San Gabriel River Estuary during summer 2005

The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) is developing a hydrodynamic model of the SGR estuary, which is part of the comprehensive water-quality model of the SGR estuary and watershed investigated by SCCWRP and other local agencies. The hydrodynamic model will help understanding of 1) the exchange processes between the estuary and coastal ocean; 2) the circulation patterns in the estuary; 3) upstream natural runoff and the cooling discharge from PGS. Like all models, the SGR hydrodynamic model is only useful after it is fully calibrated and validated. In May 2005, SCCWRP requested the assistance of the U.S. geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology team (CMG) in collecting data on the hydrodynamic conditions in the estuary during the summer dry season. The summer was chosen for field data collection as this was assumed to be the season with the greatest potential for chronic degraded water quality due to low river flow and high thermal stratification within the estuary (due to both higher average air temperature and PGS output). Water quality can be degraded in winter as well, when higher river discharge events bring large volumes of water from the Los Angeles basin into the estuary. The objectives of this project were to 1) collect hydrodynamic data along the SGR estuary; 2) study exchange processes within the estuary through analysis of the hydrodynamic data; and 3) provide field data for model calibration and validation. As the data only exist for the summer season, the results herein only apply to summer conditions.

California↗
USGS2006

Transport pathways in the lower reaches of Hood Canal

In 2003, studies revealed that the waters in the lower reaches of Hood Canal in Washington State had very low dissolved-oxygen concentrations, low enough to cause some fish kills between June and October of that year. In order to determine the transport patterns and the persistence of the low oxygen level in this portion of the canal, the U. S. Geological Survey deployed two instrumented platforms on the seabed near the head of the canal that measured currents over the whole water column, water level, near-bed temperature, salinity and oxygen for 2 months in the fall of 2004. Tidal currents, the dominant current component in the canal, flowed primarily along the canal axis and had speeds of 15-20 cm/s. There was also a persistent internal seiche that caused currents to flow along the canal axis with speeds of a few cm/s. The seiche, which had a period of a few days, caused currents in the surface layer to flow in an opposite direction to currents in water depths deeper than 15 m. A pool of warmer, saltier and more oxygenated water moved past the measurement sites toward the head of the canal with a speed of 1 cm/s. CTD measurements taken near the 2 measurement sites during the deployment indicated that this more oxygenated layer of water extended from the bed to the thermocline. Oxygen data from the tripods showed that this water remained in the region until at least the end of October 2004, when the tripods were recovered.

Washington↗
USGS2002

CMGTooL user's manual

During the past several years, the sediment transport group in the Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) of the U. S. Geological Survey has made major revisions to its methodology of processing, analyzing, and maintaining the variety of oceanographic time-series data. First, CMGP completed the transition of the its oceanographic time-series database to a self-documenting NetCDF (Rew et al., 1997) data format. Second, CMGP’s oceanographic data variety and complexity have been greatly expanded from traditional 2-dimensional, single-point time-series measurements (e.g., Electro-magnetic current meters, transmissometers) to more advanced 3-dimensional and profiling time-series measurements due to many new acquisitions of modern instruments such as Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (RDI, 1996), Acoustic Doppler Velocitimeter, Pulse-Coherence Acoustic Doppler Profiler (SonTek, 2001), Acoustic Bacscatter Sensor (Aquatec, 1001001001001001001). In order to accommodate the NetCDF format of data from the new instruments, a software package of processing, analyzing, and visualizing time-series oceanographic data was developed. It is named CMGTooL. The CMGTooL package contains two basic components: a user-friendly GUI for NetCDF file analysis, processing and manipulation; and a data analyzing program library. Most of the routines in the library are stand-alone programs suitable for batch processing. CMGTooL is written in MATLAB computing language (The Mathworks, 1997), therefore users must have MATLAB installed on their computer in order to use this software package. In addition, MATLAB’s Signal Processing Toolbox is also required by some CMGTooL’s routines. Like most MATLAB programs, all CMGTooL codes are compatible with different computing platforms including PC, MAC, and UNIX machines (Note: CMGTooL has been tested on different platforms that run MATLAB 5.2 (Release 10) or lower versions. Some of the commands related to MAC may not be compatible with later releases of MATLAB). The GUI and some of the library routines call low-level NetCDF file I/O, variable and attribute functions. These NetCDF exclusive functions are supported by a MATLAB toolbox named NetCDF, created by Dr. Charles Denham . This toolbox has to be installed in order to use the CMGTooL GUI. The CMGTooL GUI calls several routines that were initially developed by others. The authors would like to acknowledge the following scientists for their ideas and codes: Dr. Rich Signell (USGS), Dr. Chris Sherwood (USGS), and Dr. Bob Beardsley (WHOI). Many special terms that carry special meanings in either MATLAB or the NetCDF Toolbox are used in this manual. Users are encouraged to read the documents of MATLAB and NetCDF for references.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2000

The Monterey Submarine Canyon, California, CTD Data Report Part C: The R/V Robert Gordon Sproul Cruise S-1-94-MB, Aug. 17 - 22, 1994

In August 1993, a program was begun to study the mechanisms that govern the circulation within and the transport of sediment and water through Monterey Submarine Canyon. This is a very large, deep submarine canyon off central California that incises the continental margin from the outer slope to close to the coastline. A key component of the study was to document the interactions between circulation patterns above the canyon, within the canyon, and past the mouth of the canyon. The first part of this program entailed deploying a set of six moorings to measure current, temperature, salinity, and water clarity for one year within Monterey Canyon. The information from the moorings can be found in the U. S. Geological Survey Open File Report 95-838. In the second part of this program, which is the subject of this report, four cruises were conducted during August 1993 to November 1994 within Monterey Bay and along the Monterey Canyon to collect salinity, temperature, and water clarity data with depth (CTD data). The data from each of the four cruises are presented in detail in four separate reports. This report describes and depicts the data collected from the RN Robert Gordon Sproul cruise S-1-94-MB (labeled in our reports as S-1-94-MB).

California↗
USGS1989

Tidal currents and anticyclonic motions on two North Pacific seamounts

Near-bottom currents were measured for several days at three sites on the summits of Fieberling Guyot (32°26′N, 127°46′W) and Horizon Guyot (19°15′N, 160°00′W). Three moorings comprised of two current meters were deployed on each summit; two moorings were deployed on opposite sides of the rim of the summit and one mooring was deployed near the center of the summit. The observed currents were strong, with maximum speeds of 48 and 24 cm s −1 on Fieberling and Horizon, respectively. The currents at specific frequencies were enhanced relative to those in the surrounding ocean. Diurnal currents were the dominant component of the current field on Fieberling Guyot. They accounted for 39–68% of the energy and had amplitudes around 12 cm s −1 . We suspect that these diurnal currents were waves trapped over the seamount. Semidiurnal internal tidal currents were the strongest currents over Horizon Guyot, with amplitudes around 4 cm s −1 . The flow patterns determined in this study seemed to affect the biological and geological characteristics of the seamounts.

Deep Sea Research Part A, Oceanographic Research P↗