Northern California Coastal Circulation Study

Project Description
Experiment: Northern California Coastal Circulation Study

Funding Agency: MMS (Department of Interior, Minerals Management
Service) Contractor: EG&G Washington Analytical Services
Center, Inc. Dates: 1986 - 1989 Location: San Francisco to

Data acquired during experiment:

CTD measurements (NCCCS/ctd)
Moored current data (NCCCS/current meters)
XBT (NCCCS/wecoma and NCCCS/xbt)
Bottom pressure data (NCCCS/pressure)
Lagrangian drifter data (NCCCS/drifters)
Sea-level data (see /NOS)

The Northern California Circulation Study (NCCCS), supported by
the Minerals Management Service, is a 5-year physical
oceanography program to describe the circulation on the
continental shelf and upper slope between San Francisco and the
Oregon border. This study will result in an improved
description and understanding od circulation features,
particularly near-surface currents. The general objectives of
the NCCCS are:

-- To obtain high-quality direct and indirect measurements of
currents on the shelf and upper slope, with adequate temporal
and spatial resolution to describe the pricipal advective

-- To describe the circulation in statistical terms, including
mean current patterns, seasonal and shorter-term variability,
vertical structure, and response to forcing.

-- To characterize the circulation in terms of dynamic
processes. For each process, such as wind forcing, an
assessment of the primary driving force, response sensitivity,
spatial pattern, momentum balance, and advective displacement
scale is required. (Bruce A. Magnell, EG&G Geos)

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