Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Data Set
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DatasetVoltage scans from a prototype hollow core fiber isotope ratio laser spectrometer(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2024-08-22)This dataset consists of 900 one-second-long voltage acquisitions across 2000 detector channels from a prototype hollow core fiber isotope ratio laser spectrometer developed and operated at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s David Center for Ocean Innovation. Each acquisition covers a spectral range of ~2290.55 to 2299.15 cm-1. The operational conditions are 2.5 torr of pure CO2 in a 1m-long hollow core fiber with an inner diameter of 200 µm at room temperature (~20ºC). The laser was scanned across this spectral range at 50kHz and each one-second acquisition is the average of 50000 individual spectral scans within that one second.
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DatasetUnderstanding the cause of low dissolved oxygen in Cape Cod Bay and initiating a hypoxia warning system for the lobster fishery(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2024-12-13)Bottom hypoxia was observed in late summer 2019 and 2020 in southern Cape Cod Bay, resulting in significant benthic mortality of lobsters, scallops and some fish species. To investigate and better understand what caused this unprecedented hypoxia, these data were collected with funding the NOAA Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative . Data consist of vertical profiles collected with a CTD equipped with dissolved oxygen sensor, chlorophyll fluorometer and optical backscatter sensor. Data collection focused on late summer when physical conditions conducive to hypoxia are most common and included 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
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DatasetMobile Bay 2021 synthetic aperture radar images(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2024-02-02)This dataset includes satellite synthetic aperture radar images (SAR) that were obtained for the region around the mouth of Mobile Bay during the period April-June 2021. Images were collected to identify the location of oceanographic fronts associated with the outflow plume of Mobile Bay. SAR images show density fronts as regions of increased radar cross-section, i.e. image brightness.
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DatasetHudson River estuary 2002 field experiment: moorings(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2023-09-20)This dataset includes data from moorings deployed in the Hudson River estuary during the spring of 2002. The moorings were deployed at Spuyten Duyvil for 43 days and included a cross-channel array of temperature and conductivity sensors as well as 4 upward-looking ADCPs and 2 pressure sensors flanking the channel.
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DatasetBuzzards Bay Air-Sea Interaction Tower (BB-ASIT) water column data from Fall 2022 deployment(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2023-09-19)Data from an air-sea interaction tower are used to close the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget in the wave-affected surface layer of the upper ocean. Under energetic wind forcing with active wave breaking, the dominant balance is between the dissipation rate of TKE and the downward convergence in vertical energy flux. The net energy flux is downward, primarily driven by pressure work, and the TKE transport is upward, opposite to the downgradient assumption in most turbulence closure models. The sign and the relative magnitude of these energy fluxes are hypothesized to be driven by a weak interaction between the vertical velocity of Langmuir circulation (LC) and the kinetic energy and pressure of wave groups that is the result of small scale wave-current interaction. Consistent with previous modeling studies, the data suggest that the horizontal current anomaly associated with LC refracts wave energy away from downwelling regions and into upwelling regions, resulting in negative covariance between the vertical velocity of LC and the pressure anomaly associated with the wave groups. The asymmetry between downward pressure work and upward TKE flux is explained by the Bernoulli response of the sea-surface, which results in groups of waves having a larger pressure anomaly than the corresponding kinetic energy anomaly, consistent with group-bound long wave theory.
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DatasetHudson River estuary 2004 field experiment(Woods Hole Oceanograpic Institution, 2023-08-08)This dataset includes data from moorings and shipboard observations in the Hudson River estuary during the spring and summer of 2004. The moorings were deployed in the thalweg at 7 sites for 108 days and included a combination of bottom temperature, conductivity, and pressure measurements as well as upward-looking ADCPs. Each mooring site also had near-surface temperature and conductivity measurements. Shipboard CTD surveys were carried out along the estuary on 7 days just after the deployment and just before the recovery of the moorings.
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DatasetTracking Sargassum in the Caribbean: the deployment and validation of a low-cost surface drifter(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2023-04-26)Sargassum blooms have been causing significant ecological and economic damage to coastal regions in the Northern Equatorial Atlantic since 2011. To better understand the movement and effects of this macroalgae, there is a need to track its transport. In this study, a low-cost drifter was deployed, designed to entangle with Sargassum and aid in its tracking. The design was based on the results of twenty-seven drifter designs and five days of field trials. The tracking data was validated using gridded wind and current products, as well as high resolution satellite imagery. The successful entanglement and tracking with the Sargassum demonstrated in this study can provide in situ movement data to ground-truth models and supplement gaps in satellite imaging. The results can guide future studies and further our understanding of its movement in the great Atlantic Sargassum belt (GASB).
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DatasetData to accompany “Direct observation of wave-coherent pressure work in the atmospheric boundary layer”(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-12-29)As described in the methods section of “Direct Observation of Wave-coherent Pressure Work in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer”: Measurements were made from an open-lattice steel tower deployed in roughly 13 m water depth in Buzzards Bay, MA. Buzzards Bay is a 48 km by 12 km basin open on the SW side to Rhode Island Sound. The average depth is 11 m, with a tide range of 1 to 1.5 m, depending on the neap/spring cycles. Winds in Buzzards Bay are frequently aligned on the long-axis (from the NE or SW), and are commonly strong, particularly in the fall and winter. The tower was deployed near the center of the bay at 41.577638 N, 70.745555 W for a spring deployment lasting from April 12, 2022 to June 13th, 2022. Atmospheric measurements included three primary instrument booms that housed paired sonic anemometers (RM Young 81000RE) and high-resolution pressure sensors (Paros Scientific). The pressure sensor intakes were terminated with static pressure heads, which reduce the dynamic pressure contribution to the measured (static) pressure. The tower booms were aligned at 280 degrees such that the NE and SW winds would be unobstructed by the tower's main body. A fourth sonic anemometer (Gill R3) was extended above the tower such that it was open to all wind directions and clear of wake by the tower structure. A single point lidar (Riegl LD90-3i) was mounted to the highest boom, such that the lidar measured the water surface elevation underneath the anemometer and pressure sensors to within a few centimeters horizontally. All instruments were time synchronized with a custom "miniNode" flux logger, that aggregated the data streams from each instrument. Additional atmospheric and wave measurements on the tower included short-wave and long-wave radiometers (Kipp & Zonen), two RH/T sensors (Vaisala), and a standard lower-resolution barometer (Setra).
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DatasetDiscovering hydrothermalism from afar: in situ methane instrumentation and change-point detection for decision-making(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-10-06)Seafloor hydrothermalism plays a critical role in fundamental interactions between geochemical and biological processes in the deep ocean. A significant number of hydrothermal vents are hypothesized to exist, but many of these remain undiscovered due in part to the difficulty of detecting hydrothermalism using standard sensors on rosettes towed in the water column or robotic platforms performing surveys. Here, we use in situ methane sensors to complement standard sensing technology for hydrothermalism discovery and compare sensing equipment on a towed rosette and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during a 17 km long transect in the Northern Guaymas Basin. This transect spatially intersected with a known hydrothermally active venting site. These data show that methane signaled possible hydrothermal activity 1.5-3 km laterally (100-150m vertically) from a known vent. Methane as a signal for hydrothermalism performed similarly to standard turbidity sensors (plume detection 2.2-3.3 km from reference source), and more sensitively and clearly than temperature, salinity, and oxygen instruments which readily respond to physical mixing in background seawater. We additionally introduce change-point detection algorithms---streaming cross-correlation and regime identification---as a means of real-time hydrothermalism discovery and discuss related data monitoring technologies that could be used in planning, executing, and monitoring explorative surveys for hydrothermalism.
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DatasetSouthern Cape Cod Bay hypoxia data(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-01-14)This project investigated the distribution of low dissolved oxygen bottom waters (hypoxia) in southern Cape Cod Bay. Hypoxia was documented for the first time in late summer 2019 and 2020 despite extensive monitoring for the past decade. The data include: 1) measurements of bottom dissolved oxygen collected in 2019 by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MDMF) and the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) ; 2) full water column profiles of temperature, salinity, chlorophyll fluorescence, dissolved oxygen concentration and optical backscatter collected in late summer 2020 by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI); 3) monthly water quality data including CTD with dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll fluorescence and discrete bottom samples analyzed for dissolved nutrients collected by the CCS for the period 2011-2020; 4) inorganic nutrients from discrete surface and bottom samples collected monthly for the period 2006-2020; 5) bottom temperature data collected the Wreck of Mars location by the MDMF over the period 1991-2021. There are four separate data sets included: 1) MDMF and CCS bottom dissolved oxygn from 2019; 2) CTD and ancillary data collected by WHOI in 2019; 3) CCS monthly survey data from 2011-2020; and 4) bottom temperature data collected by MDMF for 1991-2021. 1) MDMF/CCS dissolved oxygen data was collected from ship-based surveys using an YSI 6920 V2-2 data sonde; 2) WHOI CTD data was collected from vertical casts made from a small research vessel using an RBR CTD; 3) CCS CTD data was collected from vertical casts made from a small research vessel using a SeaBird Electronics CTD; 4) MDMF temperature data was collected from a bottom mounted temperature logger. Related Publications: Scully, M.E., W.R. Geyer, D. Borkman, T.L. Pouch, A. Costa, and O.C. Nichols, in press. Unprecedented summer hypoxia in southern Cape Cod Bay: An ecological response to regional climate change? Biogeosciences.
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DatasetTidal dispersion in short estuaries(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-04-25)The salinity distribution of an estuary depends on the balance between the river outflow, which is seaward, and a dispersive salt flux, which is landward. The dispersive salt flux at a fixed cross-section can be divided into shear dispersion, which is caused by spatial correlations of the cross-sectionally varying velocity and salinity, and the tidal oscillatory salt flux, which results from the tidal correlation between the cross-section averaged, tidally varying components of velocity and salinity. The theoretical moving plane analysis of Dronkers and van de Kreeke (1986) indicates that the oscillatory salt flux is exactly equal to the difference between the “local” shear dispersion at a fixed location and the shear dispersion which occurred elsewhere within a tidal excursion – therefore, they refer to the oscillatory salt flux as “nonlocal” dispersion. We apply their moving plane analysis to a numerical model of a short, tidally dominated estuary and provide the first quantitative confirmation of the theoretical result that the spatiotemporal variability of shear dispersion accounts for the oscillatory salt flux. Shear dispersion is localized in space and time and is most pronounced near regions of flow separation. Notably, we find that dispersive processes near the mouth contribute significantly to the overall salt balance, especially under strong river and tidal forcing. Furthermore, while mechanisms of vertical shear dispersion produce the majority of the dispersive salt flux during neap tide and high river flow, lateral mechanisms associated with flow separation provide the dominant mode of dispersion during spring tide and low flow. Dataset used in support of manuscript "Tidal dispersion in short estuaries". The dataset includes the model output from the idealized estuary for 16 different forcing conditions, corresponding to 4 tidal conditions (weak
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DatasetHollow Core Fiber Methane Sensor(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-08-10)We have developed a hollow core fiber optic sensor capable of measuring dissolved methane gas in liquids using only nanoliters of sample gas. The sensor is based on an anti-resonant hollow core fiber combined with a permeable capillary membrane inlet which extracts gas from the liquid for analysis.
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DatasetNorth River estuary 2017 dataset(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-03-07)These are the observational data collected in 2017 from the North River estuary. Data files include the long-term (LT) CTD and Aquadopp measurements from April to July, the short-term (STI from April to May and STII in late July) CTD measurements, eight shipboard CTD and ADCP surveys in April, May and July, the ADV measurements in late July, the North River mid-estuary region bathymetry, and the North River discharge (from USGS measurements).
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DatasetMechanisms of exchange flow in an estuary with a narrow, deep channel and wide, shallow shoals(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2020-01-31)Delaware Bay is a large estuary with a deep, relatively narrow channel and wide, shallow banks, providing a clear example of a “channel-shoal” estuary. This numerical modeling study addresses the exchange flow in this channel-shoal estuary, specifically to examine how the lateral geometry affects the strength and mechanisms of exchange flow. We find that the exchange flow is exclusively confined to the channel region during spring tides, when stratification is weak, and it broadens laterally over the shoals during the more stratified neap tides, but still occupies a small fraction of the total width of the estuary. Exchange flow is relatively weak during spring tides, resulting from oscillatory shear dispersion in the channel augmented by weak Eulerian exchange flow. During neap tides, stratification and shear increase markedly, resulting in a strong Eulerian residual shear flow, with a net exchange flow roughly 5 times that of the spring tide. During both spring and neap tides, lateral salinity gradients generated by differential advection at the edge of the channel drive a tidally oscillating cross-channel flow, which strongly influences the stratification, along-estuary salt balance and momentum balance. The lateral flow also causes the phase variation in salinity that results in oscillatory shear dispersion during both spring and neap tides and is a significant advective momentum source driving the residual circulation. Thus, although the shoals make a negligible direct contribution to the exchange flow, the salinity gradients between the channel and the shoal are critical to the stratification and exchange flow within the estuarine channel.
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DatasetHunting Bubbles Falkor Cruise 2019(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2019-12-23)The Hunting Bubbles Cruise took place in August-September 2018 on the R/V Falkor (cruise ID 180824). Ship time was provided by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. This cruise investigated transport of methane from seeps located on the Cascadia Margin. Data archived at the WHOAS repository supplements additional data from this cruise available at the R2R rolling deck to repository and at MGDS: Marine Geoscience Data System.
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DatasetCauses of oceanic crustal thickness oscillations along a 74-Myr Mid-Atlantic Ridge flow line( 2019-11-12)Gravity, magnetic, and bathymetry data collected along a continuous 1400-km-long spreading-parallel flow line across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge indicate significant tectonic and magmatic fluctuations in the formation of oceanic crust over a range of timescales. The transect spans from 28 Ma on the African Plate to 74 Ma on the North American plate, crossing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 35.8 ºN. Gravity-derived crustal thicknesses vary from 3–9 km with a standard deviation of 1 km. Spectral analysis of bathymetry and residual mantle Bouguer anomaly (RMBA) show diffuse power at >1 Myr and concurrent peaks at 390, 550, and 950 kyr. Large-scale (>10-km) mantle thermal and compositional heterogeneities, variations in upper mantle flow, and detachment faulting likely generate the >1 Myr diffuse power. The 550- and 950-kyr peaks may reflect the presence of magma solitons and/or regularly spaced ~7.7 and 13.3 km short-wavelength mantle compositional heterogeneities. The 390-kyr spectral peak corresponds to the characteristic spacing of faults along the flow line. Fault spacing also varies over longer periods (>10 Myr), which we interpret as reflecting long-lived changes in the fraction of tectonically- vs. magmatically- accommodated extensional strain. A newly discovered off-axis oceanic core complex (Kafka Dome) found at 8 Ma on the African plate further suggests extended time periods of tectonically dominated plate separation. Fault spacing negatively correlates with gravity-derived crustal thickness, supporting a strong link between magma input and fault style at mid-ocean ridges.
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DatasetObservations of turbulence and the geometry and circulation of windrows in a small bay in the St. Lawrence Estuary( 2019-11-07)Measurements of ocean turbulence, waves, and the geometry and circulation of windrows were made over 5 days in early March in a small bay in the St. Lawrence Estuary. Measurements were made from a small zodiac and from a SWIFT drifter. Two acoustic doppler velocity profilers (ADCPs) were used from the zodiac to measure water velocity and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rates near the surface. The acoustic backscatter from the ADCPs was used in conjunction with a GPS to map the location and spacing of wind aligned rows of bubbles. The SWIFT drifter provided measurements of waves, wind stress, and secondary measurements of TKE dissipation rates. Imagery of the surface was taken with a GoPro camera mounted on the zodiac, and with a DJI MavicPro quadcopter.
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DatasetData and numerical methods for determining the dynamics and kinematics of Newark Bay, NJ( 2019-07-30)These observational data and numerical methods were used to investigate the subtidal salt balance of Newark Bay, a sub-estuarine network connected to the Hudson River estuary through New York Harbor. The moored data were collected in 2008 by Chant and Sommerfield, and in 2016 by Corlett, Geyer, and Ralston. Corlett devised the included numerical methods. Shipboard measurements of the vertical salinity profile near each mooring were used to reconstruct the tidally-varying vertical salinity profile from near-bed and near-surface salinity measurements at each mooring. The effects of tidal processes, such as frontal advection, on the exchange flow were investigated by applying the isohaline total exchange flow (TEF) framework to the mooring-based observations in multiple reaches of the estuarine network. In addition, a TEF-based salt balance was derived for the purpose of directly comparing the TEF framework with the standard Eulerian framework.