| MMS ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM: ONGOING STUDIES | ||||||
| MMS OCS Region: | Pacific | |||||
| Title: | Transport Over the Inner-Shelf of the Santa Barbara Channel (PC-00-02-14) | |||||
| Actual Costs: | $184,512 | Period of Performance: | FY 2001-2005 | |||
| Conducting Organization: | Coastal Marine Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara-Santa Barbara, CA (Contact: Carter Ohlmann) | |||||
| MMS Contact: | Dr. Fred Piltz | |||||
| Description: | ||||||
| Background | ||||||
| The Santa Barbara channel is a transition zone between the cool upwelling circulation off the northern California coast and the warm re-circulating flow within the Southern California Bight. The SBC is roughly 100 km long by 50 km wide and is oriented east-west. Narrow continental shelves extend ~5 km offshore along both the northern and southern boundaries. Water depth in the center of the channel reaches 600 m. Complicated bathymetry features, and a highly variable wind field (both spatially and temporally) also characterize the Channel. The SBC region is rich in both mineral resources and species diversity. Oil and gas drilling activities presently exist. Concern over management of the Channel’s mineral resources and the fate of potentially spilled oil prompted the MMS to fund studies of large-scale circulation patterns within the SBC. These previous large-scale studies have identified a variety of seasonal and synoptic circulation patterns. Large-scale meteorological events and pressure gradients have been found to be the primary drivers of the observed circulation. Wind stress and pressure forcing can act in concert or in opposition. It is not clear how inner shelf flows respond to these forcing mechanisms. Nor is it clear how inner-shelf and basin scale circulation patterns are related. No studies of circulation characteristics including spatial scales and transports over the inner-shelf region(depths < 50 m) are known to exist. | ||||||
| Objectives | ||||||
| Describe and quantify the surface velocity field including variations that exist on 15 minute time and 10 m space scales over the inner-shelf of the Santa Barbara Channel. This project tests the hypothesis that flows are primarily along shore and abrupt variations in bathymetry set up cross-shore motions and small coastal eddies. | ||||||
| Methods | ||||||
| Note large-scale circulation patterns prior to
initial deployment. Deploy nine Lagrangian "micro-drifters" near Coal Oil Point in the Santa Barbara Channel. Drifters telemeter location data in near real time (every 15 minutes) with 10 meter spatial resolution. After four days, drifters will be recovered for future use. However, if most drifters remain over the inner shelf for longer than four days, the sampling period will be extended. Upon noting a change in the large scale circulation pattern, initiate a second deployment of the "micro-drifters." Thereafter, deploy drifters once every two months during the 1.5-year field program. Initiate "ancillary" deployments of drifters during certain events, such as presence of large cyclonic eddy in the west central SBC. Process data from drifters and publish maps of trajectory data for each deployment Analyze data to identify pattern of long shore, cross-shore and eddy transport. Compare drifter-generated data to CODAR-generated data. |
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| Importance to MMS | ||||||
| The proposed research will provide surface current information over the inner shelf of the Santa Barbara channel. This information is essential to improving the ability to track and forecast the movement of oil and other harmful materials within the inner-shelf region of the Santa Barbara channel. The knowledge gained through this study will greatly aid the MMS and other government agencies in the management of coastal resources including oil and gas. | ||||||
| Current Status: | ||||||
| The study has been completed and the final report has been received. MMS Study No. 2006 - 009. | ||||||
| Final Report Due: | 11/29/2006 | |||||
| Publications: | None at this time. | |||||
| Affiliated WWW Sites: | http://coastalresearchcenter.ucsb.edu/cmi/ | |||||
| Revised date: | November 29, 2006 | |||||
| ESPIS |
ESPIS - All completed
ESP Studies: |
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