In the last few posts I’ve introduced you to the concept of dynamic ocean topography (DOT) and what causes it. In this post I’d like to introduce you to one of the global models or estimates of mean DOT and explain a little about how it was made. DOT can change daily which makes it …
Category: hydrography
Inverse Barometric Effect: A Contribution to Dynamic Ocean Topography
One of the topics I omitted in the first post of this series was the inverse barometric (IB) effect. Think of someone jumping on the side of a waterbed, their mass adds pressure to the water which in turn causes it to flow to places where there is less pressure, like the other side of …
Dynamic Ocean Topography: An Introduction
We generally think of the average height of the ocean as being a height of zero. This is because it can be useful to know how far something is above or below sea level, which is a vertical datum. It is a convenient reference height that is easy to access on the ocean or near …
GGE6022 – Advanced Topics in Ocean Mapping
Over the next few months I will be making several post about an advanced topic in the ocean mapping domain for a course with the University of New Brunswick. To follow along the category label GGE6022 can be used. Other Posts in the Series GGE6022 – Advanced Topics in Ocean Mapping (this post) Dynamic Ocean …
Original U.S.C.&.G.S.S. Fairweather Life Ring
Two of my shipmates found an old life ring from our ship at a Ketchikan, AK antique shop. I couldn’t pass it up. After hearing about it I made a trip to the shop and bought it, along with a 1928 nautical chart of our current working grounds in Chatham Strait. Upon further inspection, the …
Return to the Arctic
Last year, as a part of ongoing arctic research and, according to a news release from NOAA, due to “request[s] from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Maritime Pilots and the commercial shipping industry” NOAA Ship Fairweather made the first of what will be many voyages into the arctic. She surveyed “350 square nautical …