Climate and heat exchange in the oceanic region adjacent to Oregon

• Main Author: Lane, Robert Kenneth
• Other Authors: Burt, Wayne V.
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Hydrography > Oregon; Coasts > Oregon; Atmospheric temperature > Pacific Ocean; Climatology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28027

The climate and the exchange of heat between atmosphere and ocean are examined in a region adjacent to Washington and Oregon, and in two sub-regions adjacent to Oregon. The sub-regions are chosen such that one contains the nearshore upwelling region and the other borders it on the seaward side. The data (ship weather observations, 1953 to 1962) reveal the general seasonal variation of climatic factors in the regions studied and the effects of the nearshore upwelling of cold water on the climate over the coastal ocean region and the adjacent coastal land mass. In the nearshore sub-region, summer values of temperature (air, wet bulb, and sea surface) are lower than those to seaward, but winter values are higher inshore than to seaward. The effects of these differences, and of other factors, on the heat exchange processes are examined with the use of empirical equations. It is seen that the processes of evaporation and conduction are suppressed considerably and net long wave radiation is slightly suppressed in the upwelling region during the summer. The effects of the reduction of heat loss to the atmosphere in the summer upwelling region on the climate of coastal Oregon are seen to be a slight reduction of air temperatures and, despite reduced evaporation, a very slight increase of relative humidity. Monthly means of daily net heat exchange between the sea and the atmosphere are examined and correlated with the difference between monthly means of the heat used per day in the oceanic evaporation process and the monthly means of daily totals of heat estimated to be used in the evaporation from a shallow pan under climatic conditions identical to those accompanying the net heat exchange and oceanic evaporation. === Graduation date: 1965