Abstract
Ocean processes are generally large scale on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast; this is true of both seasonal variations and event-scale upwelling-downwelling fluctuations., which are highly energetic. Coastal upwelling supplies most of the macronutrients available for production, although the intensity of upwelling-favorable wind forcing increases southward while primary production and chlorophyll are higher in the north, off the Washington coast. This discrepancy could be related to several mesoscale features: the wider, more gently sloping shelf to the north, the existence of numerous submarine canyons to the north, the availability of Columbia River plume water and sediment north of the river mouth, and the existence of a semi-permanent eddy offshore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We suggest that these features have important effects on the magnitude and timing of macronutrient or micronutrient delivery to the plankton. These features are potentially important as well to transport pathways and residence times of planktonic larvae and to the development of harmful algal blooms. The coastal plain estuaries, with the exception of the Columbia River, are relatively small, with large tidal forcing and highly seasonal direct river inputs that are low to negligible during the growing season. Primary production in these estuaries is likely controlled not by river-driven stratification but by coastal upwelling and exchange with the ocean. Both baroclinic mechanisms (the gravitational circulation) and barotropic ones (lateral stirring by tide and, possibly, wind) contribute to this exchange. Because estuarine hydrography and ecology are so dominated by ocean signals, the coastal estuaries, like the coastal ocean, are largely synchronous on seasonal and event time scales, though, intrusions of the Columbia River plume can cause strong asymmetries between Washington and Oregon estuaries especially during spring downwelling conditions. Water property correlation increases between spring and summer as wind forcing becomes more spatially coherent along the coast. Estuarine habitat is structure not only, by large scale forcing but also by fine scale processes in the extensive intertidal zone, such as by solar heating or differential advection by tidal, curents.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Allen, S. 1996. Topographically generated, subinertial flows within a finite length canyon.Journal of Physical Oceanography 26:1608–1632.
Allen, J. S. andP. A. Newberger. 1996. Downwelling circulation on the Oregon continental shelf. Part I: Response to idealized forcing.Journal of Physical Oceanography 26:2011–2035.
Allen, J. S., P. A. Newberger., andJ. Federiuk. 1995. Upwelling circulation on the Oregon continental shelf. Part I: Response to idealized forcing.Journal of Physical Oceanography 25:1843–1866.
Anderson.,G. C. 1972. Aspects of marine phytoplankton studies near the Columbia River, with special reference to a subsurface chlorophyll maximum, p. 219–240.In D. L. Alverson and A. L. Pruter (eds.), Bioenvironmental Studies, of the Columbia River Estuary and Adjacent Ocean Regions. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
Andrews, R. S. 1965. Modern Sediments of Willapa Bay, Washington: A Coastal Plain Estuary. Technical Report Number 118. Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Barnes, C. A., A. C. Duxbury, andB. A. Morse 1972. Circulation and selected properties of the Columbia River effluent at sea, p. 41–80.In D. L. Alverson and A. L. Pruter (eds.), Bioenvironmental Studies of the Columbia River Estuary and Adjacent Ocean Regions. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
Barth, J. A., S. D. Pierce andR. L. Smith. 2000. A separating coastal upwelling jet at Cape Blanco, Oregon and its connection to the California Current System.Deep-Sea Research 11: 783–810.
Batteen, M. L. 1997. Wind-forced modeling studies of currents, meanders and eddies in the California Current System.Journal of Geophysical Research 102:985–1010.
Battisti, D. andB. M. Hickey. 1984. Application of remote wind forced coastal trapped wave theory to the Oregon and Washington coasts.Journal of Physical Oceanography 14:887–903.
Bottom, D. L., C. A. Simenstad, A. M. Baptista, D. A. Jay, J. Burke, K. K. Jones, E., Casillas, andM. H. Sciewe. 2001. Salmon at River's End: The Role of the Estuary in the Decline and Recovery of Columbia River Salmon. U. S. National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, Washington.
Brink, K. H., D. C. Chapman, andG. R. Halliwell. 1987. A stochastic model for wind-driven currents over the continental shelf.Journal of Geophysical Research 92:1783–1797.
Brink, K. H., J. H. La Case, andJ. D. Irish. 1994. The effect of short-scale wind variations on shelf currents.Journal of Geophysical Research 99:3305–3315.
Conomos, T. J., M. G. Gross, C. A. Barnes, andF. A. Richards. 1972. River-ocean nutrient relations in summer, p. 151–175.In A. T. Pruter and D. L. Alverson (eds.), The Columbia River Estuary and Adjacent Ocean Waters. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
de Angelis, M. A. andL. I. Gordon. 1985. Upwelling and river runoff as sources of dissolved nitrous oxide to the Alsea estuary, Oregon.Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 20:375–386.
Duxbury, A. C. 1979. Upwelling and estuary flushing.Limnology and Oceanography 24:627–633.
Dyer, K. R. 1973. Estuaries: A Physical Introduction. Wiley, New York.
Emmett, R., R. Llanso, J. Newton, R. Thom, M. Hornberger, C. Morgan, C. Levings, A. Copping, andP. Fishman. 2000. Geographic signatures of North American West Coast estuaries.Estuaries 23:765–792.
Fischer, H. B. 1976. Mixing and dispersion in estuaries.Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 8:107–133.
Freeland, H. J. andK. L. Denman. 1982. A topographically controlled upwelling center off southern Vancouver Island.Journal of Marine Research 40:1069–1093.
Friedrichs, C. T., D. R. Lynch, andD. G. Aubrey. 1992. Velocity asymmetries in frictionally-dominated tidal embayments: Longitudinal and lateral variability, p. 277–312.In D. Prandle (ed.), Dynamics and Exchanges in Estuaries and the Coastal Zone. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C.
Garcia-Berdeal, I., B. M. Hickey, andM. Kawase. 2002. Influence of wind stress and ambient flow on a high discharge river plume.Journal of Geophysical Research 107:3130.
Geyer, W. R. 1997. Influence of wind on dynamics and flushing of shallow estuaries.Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 44:713–722.
Halliwell, Jr.,G. H. andJ. S. Allen. 1987. Large-scale coastal wind field along the west coast of North America, 1981–1982.Journal of Geophysical Research 92:1861–1884.
Hansen, D. V. andM. Rattray, Jr. 1965. Gravitational circulation in straits and estuaries.Journal of Marine Research 23:104–122.
Hansen, D. V. andM. Rattray, Jr. 1966. New dimensions in estuary classification.Limnology and Oceanography 11:319–326.
Hickey, B. M. 1979. The California current system—Hypotheses and facts.Progress in Oceanography 8:191–279.
Hickey, B. M. 1989. Patterns and processes of shelf and slope circulation, p. 41–115.In M. R. Landry and B. M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Hickey, B. M. 1992. Circulation over the Santa Monica-San Pedro basin and shelf.Progress in Oceanography 30:37–115.
Hickey, B. M. 1995. Coastal submarine canyons, p. 95–110.In P. Muller and D. Henderson (eds.), Proceedings of the University of Hawaii ‘Aha Huliko’'a Workshop on Flow Topography Interactions. SOEST Special Publication. University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Hickey, B. M. 1997. Response of a narrow submarine canyon to strong wind forcing.Journal of Physical Oceanography 27:697–726.
Hickey, B. M. 1998. Coastal oceanography of Western North America from the tip of Baja California to Vancouver Is, p. 345–393.In K. H. Brink and A. R. Robinson (eds.), The Sea, Volume 11, Chapter 12. Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York.
Hickey, B. M., L. Pietrafesa, D. Jay, andW. C. Boicourt. 1998. The Columbia River Plume Study: subtidal variability of the velocity and salinity fields.Journal of Geophysical Research 103:10339–10368.
Hickey, B. M. andT. Royer. 2001. California and Alaskan Currents. p. 368–379.In J. H. Steele, S. A. Thorpe, and K. A. Turekian (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. Academic Press, San Diego, California.
Hickey, B. M. andV. Trainer. 2003. ECOHAB PNW, a new West Coast multidisciplinary program.Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin 12:49–52.
Hickey, B. M., R. E. Thompson, H. Yih, andP. H. LeBlond. 1991. Velocity and temperature fluctuations in a buoyancy-driven current off Vancouver Island.Journal of Geophysical Research 96:10507–10538.
Hickey, B. M., M. Zhang, andN. Banas. 2002. Coupling between the California Current System and a coastal plain estuary in low riverflow conditions.Journal of Geophysical Research 107(C10)3166.
Horner, R., B. M. Hickey, andJ. Postel. 2000.Pseudo-nitzschia blooms and physical oceanography off Washington State.South African Journal of Marine Science 22:299–308.
Huyer, A. 1983. Upwelling in the California Current system.Progress in Oceanography 12:259–284.
Huyer, A. andR. L. Smith. 1974. A subsurface ribbon of cool water over the continental shelf off Oregon.Journal of Physical Oceanography 4:381–391.
Huzzey, L. M. 1988. The lateral density distribution in a partially mixed estuary.Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 26:351–358.
Huzzey, L. M. andJ. M. Brubaker. 1988. The formation of longitudinal fronts in a coastal plain estuary.Journal of Geophysical Research 93:1329–1334.
Jay, D. A., W. R. Geyer, R. J. Uncles, J. Vallino, J. Largier, andW. R. Boynton. 1997. A review of recent developments in estuarine scalar flux estimation.Estuaries 20:262–280.
Johnson, K. S., F. P. Chavez, andG. E. Friederich. 1999. Continental shelf sediment as a primary source of iron for coastal phytoplankton.Nature 398:697–700.
Kalnay, E., M. Kanamitsu, R. Kisler, W. Collins, D. Deaven, L. Gandin, M. Iredell, S. Saha, G. White, J. Woollen, Y. Zhu, A. Leetmaa, B. Reynolds, M. Chelliah, W. Ebisuzaki, W. Higgins, J. Janowiak, K. C. Mo, C. Ropelewski, J. Wang, R. Jenne, andD. Joseph. 1996. The NCEP/NCAR 40-year Reanalysis Project.Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 77:437–471.
Landry, M. R. andB. M. Hickey (eds.). 1989. Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon. Elsevier Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Landry, M. R. andC. Lorenzen. 1989. Abundance, distribution and grazing impact of zooplankton on the Washington shelf, p. 175–210.In M. R. Landry and B. M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon. Elsevier Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Landry, M. R., J. R. Postel, W. K. Peterson, andJ. Newman. 1989. Broad-scale patterns in the distribution of hydrographic variables, p. 1–41.In M. R. Landry and B. M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon. Elsevier Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Lentz, S. J. 1992. The surface boundary layer in coastal upwelling regions.Journal of Physical Oceanography 22:1517–1539.
Lentz, S. J. andJ. H. Trowbridge. 1991. The bottom boundary layer over the northern California shelf.Journal of Physical Oceanography 21:1186–1201.
Lucas, L. V., J. R. Koseff, J. E. Cloern, S. G. Monismith, andJ. K. Thompson. 1999. Processes governing phytoplankton blooms in estuaries. I: The local production-loss balance.Marine Ecology Progress Series 187:1–15.
Mackas, D. L., G. C. Loutitt, andM. J. Austin. 1980. Spatial distribution of zooplankton and phytoplankton in British Columbia coastal waters.Canadian Journal of Fishery and Aquatic Science 37:1476–1487.
Malamud-Roam, K. P. 2000. Muted tidal regimes in marshes of the San Francisco-estuary: Theory and implications for ecological restoration. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California.
Monteiro, P. M. S. andJ. L. Largier. 1999. Thermal stratification in Saldhana Bay (South Africa) and subtidal, density-driven exchange with the coastal waters of the Benguela upwelling system.Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science 49:877–890.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 1985. National Estuarine Inventory Data Atlas. Strategic Assessment Branch, Ocean Assessments Division, Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment, National Ocean Service, Rockville, Maryland.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency (NOAA/EPA). 1991. Susceptibility and status of West Coast estuaries to nutrient discharges: San Diego Bay to Puget Sound. Summary report, Strategic Assessment of Near Coastal Waters. NOAA/EPA, Rockville, Maryland.
Nittrouer, C. A. 1978. The process of detrital sediment accumulation in a continental shelf environment: An examination of the Washington shelf. Ph.D. Dissertation. Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Nixon, S. W., J. W. Ammerman, L. P. Atkinson, V. M. Berounsky, G. Billen, W. C. Boicourt, W. R. Boynton, T. M. Church, D. M. Ditoro, R. Elmgren, J. H. Garber, A. E. Giblin, R. A. Jahnke, N. J. P. Owens, M. E. Q. Pilson, andS. P. Seitzinger. 1996. The fate of nitrogen and phosphorus at the land-sea margin of the North Atlantic Ocean.Biogeochemistry 35:141–180.
O'Donnell, J. 1993. Surface fronts in estuaries: A review.Estuaries 16:12–39.
Park, P. K., C. Osterberg, andW. Forster. 1972. Chemical budget of the Columbia River, p. 123–134.In A. T. Pruter and D. L. Alverson (eds.), The Columbia River Estuary and Adjacent Ocean Waters. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
Pearcy, W. G. 1992. Ocean Ecology of North Pacific Salmonids. 1992. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
Percy, K. L., D. A. Bella, C. Sutterlin, andP. C. Klingeman. 1974. Descriptions and information sources for Oregon estuaries. Sea Grant College Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Pruter, A. T. andD. L. Alverson (eds.). 1972. The Columbia River Estuary and Adjacent Ocean Waters. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
Roegner, G. C., B. M. Hickey, J. A. Newton, A. L. Shanks, andD. A. Armstrong. 2002. Estuarine-nearshore links during a coastal upwelling-downwelling cycle: Plume and bloom intrusions into Willapa Bay, Washington.Limnology and Oceanography. 47:1033–1042.
Rooper, C. N. 2002. English sole transport during pelagic stages on the Pacific Northwest coast, and habitat use by juvenile flatfish in Oregon and Washington estuaries. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle.
Smith, R. L. 1995. The physical processes of coastal upwelling systems, p. 40–64.In C. P. Summerhayes, K.-C. Emeis, M. V. Angel, R. L. Smith, and B. Zeitzschel (eds.), Upwelling in the Ocean: Modern Processes and Ancient Records. Wiley and Sons, New York.
Strub, P. T., J. S. Allen, A. Huyer, andR. L. Smith. 1987b. Large-scale structure of the spring transition in the coastal ocean off western North America.Journal of Geophysical Research 92:1527–1544.
Strub, P. T., J. S. Allen, A. Huyer, R. L. Smith, andR. C. Beardsley. 1987a. Seasonal cycles of currents, temperatures, winds and sea level over the northeast Pacific continental shelf.Journal of Geophysical Research 92:1507–1526.
Strub, P. T. andC. James. 1988. Atmospheric conditions during the spring and fall transitions in the coastal ocean off western United States.Journal of Geophysical Research 93:15561–15584.
Strub, P. T. andC. James. 2002. Altimeter-derived surface circulation in the NE Pacific Gyres: Part I. Annual variability.Progress in Oceanography 53:163–183.
Strub, P. T., C. James, A. C. Thomas, andM. R. Abbott. 1990. Seasonal and nonseasonal variability of satellite-derived surface pigment concentration in the California current.Journal of Geophysical Research 95:1501–1530.
Strub, P. T., P. M. Kosro, andA. Huyer. 1991. The nature of cold filaments in the California current system.Journal of Geophysical Research 96:14743–14768.
Thomson, R. E. 1981. Oceanography of the British Columbia Coast. Canadian Special Publications in Fishery and Aquatic Sciences 56.
Trainer, V. L., N. G. Adams, B. D. Bill, C. M. Stehr, J. C. Wekell, P. Moeller, M. Busman andD. Woodruff. 2000. Domoic acid production near California coastal upwelling zones, June 1998.Limnology and Oceanography 45:1818–1833.
Trainer, V. L., N. G. Adams, andJ. C. Wekell. 2001. Domoic acid-producingPseudo-nitzchia species off the U.S. west coast associated with toxification events, p. 207–233.In G. M. Hallegraeff, S. I. Blackburn, C. J. Bolch, and R. J. Lewis (eds.), Harmful Algal Blooms 2000. Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, Paris, France.
Trainer, V. L., B. M. Hickey, andR. Horner. 2002. Biological and physical dynamics of domoic acid production off the Washington USA coast.Limnology and Oceanography 47:1438–1446.
Tully, J. P. 1942. Surface non-tidal currents in the approaches to Juan de Fuca strait.Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 5:398–409.
Tyler, M. A. andH. H. Seliger. 1980. Time scale variations of estuarine stratification parameters and impact on the food chains of the Chesapeake Bay, p. 207–233.In B. J. Neilson, A. Kuo, and J. Brubaker (eds.), Estuarine Circulation. Humana, Clifton, New Jersey.
Valle-Levinson, A. andJ. O'Donnell. 1996. Tidal interaction with buoyancy driven flow in a coastal plain estuary, p. 265–281.In D. G. Aubrey and C. T. Friedrichs (eds.), Buoyancy Effects on Coastal and Estuarine Dynamics, Volume 53. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C.
Venkatesh, S. andW. R. Crawford. 1993. Spread of oil from the Tenyo Maru, off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island.Natural Hazards 8:75–91.
Wang, D.-P. 1979. Wind-driven circulation in Chesapeake Bay, winter 1975.Journal of Physical Oceanography 9:564–572.
Werner, F. andB. M. Hickey. 1983. The role of an alongshore pressure gradient in Pacific Northwest coastal dynamics.Journal of Physical Oceanography 13:395–410.
Yankovsky, A. E., B. M. Hickey, andA. Munchow. 2001. The impact of variable inflow on the dynamics of a coastal buoyant plume.Journal of Geophysical Research 106:19809–19824.
Sources of Unpublished Materials
Bruland, K. personal communication. University of California, Santa Cruz, Ocean Sciences Department, A446 Earth and Marine Sciences Building, Santa Cruz, California 95064.
Dinneman, M. personal communication. Old Dominion University, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Norfolk, Virginia 23529.
Klinck, J. personal communication. Old Dominion University, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Norfolk, Virginia 23529.
Peterson, W. personal communication. Oregon State University, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, Oregon 97365.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hickey, B.M., Banas, N.S. Oceanography of the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coastal Ocean and estuaries with application to coastal ecology. Estuaries 26, 1010–1031 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803360
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803360