Northern California Coastal Circulation Study (NCCCS); San Francisco to Oregon;1986-1989

The Northern California Coastal Circulation Study (NCCCS), supported
by the Minerals Management Service, is a 5-year physical oceanography
program to describe the circulation on the continental shelf and upper
slope between San Francisco and the Oregon border. This study will
result in an improved description and understanding of circulation
features, particularly near-surface currents. The general objectives
of the NCCCS are:

-- To obtain high-quality direct and indirect measurements of currents
on the shelf and upper slope, with adequate temporal and spatial
resolution to describe the principal advective processes.

-- To describe the circulation in statistical terms, including mean
current patterns, seasonal and shorter-term variability, vertical
structure, and response to forcing.

-- To characterize the circulation in terms of dynamic processes. For
each process, such as wind forcing, an assessment of the primary
driving force, response sensitivity, spatial pattern, momentum
balance, and advective displacement scale is required. (Bruce
A. Magnell, EG&G Geos)

The following data acquired during experiment are available at the
Data Zoo (see below for more information and access instructions).
First, a number of datasets are available directly from the
subdirectory labeled /NCCCS:

CTD measurements
Moored current data
XBT

These data are available elsewhere in the Data Zoo:

Sea-level observations (see /NOS)

Finally, bottom pressure data and Lagrangian drifter data, taken as
part of NCCCS are not archived in DataZoo.

The Data Zoo

The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) of the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, has developed an
on-line database of physical oceanographic data organized by
experiment, and referred to as the 'Data Zoo.' The animals in this
'zoo' are the individual data sets, one of which is described
above. The zoo is funded by the Mineral Management Service, Bureau of
Land Management, Department of the Interior.

If you intend to use these data in a published document, you are asked
to cite the source. If you plan to use these data in your research
please notify CCS of your intentions by contacting the 'zookeeper' at
[e-mail].