Browsing Doctoral Theses by Subject "/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering."
Now showing items 1-20 of 45
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Abrupt climate change in the Atlantic Ocean during the last 20,000 years : insights from multi-element analysis of benthic and planktic foraminifera and coupled OA-GCM
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005)Minor and trace element records of planktic and benthic foraminifera from Atlantic sediment cores, as well as output from a coupled OAGCM, were used to investigate the magnitude and distribution of the oceanic response to ... -
Adaptive sampling in autonomous marine sensor networks
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006)In this thesis, an innovative architecture for real-time adaptive and cooperative control of autonomous sensor platforms in a marine sensor network is described in the context of the autonomous oceanographic network scenario. ... -
Adult demography and larval processes in coastal benthic populations : intertidal barnacles in Southern California and Baja California
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005)The geographic distribution and dynamics of coastal benthic populations are shaped by physical - biological interactions affecting larval dispersal and the demography of juvenile and adult individuals. This thesis focused ... -
Advances in the visualization and analysis of boundary layer flow in swimming fish
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005)In biology, the importance of fluid drag, diffusion, and heat transfer both internally and externally, suggest the boundary layer as an important subject of investigation, however, the complexities of biological systems ... -
Air-sea interaction at contrasting sites in the Eastern Tropical Pacific : mesoscale variability and atmospheric convection at 10°N
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007)The role of ocean dynamics in driving air-sea interaction is examined at two contrasting sites on 125°W in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean using data from the Pan American Climate Study (PACS) field program. Analysis ... -
Approaches for assessing the presence and impact of thyroid hormone disrupting chemicals in Delphinid cetaceans
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006)Cetacean blubber is a primary site for lipid storage, which the animal utilizes during periods of energetic stress. It is important to understand how the blubber responds to factors such as ontogeny, water temperature, ... -
Biomechanics of North Atlantic right whale bone : mandibular fracture as a fatal endpoint for blunt vessel-whale collision modeling
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007)The North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, one of the most critically endangered whales in the world, is subject to high anthropogenic mortality. Vessel-whale collisions and entanglement in fishing gear were ... -
Black carbon in marine sediments : quantification and implications for the sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003)Sorption is a key factor in determining the fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment. Here, PAH sorption is proposed as the sum of two mechanisms: absorption into a biogenic, organic carbon (OC) ... -
Centennial-scale elemental and isotopic variability in the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic Ocean
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002)The marine geochemistry of the North Atlantic Ocean varies on decadal to centennial time scales, a consequence of natural and anthropogenic forcing. Surface corals provide a useful geochemical archive to quantify past mixed ... -
CFD study of hydrodynamic signal perception by fish using the lateral line system
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009)The lateral line system on fish has been found to aid in schooling behavior, courtship communication, active and passive hydrodynamic imaging, and prey detection. The most widely used artificial prey stimulus has been the ... -
Cross-shelf circulation and momentum and heat balances over the inner continental shelf near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007)The water circulation and evolution of water temperature over the inner continental shelf are investigated using observations of water velocity, temperature, density, and bottom pressure; surface gravity waves; wind stress; ... -
Distribution, patchiness, and behavior of Antarctic zooplankton, assessed using multi-frequency acoustic techniques
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006)The physical and biological forces that drive zooplankton distribution and patchiness in an antarctic continental shelf region were examined, with particular emphasis on the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. This was ... -
The East Greenland Coastal Current : its structure, variability, and large-scale impact
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008)The subtidal circulation of the southeast Greenland shelf is described using a set of high resolution hydrographic and velocity transects occupied in summer 2004. The main feature present is the East Greenland Coastal ... -
Echolocation-based foraging by harbor porpoises and sperm whales, including effects of noise and acoustic propagation
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008)In this thesis, I provide quantitative descriptions of toothed whale echolocation and foraging behavior, including assessment of the effects of noise on foraging behavior and the potential influence of ocean acoustic ... -
Eddies and friction : removal of vorticity from the wind-driven gyre
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003)Inertial terms dominate the single-gyre ocean model and prevent western-intensification when the viscosity is small. This occurs long before the oceanically-appropriate parameter range. It is demonstrated here that the ... -
Effects of internal waves on low frequency, long range, acoustic propagation in the deep ocean
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007)This thesis covers a comprehensive analysis of long-range, deep-ocean, low-frequency, sound propagation experimental results obtained from the North Pacific Ocean. The statistics of acoustic fields after propagation through ... -
Estimation and tracking of rapidly time-varying broadband acoustic communication channels
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006)This thesis develops methods for estimating wideband shallow-water acoustic communication channels. The very shallow water wideband channel has three distinct features: large dimension caused by extensive delay spread; ... -
The evolution of oceanic gabbros : in-situ and ancient examples
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004)This study is a geochemical investigation into the accretion of lower oceanic crust and processes of shallow melt-rock reaction at mid-ocean ridges. Major-, trace-elements, and isotopes from whole-rocks and minerals from ... -
The fluvial geochemistry of the rivers of Eastern Siberia and implications for the effect of climate on weathering
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998) -
Forward sound propagation around seamounts : application of acoustic models to the Kermit-Roosevelt and Elivs seamounts
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009)The Basin Acoustic Seamount Scattering Experiment (BASSEX) of 2004 was conducted to measure forward-scattering around the Kermit-Roosevelt Seamount Complex in the Northeast Pacific. The BASSEX experiment was focused on the ...