1. The California Current
Golden State, Green Ocean
Lauren Weisel
Physical Oceanography 2012

2. Overview Location Eastern Boundary Currents Physical Characteristics
Upwelling
CANON Experiment
CalCOFI
Global Warming

3. Location
Image source:

4. Eastern Boundary Currents
Relatively shallow, broad, and slow-flowing
Equatorward flow
Upwelling
Image source: *

5. Physical Characteristics
4 different water masses
Each with different properties

7. Upwelling Ekman transport- driven Cold water drawn upwards
Nutrient-rich
Image source:

8. Image source: http://im.glogster.com/media/3/10/5/10/10051035.png

9. CANON Experiment MBARI “Going with the flow” Picoplankton
Nitrate vs. ammonia
Image source:

10. CalCOFI Founded in response to sardine fishing crisis
Major researchers in eastern Pacific

11. Global Warming Temperatures along California coast on the rise
Zooplankton on the decline
Anthropogenic?

12. References
Fulton-Bennett, Kim (2010) The CANON experiments – Tracking algal blooms by “going with the flow” Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
< Accessed 4 Dec 2012.
Lynn, Ronald J., James J. Simpson (1987) The California Current system: the seasonal variability of its physical characteristics. Journal of Geophysical Research, 92, 12,947-12,966
Ohman, Mark D., Elizabeth L. Venrick (2003) CalCOFI in a changing ocean. Scripps Institute of Oceanography.
Roemmich, Dean, John McGowan (1995) Climatic warming and the decline of zooplankton in the California Current. Science, 267,
* oceans/GLACIER%20Oceans-%20--%20Windcirculation_files/4_easternboundcurr.gif