The author has identified the following significant results. Release-recovery paths of drift cards released in conjunction with ERTS-1 overflight show that nearshore surface currents along the central and northern California coast flowed southward at an average rate in excess of 10 cm/sec (8.5 km/day) during August and September 1973 (California Current). By the middle of October 1973, the nearshore surface currents had reversed and the dominant flow velocity was northward at an average rate in excess of 20 cm/sec (17 km/ day) (Davidson Current). The August-September data suggested the presence of counterclockwise gyres in Monterey Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones, but by the middle of October, the gyres were no longer evident. Imagery of April 1973 showed well developed plumes of suspended sediment in Monterey Bay from the Salinas River and in the Gulf of the Farallones from San Francisco Bay. ERTS-1 imagery provides an effective means of monitoring timber harvest in the redwood forest along the northern California coast. ERTS-1 imagery also clearly portrays contrasting topographic belts characterized by fluvial erosion and by mass movement. The most visually apparent and most persistent river mouth suspended sediment plumes are associated with those rivers that drain belts of topography that appear to have been eroded primarily by mass movement

Carlson, P. R.

Janda, R. J.

English

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P** astabe und l1AMp Em .& N-A1M0:
Ifl the Interest of early and wide dis-
semination of Earth Resources Survey ' / 3
Program information and without liability
for any use made thereof."
PRINCIPAL SOURCES AND DISPERSAL PATTERNS OF SUSPENDED PARTICULATE
MATTER IN NEARSHORE SURFACE WATERS OF THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC OCEAN
Paul R. Carlson and Richard J. Janda
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
N74-1405
B74-10186) PRINCIPAL SOURCES 
AND
SDISPERSAL PATTERNS OF SUSPENDED ..
PARTICULATE MATTER IN NEARSHORE SU CE Unclas
ATERS OF THE NORTHEAST (Geological 100186
Survey) 12 P HC $3 0
Type II Progress Report for Period 1 April - 15 November, 1973
Prepared for:
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19740005937 2020-03-23T12:00:22+00:00Z
TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE
1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Principal Sources S Dispersal 5. Report Date
Patterns of Suspended Particulate Matter in 15 Nov. 1973
qearshore Surface Waters of the Northeast 6. Performing Organization Code
?acific Ocean (SR 209)
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No.
Paul R. Carlson (IN011) and Richard J. Janda
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No.
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road 11. Contract or Grant No.
Menlo Park, CA 94025 S-70243-AG
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Type II Prog. Rept.
Edward W. Crump (Code 430) 1 Apr.-15 Nov. 1973
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
16. Abstract
See following page
17. Key Words Suggested by Author 18. Distribution Statement
Nearshore surface currents Unlimited
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price
Unclassified 1
Figure 2A. Technical Report Standard Title Page. This page provides the dtLta elements required by DoD Form DD-1473,
HEW Form OE-6000 (ERIC), and similar forms.
INT: 2090-72
/.
Abstract of ERTS Significant Results
Release-recovery paths of drift cards released in conjunction with ERTS
overflight show that nearshore surface currents along the central and northern
California coast flowed southward at an average rate in excess of 10 cm/sec.
(8.5 km/day) during August and September 1973 (California Current). By the
middle of October 1973, the nearshore surface currents had reversed and the
dominant flow velocity was northward at an average rate in excess of 20 cm/sec.
(17 km/day) (Davidson Current). The August-September data also suggested the
presence of counterclockwise gyres in Monterey Bay and the Gulf of the
Farallones, but by the middle of October, the gyres were no longer evident.
ERTS imagery of April 1973 showed well developed plumes of suspended sedi-
ment in Monterey Bay from the Salinas River and in the Gulf of the Farallones
from San Francisco Bay. Depths at which a Secchi disc was no longer visible
ranged from 3 to 6 meters in Monterey Bay and from 2 to 4 meters in the Gulf of
the Farallones, compared to .5 to 1 meter in South San Francisco Bay.
ERTS imagery provides an effective means of monitoring timber harvest in the
redwood forest along the northern California coast. The multispectral imagery
shows recent clearcuts and new timber access roads, thus providing information
needed by land managers on initiation, rate of cutting, and final size of the
timber harvest units.
ERTS imagery also clearly portrays contrasting topographic belts character-
ized by fluvial erosion and by mass movement. The most visually apparent and
most persistent river mouth suspended sediment plumes are associated with those
rivers that drain belts of topography that appear to have been eroded primarily-
by mass movement.
12
Type II Progress Report
ERTS -1
a. PRINCIPAL SOURCES AND DISPERSAL PATTERNS OF SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER
IN NEARSHORE SURFACE WATERS OF THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC OCEAN
ERTS-1 Proposal No: SR209 Subdisciplines: 5B, H, K, 4A, 31, IB,
b. GSFC ID No. of P. I.: IN 011
c. Statement and explanation of any problems that are impeding the progress of
the investigation:
The largest problem we continually encounter is the capriciousness of
Mother Nature. In the past three months, three water sampling cruises were
made concurrent with ERTS passes and clouds obscured the test sites each
time. The cloud cover of the ERTS imagery received for the various geo-
graphic areas of our proposal is shown on table 1. This list includes only
those images with less than 70% cloud cover.
Table 1. Numbers of Images and Coastal Zone Cloud Cover (thru Aug. '73)
Relatively Partly Cloudy Cloudy
Location cloud free (of limited use) (not useful) Total
Central Calif. 37 (45%) 37 (37%) 15 (18%) 83
No. Calif. 22 (30%) 25 (35%) 25 (35%) 72
Oregon 12 (20%) 22 (37%) 26 (43%) 60
Washington 14 (17%) 24 (30%) 43 (53%) 81
Mexico 58 (35%) 46 (28%) 63 (37%) 167
S. E. Alaska 19 (18%) 35 (48%) 50 (48%) 104
Hawaii 0 ( 0%) 5 (37%) 8 (63%) 13
The lack of tonal contrast in water scenes continues to be a major prob-
lem. In order to utilize fully all of the information on the ERTS imagery,
we must usually reprocess the positives using a photographic density enhance-
ment process; this added enhancement requires additional time and project
funds.
d. Discussion of the accomplishments during the reporting period and those
planned for the next reporting period:
In order to compensate for the lack of ERTS coverage of the coastal
zone during cloudy weather and to document the nearshore current directions
interpreted from the ERTS imagery, drift cards have been dropped at 2 month
intervals off the mouths of rivers of central and northern California and
southern Oregon. In addition to documenting current direction, the drift
cards indicate minimum velocity of the coastal currents. The date the card
is found on a given beach is not necessarily the same date that the
card drifted onto the beach, but could be a day or more later; thus the
computed current velocity is a minimm value. A total of 1900 drift cards
were released during each drop period, and the return has been between 10
and 15 percent. The cards were air-dropped in packets of 50 at distance
of 1.6 and 8.1 km (1 and 5 mi.) seaward of the river mouths. The drift cards
were dropped in April, June, August, and October at the times of ERTS over-
passes. The next release is planned for the middle of December.
Cruises to obtain water measurements concurrently with satellite passes
were made in San Francisco Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones on five separate
occasions during the report period. The dates of the cruises were April 4-5,
May 30, Aug. 8-9, Oct. 4, and Nov. 6-7, 1973. Water measurements of salinity,
temperature and turbidity were made, and samples were collected for sedi-
ment concentration, particle size, and composition. Water measurements
also were made in Monterey Bay 3 days before an ERTS overpass in mid-April
1973 (Broenkow and Benz, 1973).
Concurrent with the satellite passes of November 27 and 28, 1973, water
measurements will be made off the mouths of several northern California rivers.
One boat based in Humboldt Bay will collect water samples and make in situ
measurements off the Eel and Mad Rivers. A second boat based at Crescent
City will sample and measure the water off the Klamath and Smith Rivers. A
third cruise is planned for San Francisco Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones
in mid-December coincident with satellite passes. High-altitude photographic
coverage of San Francisco Bay and the central and northern California coastal
zones will be provided during this high-rainfall period by U-2 aircraft from
NASA, Ames.
Field studies of coastal river drainage basins of northern California and
southern Oregon were conducted throughout the summer and early fall months.
These studies provide information about the sources of the sediment in the
plumes of turbid water visible on the green and red bands of ERTS imagery.
Measurements included: river cross-section and profiles, river discharge,
sediment transport (suspended and bed load), sediment texture and composition,
and water chemistry. In addition to these ongoing studies, synoptic measure-
ments will be made during major stormsas part of a U.S. Geological Survey -
National Park Service cooperative environmental surveillance program. One
such synoptic study was made November 7-9, 1973, in which 6 stations along
the main channel of Redwood Creek and 7 tributary streams were occupied by
teams of hydrologists and geologists. Another synoptic study is planned for
3
early December 1973.
Broenkow, W. W. and Benz, R. S., 1973, Oceanographic observations in
Monterey Bay, California, January 1972 to April 1973; Tech. Publ.
73-3, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University,
336 p.
c. Discussion of significant scientific results and their relationship to
practical applications or operational problems.
Surface Current Directions-
California Coastal Zone
Comparison of current directions indicated by drift cards dropped in
mid-June 1973 with those interpreted from the suspended sediment patterns
visible on the June 17, 1973, ERTS imagery show good agreement (Carlson
and Harden, 1973). Although clouds have obscured much of the coastal zone
during the satellite passes of August and October, the drift card data
(Fig. 1) show the changes in current direction from southward flow in late
August and September (California Current) to northward flow in mid-October to
November (Davidson Current). There also was a difference in current speeds
noted during the two different times. The average speed during the August-
September period was in excess of 10 cm/sec. (8.5 km/day), but in the October-
November time frame when the current changed direction the average speed
was in excess of 20 cm/sec. (17 km/day). The counterclockwise gyres in
Monterey Bay and the Gulf of the Farallones suggested by the drift card return
from the August drop (fig. 1) are not evident at the time of the October
drop. It appears that the northward-flowing Davidson Current is beginning
to dominate the nearshore current flow. The surfacing of the Davidson
Current appears to be earlier this year than last year when current directions
interpreted from the ERTS imagery of late October 1972 indicated that south-
ward flow predominated (Carlson et. al., 1973).
Carlson, Paul R. and Harden, Deborah R., 1973, Principal sources and
dispersal patterns of suspended particulate matter in nearshore sur-
face waters of the northeast Pacific Ocean and seasonal variation in
snow cover in the Sierra Nevada. 20 August 1973, 13 p., NASA Type I
progress report, Natl. Tech. Info. Service.
Carlson, Paul R., Conomos, T. John, Janda, Richard J., and Peterson, David H.,
1973, Principal sources and dispersal patterns.of suspended particulate
matter in nearshore surface waters of the northeast Pacific Ocean and
the Hawaiian Islands. 2 April 1973, 9 p., NASA-CR-131307, Natl. Tech.
Info. Service E 73-10487.
Figure 1. Surface current directions along the central California coast
based on drift-card returns. The drift cards were released coincident
with satellite passes on August 27, 1973, panel A and October 19, 1973,
panel B. The circles indicate release points and the arrowheads show
the location of the drift-card recovery.
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Patterns of-suspended sediment -
Gulf of the Farallones, San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay
Preliminary comparisons of suspended sediment concentrations and
turbidity measurement in San Francisco Bay, the Gulf of the Farallones,
and Monterey Bay show good agreement.with the patterns of suspended sedi-
ment visible on ERTS-MSS bands 4 and 5 of April 4, 1973. Well-defined plumes
were present off the Salinas River mouth in Monterey Bay and off the
Golden Gate in the Gulf of the Farallones. Comparable depths of Secchi
disc visibility were measured in these plumes (fig. 2). For comparison
note the Secchi depths measured in south San Francisco Bay. These values
ranged from 60 to 105 cm, as compared to 2 to 4 meters depth in the Gulf
of the Farallones and 3 to 6 meters in Monterey Bay. Table 2 shows the
changes of suspended sediment concentration and percent light transmission
as compared to the Secchi disc readings for south San Francisco Bay and the
Gulf of the Farallones. The lines of traverse are shown on Figure 2.
Table 2. Water turbidity measurements.
San Francisco Bay (4/4/73) Gulf of Farallones (4/5/73)
Secchi Suspended Transmitted Secchi Suspended Transmitted
Depth Sediment Light (10 cm path) Depth Sediment Light (lm path)
(cm) (mg/£) (% T) (m) (mg/£) (% T)
g. 60 40 25 c. 4.0 8.8 27
105 18 42 2.8 8.4 16
75 28 25 d. 2.0 22.0 7
h. 65 31 24
'7
0-
no e_ d
'0oo P\
n qu
) h
\ NoD -J0
V U 0 0k .5
OLi
'SC
Figure 2. Suspended sediment patterns in San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, and
the adjacent ocean as seen on ERTS, MSS-4 imagery of April 4, 1973
(1255-18183-4). The dotted pattern represents the shoreline, and the
lines offshore indicate the changes in tonal contrast between masses of
water bearing different concentrations of suspended sediment. The more
turbid water is shaded. The dashed lines a-b (Monterey Bay), c-d (Gulf
of the Farallones), and g-h (south San Francisco Bay) indicate positions
of water cruise profiles made April 19, 5, and 4, 1973, respectively.
Sediment sources -
no. California and so. Oregon coastal zone
ERTS-1 MSS imagery has been used in our northern California and southern
Oregon test area to investigate sediment sources as well as sediment-dispersal
patterns in nearshore Pacific Ocean water. Interpretations of low-altitude
aerial photographs and ground transverses suggest that the two principal sources
of the suspended sediment transported by northern California rivers are areas of
active mass movement and areas of recent tractor-yarded clearcut timber harvest.
Streams draining these areas have river mouth plumes that are more persistent
and are more clearly visible on ERTS-1 images than streams draining less rapidly
eroding areas.
North-northwest trending linear belts of topography, characterized by
broadly rounded hillslopes and relatively low drainage densities, appear to have
been eroded primarily by mass movement processes. These topographic belts stand
in marked contrast to adjacent belts of more intricately dissected topography,
characterized by linear hill slope profiles and eroded primarily by fluvial
processes. Inspection of multispectral U-2 photography and standard (1:10,000
and 1:40,000) low altitude black and white aerial photograph suggests that the
belts of mass movement eroded topography are in general more actively eroding
than the topographic belts sculptured primarily by fluvial processes. These
distinctive topographic belts are clearly visible on bands 6 and 7 of ERTS-1
MSS imagery. Many small individual landslides that have profound impacts upon
land-use patterns, transportation routes, and stream sediment loads can not be
resolved on ERTS images. Thus, these images appear to have greater utility for
regional planners charged with defining broad areas characterized by certain
types of erosion problems, than for engineers working on specific construction
or remedial activities.
In areas of recent detailed geologic mapping, the N-NW trending linear
topographic belts appear to be lithologically controlled. However, on a regional
basis the topographic unconformities discernible on ERTS-1 MSS imagery do notalways correspond to the geologic contacts portrayed on existing regional
geologic reconnaissance maps. Additional study is needed to assess further the
usefulness of ERTS imagery for modifying existing reconnaissance maps of the
geologically complex terrane of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon.
The contrast in spectral reflectance between recently cut-over land and old
growth (virgin) or advanced second growth redwood'(Sequoia sempervirens) and
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is extreme. These two types of areas can be
distinguished on all four spectral bands of ERTS MSS imagery, but the contrastis most obvious on band 5. The difference between old growth and second growth
forest is clearest on band 6. The extreme spectral contrast at the margins of
recent clearcut blocks and new timber access roads has enabled us to effectively
monitor rates and practices of timber harvest in the environs of Redwood National
Park as part of the U.S. Geological Survey - National Park Service environmental
surveillance program. The initiation, rate of cutting, and final size of harvesting
units can be determined directly from ERTS images; yarding procedures can beinferred from the size of the harvesting units and their relation to timber access
roads.
9
p
f. A listing of published articles, and/or papers, pre-prints, in-house reports,
abstracts of talks, that were released during the reporting period:
Broenkow, W. W. and Benz, S. R., 1973, Oceanographic observations in
Monterey Bay, California, January 1973: Tech. Publ. 73-3, Moss Landing
Marine Laboratories, California State University, 336 p.
Carlson, Paul, Janda, Richard, and Conomos, T. John, 1973, Observations of
suspended particle patterns in nearshore northeastern Pacific Ocean
waters by ERTS-1 imagery: Symposium on Significant Results Obtained
from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite-1, NASA/Goddard, v. 1,
p. 1305.
Conomos, T. J. and Peterson, D. H., 1973, Seasonal circulation and suspended
particle distribution patterns, San Francisco Bay, California:
Symposium International, Relations Sedimentaires Entre Estuaires Et
Plateaux Continentaux, Bordeaux, France, p. 26-27.
Nelson, C. Hans, 1973, Sediment and mercury dispersal through estuary, shoreline,
and epicontinental shelf environments of the northeast Bering Sea:
Symposium International, Relations Sedimentaires Entre Estuaires Et
Plateaux Continentaux, Bordeaux, France, p. 65.
Peterson, David, 1973, Silica cycle in San Francisco Bay: Talk given at
Estuarine Research Conference, Myrtle Beach, So. Carolina, Am. Soc.
Limnol. and Oceanog.
g. Recommendation concerning practical changes in operations, additional
investigative effort, correlation of effort and/or results as related
to a maximum utilization of the ERTS system:
NONE
h. A listing by date of any changes is Standing Order Forms:
NONE
i. ERTS Image Descriptor forms: NONE
j. Listing by date of any change Data Request forms submitted to Goddard Space
Flight Center/NDPF during the reporting period:
NONE
k. Status of Data Collection Platforms (if applicable): N/A
/o


Principal sources and dispersal patterns of suspended particulate matter in nearshore surface waters of the northeast Pacific Ocean

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