[SEMCO] "Oceans Alive" Continues on 4/24

[Sheri DeRosa]

For more information, contact:                            For immediate 
release:  April 17, 2007
Kate Madin, Sea Grant Educator
(508) 289-3639
kmadin at whoi.edu

"Oceans Alive" Speaker Will Examine Coastal Ocean Cooling

Standing on the shores of Cape Cod, it appears that the ocean stretches 
seamlessly to the horizon, but this vast body of water is anything but 
uniform. Distinct water masses flow, meet, and diverge off Cape Cod, all 
part of the larger North Atlantic ocean circulation. Join WHOI Physical 
Oceanographer Glen Gawarkiewicz, to hear how scientists brave the winter 
ocean to study the formation of cold, dense water off Cape Cod, using -- 
and testing -- a new tool, the REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).

Continuing Woods Hole Sea Grant's 2007 "Oceans Alive" lecture series, 
Dr. Gawarkiewicz will talk about how currents off Cape Cod are linked to 
local conditions, the Gulf of Maine, and the Arctic, and how fisheries, 
whales, and harmful algal blooms are all affected. The lecture takes 
place at 7 p.m. on April 24th in Redfield auditorium on Water Street, 
Woods Hole.

Water masses with different saltiness, temperature, and density form 
because of ongoing and seasonal ocean processes - the addition of fresh 
water from rainfall or melting ice, cooling in the winter air, or high 
wind, or evaporation. Behaving a little like oil and water, waters of 
different densities don't mix well. Colder, saltier water is denser and 
sinks, while warmer, fresher water is less dense and rises to the 
surface, carrying nutrients for ocean life. Complicating the situation 
still further, all this water is on the move.

Along Cape Cod's eastern edge flows a shallow current of seawater moving 
south: All the southward water moves past the outer Cape and then the 
current splits in two. "Outer Cape Cod is tremendously important," said 
Gawarkiewicz, "because it is a choke point in the larger coastal 
circulation." How the water masses form, and where they go, can affect 
the fish populations, where whales feed, and how harmful algal blooms 
move down the coast, since the current links the Arctic with Cape Cod. 
"The East of Cape Cod Current is a highway carrying fresh water down 
from the Arctic," he said, "and at the same time carrying climate 
signals here from far upstream."

In his talk Gawarkiewicz will focus how the system acts in winter, when 
the cold water forms, and how they solved one mystery. Cold water is 
blown toward the shore by winter winds, and then sinks. But below the 
surface, the sea is colder than expected.  "There has been a 
long-standing mystery about where the cold water at depth comes from," 
said Gawarkiewicz.

You will hear about the difficulties his team encountered during the 
stormy Cape Cod winters when they tried to deploy and retrieve 
equipment. He will also talk about the first use of a newly designed, 
sophisticated REMUS AUV to gather data, how their results lay the 
groundwork for future observation of our coastal ocean via long-term 
observatories.

This is the first time this important current system has been thoroughly 
studied in the winter, and for good reason: "This study would have been 
incredibly expensive if we had done it through traditional [ship-based] 
methods," Gawarkiewicz said. "Using the new REMUS is a whole new way to 
measure the coastal ocean and study processes, at lower cost." The 
development of the new REMUS was funded through the Office of Naval 
Research, and Woods Hole Sea Grant and the WHOI Coastal Ocean Institute 
provided funding for the Outer Cape Cod Winter Cooling study, which 
spanned two winters. Even so, working in the coastal ocean in winter 
hasn't become any more comfortable - "My cold tolerance has improved 
quite a bit, since beginning this project!" he said.

Gawarkiewicz, who specializes in coastal oceanography and modeling 
coastal front dynamics, received his Bachelors degree from MIT in Ocean 
Engineering, and his PhD from the University of Delaware in Physical 
Oceanography. He has been at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution since 
1989 and is now an Associate Scientist in the Physical Oceanography 
Department.

Woods Hole Sea Grant's "Oceans Alive" lecture series for 2007 concludes 
on Tuesday, May 1, at 4:00 p.m., with "Young Scientists Present: winning 
science fair projects," which showcases the projects and talents of the 
winners of local high school science fairs, students from Falmouth 
Academy and Falmouth High School.

All presentations are in Redfield Auditorium on Water Street in Woods 
Hole, and are free and open to the public; families and students are 
especially encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be provided. 
Parking for evening lectures is available in the parking lot opposite 
the auditorium, and parking for the May 1 afternoon lecture is available 
in on-street, metered spaces.
 
For more information, contact the Woods Hole Sea Grant Program, 
508-289-2398 or seagrant at whoi.edu.

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