Recent sio_techreport items

Time-Series of Inorganic Carbon Measurements on Surface Ocean Water near Bermuda and Hawaii, 1983-2023.

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Time-Series of Inorganic Carbon Measurements on Surface Ocean Water near Bermuda and Hawaii, 1983-2023.

Carbon dioxide measurements by the Scripps O2 program. 2020 Update

Sat, 27 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This report documents changes to the CO2 calibration scale of the Scripps O2 program to bring it in line with the SIO X12 scale. The update involves new assignments on six primary CO2 reference gases used by the O2 program, which were used to assign cubic coefficients to the instrument response function for the Siemens CO2 analyzer used by the O2 program. The new assignments correct for drift in the CO2 concentration of these cylinders which is now well resolved. The update also entails changing the functional form for the instrument response function for the Licor CO2 analyzer, also used by the Scripps O2 program, from a cubic to a double inverse hyperbole. This update impacts all data from the Scripps O2 program from program inception onwards. We designate the updated CO2 scale as the VH344-2020 scale. The previous scale, which had no designation, is now called the VH344-2015 scale. The changes from the VH344-2015 to VH433-2020 scales involve changes at the...

Special considerations for updating the primary in situ Mauna Loa record to the X12 scale

Sat, 27 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We report here on several details that apply to updating the primary in situ Mauna Loa CO2 record from the Scripps CO2 program to the X12 calibration scale from the previous X08A scale. The update incorporates revised determinations of the primary reference gases on the constant-volume mercury-column manometer (CMM) based on improved assessments of manometer volumes and other parameters (Keeling et al., 2016). The changes, which impact data only after 1974, are typically of order 0.1 to 0.2 ppm or less at ambient concentrations. In this update, we also incorporate two changes that are unrelated to the revised manometric determinations and are relevant only for the in situ Mauna Loa record but not relevant for flask data from Mauna Loa or other stations. The first involves a reassignment of a secondary calibration cylinder used for the in situ Mauna Loa measurements starting April 2015. The second involves eliminating a +0.12 ppm adjustment that had been applied...

Adding Mean Sea Surface (MSS) as an Altimetry Product

Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The height of the mean sea surface above the reference ellipsoid is a time independent reference model that can be removed from radar altimeter measurements to isolate the oceanographic signals. This document explains how the CLS mean sea surface model is updated at short wavelengths using the 30-years of sea surface slope measurements that have been archived and computed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The data are available at https://topex.ucsd.edu/pub/ .

Comparison of the Fajans and Mohr Techniques for the Titration of Chloride Ions and Salinity Determination

Tue, 7 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Comparison of the Fajans and Mohr Techniques for the Titration of Chloride Ions and Salinity Determination

Soundings in the Gulf of California and off the West Coast of Lower California in 1939

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The soundings dealt with in this report were taken on Cruises VII and VIII of the "E. W. Scripps." In the Gulf of California the sounding lines mainly follow cross sections the locations of which were determined by the hydrographic program, but between these cross sections lines were run parallel to the coast line with minor detours for sounding purposes only. The Ballenas Channel was crossed and recrossed in an attempt to locate the maximum depth of the Ballenas Trench and the sill depth between the trench and the outer part of the Gulf.

The Marine Biological Station of San Diego, Its History, Present Conditions, Achievements, and Aims

Tue, 2 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Marine Biological Station of San Diego, Its History, Present Conditions, Achievements, and Aims

Quarterly Progress Report, October-December 1954. Office of Naval Research Progress Report No. 34

Tue, 2 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Quarterly Progress Report, October-December 1954. Office of Naval Research Progress Report No. 34

Report of a Meeting on Oceanography of the North Pacific, Honolulu, February 13-17, 1956

Mon, 1 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Representatives of the agencies which carried out the cooperative oceanographic survey of the North Pacific known as NORPAC met in Honolulu, T. H., from February 13 to 17, 1956, to consider the results of that survey and to plan further cooperative oceanographic work in the Pacific.

Preliminary Report on Expedition DOWNWIND, IGY Cruise to the Southeast Pacific

Mon, 1 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

DOWNWIND was the first of three oceanographic expeditions comprising one phase of the University of California's deep-sea participation in the International Geophysical Year. DOWNWIND ranged from the Central Pacific to the South American coast, and from the equatorial regions to nearly 50° South latitude (Fig. 1). The name was appropriate, because over most of the track, running counterclockwise in the Southeast Pacific, meteorological conditions made for following winds and currents.

Expedition CIRCE (Argo 68-1)

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

CIRCE Expedition is primarily a deep-sea geological-geophysical cruise, similar in scientific program to S.I.O.'s MONSOON (1960–61), LUSIAD (1962–63), and DODO (1964) Expeditions to the Indian Ocean. The aim is to investigate bottom topography (by precise sounding and photography), magnetic patterns, heat-flow, sediment thicknesses in basins and on shelves, hardrock distribution and type, chemical properties of sediments and the overlying water, and variation in the earth's magnetic field near the magnetic equator.

Notes on the Joint Scripps Institution of Oceanography-U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory MID-PACIFIC Expedition

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The motor vessel HORIZON of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, (a converted Navy fleet tug, formerly ATA-180, which after the war was at Bikini during operation CROSSROADS) and the EPCE(R)-857, a 220-foot research vessel assigned to the U. S. Navy Electronics Laboratory, returned (HORIZON October 28, EPCE(R)-857 on November 3) from an expedition lasting somewhat over three months, to explore the ocean waters and the seabottom of the eastern central Pacific, between San Diego, the equator, and the Marshall Islands, and extending north as far as 40° north latitude. The two ships travelled a total distance of over 29,000 miles, considerably more than the distance around the world at the equator.

The Gulf of California: Preliminary Discussion of the Cruise of the "E. W. Scripps" in February and March, 1939

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Between February 13 and March 19, 1939, the "E. W. Scripps", the research vessel of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, occupied 53 oceanographic stations in the Gulf of California, located on a number of lines across the Gulf.

Span Sensitivity of Scripps Interferometric Oxygen Analyzer

Thu, 7 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Span Sensitivity of Scripps Interferometric Oxygen Analyzer

Anatomy of an Expedition: Selections. Nova Expedition, 1967.

Tue, 19 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

An oceanographic expedition is the crystallization of an idea; it begins and ends in the mind with a little sailing around in between. The idea that became the Nova Expedition began to take form in the fall of 1965. The basic idea of Nova is to try to determine the development and geological history of the peculiar Melanesian region in the southwestern Pacific where the sea floor seems to be part continent and part ocean basin.

Report on the new boat "Alexander Agassiz" of the La Jolla Marine Station

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The San Diego Marine Biological Association was briefly known as the La Jolla Marine Station, and then became the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1912. This report mentions the building of the first ship, the Alexander Agassiz, for the institution.

Report of the Marine Biological Station, San Diego, July 1, 1910

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This report describes changes made to the boat, the Alexander Agassiz, of the Marine Biological Station (later named the Scripps Institution of Oceanography), such as shortening the mainmast, transfer of steering gear, adding of a chart-room and a naturalist’s house.

Calibration Methodology for the Scripps 13C/12C and 18O/16O stable Isotope program 1992-2018

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This report details calibration method for measurements of ¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of atmospheric CO₂ by the Scripps CO₂ program from 1992-2018. The method depends principally on repeat analysis of CO₂ derived from a suite of high-pressure gas cylinders filled with compressed natural air pumped at La Jolla. The first set of three cylinders were given isotopic assignments in 1994 based on comparisons with material artifacts NBS16, NBS17, and NBS19. Six cylinders subsequently brought into service were assigned values by comparing directly or indirectly with this first set. A tenth cylinder with natural CO₂ in air was obtained from MPI Jena. Aliquots of CO₂ from these cylinders, which serve as secondary standards, were extracted into heat-sealed glass ampoules (“flame-off tubes”) before introduction into the mass spectrometer. Some of these ampoules have been stored for many...

Inorganic Carbon Variations in Surface Ocean Water near Bermuda

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Inorganic Carbon Variations in Surface Ocean Water near Bermuda

Geophysical Synthesis of the Indian/Southern Oceans: Part 1, the Southwest Indian Ocean

Tue, 7 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Commencing in 1987, an international panel of sea-going scientists has collaborated in compiling and interpreting all available sea floor topographic, magnetic and satellite-derived gravity data in the Indian Ocean overall, from sow to 1660E and from Africa-Asia-Australia south to Antarctica. The purpose of the project is to evaluate uniformly comparable data from academic and agency sources, to provide large scale working charts of these compilations and to produce a detailed digital state-of-the art tectonic chart for the entire Indian and contiguous Southern Oceans.

The compilations and the tectonic chart will be used to reconstruct the history of the seafloor and the continents surrounding these oceans. This technical report, Part 1 of the project, provides the data compilation plots and the tectonic chart for the southwestern Indian Ocean which lies between southern Africa and Antarctica. Lying between 31 o S and 71 o S, and sow and 71 OE, it represents almost one...

A Digital Age Map of the Ocean Floor

Fri, 3 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

We have created a digital age grid of the ocean floor with a grid node interval of 6 arc minutes using a self-consistent set of global isochrons and associated plate reconstruction poles. The age at each grid node was determined by linear interpolation between adjacent isochrons in the direction of spreading. Ages for ocean floor between the oldest identified magnetic anomalies and continental crust were interpolated by estimating the ages of passive continental margin segments from geological data and published plate models.

The Biology of a Marine Decapod Crustacean, Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson, 1860

Mon, 6 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Biology of a Marine Decapod Crustacean, Pleuroncodes planipes Stimpson, 1860

On the Natural Geography of North San Diego County

Sun, 7 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

As a consequence of the prevailing geographic diversity, the county has an extraordinary variety of plants and animals. It is an internationally recognized "biodiversity hot spot" and has very few equals in that regard, in all of North America or elsewhere on our planet.

On “CHAPARRAL” versus “COASTAL SAGE SCRUB” in San Diego County

Tue, 2 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The County of San Diego has both "Coastal Sage Scrub" and "Chaparral" in abundance. In fact, these two ecosystems cover most of the ground in the county, albeit with many different types. Many of the plants involved in the two systems are deceptively similar, although they quite commonly belong to different species. Naturally, one would like to know how to keep the two communities apart. The criteria, evidently, are plant species distributions. These have been and are being mapped by various methods, including field work by expert observers, collections of specimens in museum repositories, and the study of air photos and satellite images.

Improved nomographs for calculating visibility by swimmers (Natural light)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

U. S. Navy, Bureau of Ships. Project S P001 05 01. Contract NObs-72039, Task 5. Report No. 5-3. This report provides nomographic charts for calculating the limiting range at which swimmers can sight underwater objects illuminated by natural light.

An instrument for the measurement of the volume absorption coefficient of horizontally stratified water

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Contract NObs-72039. Task 5. Report No. 5-4. For the solution of many problems having to do with underwater photography, vision, and television it is important to know the absorbing and scattering properties of the water. By this is meant the separate values of the absorption coefficient and the scattering coefficient.Instrumentation has already been devised to measure the total attenuation coefficient, which is the sum of the absorption and scattering coefficients and consequently it is only necessary to measure one of the two latter coefficients to evaluate all three.

General analytical representations of the observable reflectance function

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Report No. 5-1. Contract NObs-72039. The observable reflectance function, sometimes called the "up-down ratio," for natural light in the sea is nearly independent of depth within any uniform water-mass or stratum. Even small changes, however, may affect the range at which a downward looking observer can sight an object of very low contrast. This report presents a theoretical s tudy of the variation with depth of the observable reflectance function for natural light in the sea.

The underwater radiance distribution problem

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Report No. 3-6. Contract NObs-72039. A manuscript entitled "Radiance Distribution as a Function of Depth in an Underwater Environment," which first appeared as S.I.O. Report No. 58-25, was recently submitted to the Editorial Board of the Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography for publication. The author, Mr. John E. Tyler, was asked by that Board to obtain letters of evaluation from scientists knowledgeable of the subject treated by his paper. Such a letter, addressed to the Chairman of the Editorial Board, constitutes the subject matter of this report.

Design of an Underwater Radiance Photometer

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships Report No. 3-2. This report describes the design features of an instrument for measuring directional luminance in the submarine environment.

On the Structure of the Light Field at Shallow Depths in Deep Homogeneous Hydrosols

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. Bureau of Ships Report No. 3-5. Recent experimental determinations of the up and downwelling irradiances in Lake Pend Oreille are studied with the purpose of explaining certain observed nonlinear trends in the semilog plots of these irradiances at shallow depths. A mathematical model which describes these irradiances is derived from the basic equations of radiative transfer. The model explains the observed phenomena in terms of the inherent optical properties of the medium and its external lighting conditions, and we arrive at a fairly detailed understanding of the light field at extreme depths (shallow and deep) in all homogeneous natural hydrosols.

Hans E. Suess (1909-1993): Radiocarbon, Sun and Climate Pioneer

Wed, 7 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Hans Suess was interested in the question of how the sun’s activity changes through time, and whether the variations in activity can be recognized in climate proxy records.

Stable Isotope Protocols: Sampling and Sample Processing

Thu, 7 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

These protocols are designed to provide the information needed by researchers or managers to conduct natural abundance stable isotopic analyses of marsh food sources (suspended particulate organic matter [SPOM], vascular plants, benthic microalgae[BMI], benthic macroalgae) and sediments, as well as common invertebrate and vertebrate consumers (snails, mussels, crabs, macroinfauna and fish). A list of supplies required to carry out the protocols is given in Table A-1.

SPOTL: Some Programs for Ocean-Tide Loading

Tue, 3 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The increasing precision of geodetic measurements has made the effects of loading by ocean tides(or other sources) important to a wider range of researchers than just the earth-tide community.Computing such loading effects has, however, remained a rather specialized activity. This collectionof programs aims to make it easy to compute load tides, or, with slight modifications, the effects ofother loads.Given that the most accurate representations of the ocean tides require both global and regionalmodels, my aim has also been to make it easy to combine different tidal models, and to use differentEarth models (though the method is restricted to spherically symmetric ones). Especially for theglobal ocean tide there are many models available; this package provides a set of current modelsfound using different methods.The package also includes programs to allow the computed loads (or the ocean tide) to be convertedinto harmonic constants, and to compute the tide in the time domain from...

Miklankovitch Theory - Hits and Misses

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Milankovitch Theory has become an important tool in geologic practice andthought, and is sufficiently conspicuous to provide a rewarding target for criticism.The chief problem arising has to do with the prominence of a cycle near 100,000years, whose origin is not clear. Most practitioners, presumably, would accept aclose relationship of that cycle to precession of the equinoxes (that is, cyclicchanges in seasonality), along with dynamical properties of the system thatenhance the amplitude of the 100-kyr cycle at the expense of others. In anycase, Milankovitch Theory has proved useful, both for age assignments and forstimulating thought about relationships between climate change andsedimentation, as is readily evident from the relevant literature. It would bedifficult to replace. Neither does it seem desirable to do so: the chief problemnoted in regard of the theory (the 100-kyr problem) is not necessarily a part of thetheory, which is concerned with change rather than with condition....

References Cited in “Ocean, Reflections on a Century of Exploration” (University of California Press, 2009)

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In the following are listed the various references used in a treatise on ocean exploration, recently published by the University of California Press (Berger, W.H., 2009. Ocean – Reflections on a Century of Exploration. UC Press, Berkeley 519pp.; with contributions by E.N. Shor). The list is alphabetical (unlike in the volume) and is suited for electronic searching and for downloading. The references were assembled to reflect ocean research in the 20th century. There is some bias toward marine geology and ecology, and toward work in these fields at the U.S. West Coast. Also, there is some emphasis on research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (which celebrated the centennial of its founding in 2003). Historical aspects owe much to numerous contributions by E.N. Shor. For topics that were not represented in my collection of reprints and books, I used various symposia and encyclopedias. One that proved especially useful is the 6-volume encyclopedia on the ocean edited by...

On the Geochemistry of Venice Lagoon Sediments. Scripps Institution of Oceanography SEDiment Research Program – SIOSED. A Background Report

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In order to understand the biogeochemical processes of involved in the relocation of dredged channel sediments in the Venice Lagoon, Italy, the SIOSED (Scripps Institution of Oceanography SEDiment research group) has carried out a research program from March 2005 to November 2007. Sediments were cored at various locations in the Venice Lagoon. In addition sediments were dredged from a navigation channel and transplanted directly into banks at two shallow sites. The monitoring program was essential since sediment in the Venice Lagoon is often contaminated with various metals and organic pollutants in different concentrations; consequently, most of the sediment in the lagoon has been evaluated as potentially hazardous. The sediment classification of the lagoon is organized into three categories based on the concentration range of various contaminants. Concentrations of the categories are based on total concentration values and on potential toxicity of each single contaminant;...

Geochemistry of Sedimentary Pore Fluids in Venice Lagoon, Results of the SIOSED Program from 2005-2007, A Background Report

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the SIOSED (Scripps Institution of Oceanography SEDiment research group) we have made an investigation of the geochemistry of interstitial waters of sediments recovered in this program. SIOSED studies were carried out from March 2005 to November 2007 at various times of the year. Our studies of interstitial waters were initiated in May 2005 and carried out through February 2007. At first we studied interstitial waters recovered from piston cores of variable lengths (1.1 m to 1.5 m), but later we emphasized also the studies of 20 - 25 cm long tube cores, especially in areas where new sediment banks were constructed from materials of a dredged canal. In this report we present the data obtained under the auspices of program, intended as a back ground for already published information as well as for future papers on the geochemistry of Venice Lagoon sediments obtained under SIOSED.

Climate Change in the Cenozoic as Seen in Deep Sea Sediments

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Climate Change in the Cenozoic as Seen in Deep Sea Sediments

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