The response of continental shelf water to cooling and wind stress is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. The topography of the east coast continental shelf was idealized by connecting a shallow (50 m) rectangular nearshore basin to a deeper (100 m) rectangular offshore basin. Numerous cases were examined using a wide range of values for both the air•sea temperature difference and the Wind speed, although the direction of the wind was always perpendicular to the coast.
The model predicts large excursions of shelf water offshore, and the subsequent surfacing of lower waters. Upwelling velocities of close to five meters per day at the shelf break were predicted by the model, but only for strong Winds which persisted for four days. Thus the results cf the model indicated that strong upwelling on the continental shelf, and at the break, can occur, but that it is both rare and intermittant. From an analysis of both the response and decay times, as well as the actual frequency of cyclonic disturbances on the east coast shelf, it is concluded that, during the winter, the continental shelf circulation is almost always in a transient state. Therefore, steady state, or close to fully developed flow, does not exist on the continental shelf most of the time.
","abstract_html":"<p>The response of continental shelf water to cooling and wind stress is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. The topography of the east coast continental shelf was idealized by connecting a shallow (50 m) rectangular nearshore basin to a deeper (100 m) rectangular offshore basin. Numerous cases were examined using a wide range of values for both the air•sea temperature difference and the Wind speed, although the direction of the wind was always perpendicular to the coast.</p> <p>The model predicts large excursions of shelf water offshore, and the subsequent surfacing of lower waters. Upwelling velocities of close to five meters per day at the shelf break were predicted by the model, but only for strong Winds which persisted for four days. Thus the results cf the model indicated that strong upwelling on the continental shelf, and at the break, can occur, but that it is both rare and intermittant. From an analysis of both the response and decay times, as well as the actual frequency of cyclonic disturbances on the east coast shelf, it is concluded that, during the winter, the continental shelf circulation is almost always in a transient state. Therefore, steady state, or close to fully developed flow, does not exist on the continental shelf most of the time.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Moersdorf, Paul Francis"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Ocean & Earth Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Chester E. Grosch","Earl Kindle","Ronald E. Johnson","Philip Wohl","John C. Ludwick"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1978,"date_issued":"1978-04-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1978-04-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:35:30Z","subjects":["Territorial waters","Atmospheric forcing","Continental shelf","Upwelling","Oceanography"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/140","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Chester E. Grosch","Earl Kindle","Ronald E. Johnson","Philip Wohl","John C. Ludwick"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Moersdorf, Paul Francis"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-10-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Ocean & Earth Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Territorial waters","Atmospheric forcing","Continental shelf","Upwelling","Oceanography"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/140"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The response of continental shelf water to cooling and wind stress is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. The topography of the east coast continental shelf was idealized by connecting a shallow (50 m) rectangular nearshore basin to a deeper (100 m) rectangular offshore basin. Numerous cases were examined using a wide range of values for both the air•sea temperature difference and the Wind speed, although the direction of the wind was always perpendicular to the coast.
The model predicts large excursions of shelf water offshore, and the subsequent surfacing of lower waters. Upwelling velocities of close to five meters per day at the shelf break were predicted by the model, but only for strong Winds which persisted for four days. Thus the results cf the model indicated that strong upwelling on the continental shelf, and at the break, can occur, but that it is both rare and intermittant. From an analysis of both the response and decay times, as well as the actual frequency of cyclonic disturbances on the east coast shelf, it is concluded that, during the winter, the continental shelf circulation is almost always in a transient state. Therefore, steady state, or close to fully developed flow, does not exist on the continental shelf most of the time.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Response of an Idealized Continental Shelf to Atmospheric Forcing"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Chester E. Grosch","Earl Kindle","Ronald E. Johnson","Philip Wohl","John C. Ludwick"],"dc:creator":["Moersdorf, Paul Francis"],"dc:date.available":["2019-10-23T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The response of continental shelf water to cooling and wind stress is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. The topography of the east coast continental shelf was idealized by connecting a shallow (50 m) rectangular nearshore basin to a deeper (100 m) rectangular offshore basin. Numerous cases were examined using a wide range of values for both the air•sea temperature difference and the Wind speed, although the direction of the wind was always perpendicular to the coast.
The model predicts large excursions of shelf water offshore, and the subsequent surfacing of lower waters. Upwelling velocities of close to five meters per day at the shelf break were predicted by the model, but only for strong Winds which persisted for four days. Thus the results cf the model indicated that strong upwelling on the continental shelf, and at the break, can occur, but that it is both rare and intermittant. From an analysis of both the response and decay times, as well as the actual frequency of cyclonic disturbances on the east coast shelf, it is concluded that, during the winter, the continental shelf circulation is almost always in a transient state. Therefore, steady state, or close to fully developed flow, does not exist on the continental shelf most of the time.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/140"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"],"dc:subject":["Territorial waters","Atmospheric forcing","Continental shelf","Upwelling","Oceanography"],"dc:title":["The Response of an Idealized Continental Shelf to Atmospheric Forcing"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Ocean & Earth Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:35:30Z"}