Physical Oceanography

Cook Inlet Satellite Drifter Buoys
CIRCAC continues to fund satellite-tracked drifter buoy deployments as part of a larger project to develop a numerical model for Cook Inlet. Among other uses, the model data collected from the buoys will improve responders’ ability to predict the path of an oil spill. The buoys are outfitted with GPS units that transmit location every hour as they float with the prevailing currents. Dr. Mark Johnson of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks has been tracking the buoys since last summer, plotting their paths to learn more about surface and subsurface currents in the region.

CIRCAC is working with Dr. Mark Johnson on this project. Dr. Johnson is a professor of Physical Oceanography at the Institute of Marine Science and School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. We are also working with personnel at Cook Inlet Spill Response Inc. to identify appropriate areas to deploy and retrieve the satellite drifters.

Cook Inlet Hydrography
In order to improve our understanding of the physical environment of lower Cook Inlet and to augment recent MMS-funded observational and modeling efforts, CIRCAC is working with the University of Alaska and the Kachemka Bay Research Reserve to conduct an oceanographic monitoring program to measure the seasonal changes in volume and property fluxes at the inflow and outflow boundaries to Cook Inlet and the northern Gulf of Alaska and to investigate the mechanisms(s) influencing these fluxes. The study acquires hydrographic and velocity measurements along transect lines crossing Kennedy Entrance, Stevenson Entrance, northern Shelikof Strait between Shuyak Island and Cape Douglas, the entrance to Kachemak Bay, and between the east and west Forelands.

CIRCAC is working with Dr. Steve Okkonen of the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he is a Research Faculty with their School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and with Dr. Scott Pegau, Director of Research at the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve. These two researchers are specialists in physical oceanography and are conducting the field hydrographic surveys using a CTD and are analyzing and presenting these data for CIRCAC. In addition, these data are being provided to Drs. Mark Johnson of the University of Alaska and Andre Proshutensky of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for their development of a three dimensional circulation model for Cook Inlet.

Cook Inlet Physical Oceanography Workshop
CIRCAC worked with staff at the Alaska Ocean Observing System and the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve to pull together a group of experts in Cook Inlet physical oceanography and modeling during a workshop in February 2005. This list of experts included physical oceanographers and meteorologists from NOAA, Universities, and private consulting firms. Dr. James Schumacher is compiling and evaluating the proceedings from this workshop. Dr. Schumacher has over 30 years of experience conducting physical oceanography research in Alaska and has been very active as a scientific advisor during many large planning efforts in Alaska such as the Alaska Ocean Observing System, the North Pacific Research Board, and the Fisheries Oceanographic Coordinated Investigations.

Surface Current Mappers
CIRCAC is a co-sponsor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Institute of Marine Science on their Sea-Air-Land Monitoring and Observing Network (SALMON) project utilizing Coastal Ocean Dynamic Applications Radar (CODAR) to measure surface current speeds and directions in Cook Inlet. The Principal Investigator for this project is Dave L. Musgrave, Ph.D. of the University of Alaska.

Oil Spill Trajectory Model - Version 2.01 Feb 29, 2000
The purpose of the Cook Inlet Oil Spill Trajectory Model is to track the trajectory (path) of surface floating oil (or other substances) after the user has input initial conditions about the spill and wind conditions. Other surface-floating substances can also be tracked with this model. Download the Instruction Manual prior to installation. Click here to download the Model.