Secretary of the Navy Professor of Oceanography

Abstract

The principal research effort has been towards understanding the high-frequency tail of the surface gravity wave spectrum, lengths of 2 cm to 60 cm; these a principally responsible for wind drag on water. Analysis was based on a unique data set from geophones and hydrophones at 5 1/2 km depth midway between California and Hawaii. The measured spectral intensity around 10 Hz gives a more accurate measure of local winds than the standard satellite scatterometry. A spectral gap at the 30 Hz gravity to capillary transition offers new opportunities for spectral monitoring. We are making progress towards understanding the generation processes A continuing effort towards the acoustic monitoring of ocean processes has been directed at the polar ocean cavities sandwiched between the floating ice sheet and the sea floor. We are exploring a possible tomography experiment in the Ross Sea with the goal of better predicting polar ice melting processes and the associated global rise in sea level.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 28, 2011
Accession Number
ADA542691

Entities

People

  • Walter Munk

Organizations

  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Tomography
  • Acoustics
  • Climate Change
  • Department Of Defense
  • Frequency
  • Geography
  • Ice
  • Navy
  • North Pacific Ocean
  • Ocean Observing Systems
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Sea Level
  • Seabed
  • Tomography
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Polar and Arctic Studies
  • Seismology
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space