The University of Washington recovered 8 current meters, B,C,N,O,S,V,Z,AA deployed on the continental shelf off the Washington coast. Current meters used were Braincon (BR) instruments measuring speed and direction. Data was sampled in 20 minute intervals, then edited for spurious values. Smoothing was done on the components of the velocity vector, using a 9 point binomial filter. Data file format is plain text.

The University of Washington maintained moorings off the coast of Washington as part of the Continental Shelf Experiment 1973-74. Moorings were kept out for longer time periods during the winter and summer and an attempt was made to maintain moorings at both an Inshore and an Offshore site. Speed and direction were measured and rotated to true North, then resolved into u and v components. Most of the current meters were Aanderaa meters but Braincon meters were used on the Westport mooring (WP). The Aanderaa meters had temperature sensors. Data was sampled in 10 or 20 minute intervals and edited for spurious values. A more complete description of the data can be found in: Smith, Hickey, Beck, 1976, Observations from moored current meters on the Washington Continental Shelf from February 1971 to February 1974, University of Washington, Department of Oceanography, Special Report 65. Data file format is plain text.

The University of Washington maintained 8 current meter moorings, AC781 through AC788 in and around Astoria Canyon. Current meters were a mix of Aanderaa (AA) and Braincon (BR) instruments. The Braincon instruments were used as backup only and no data was archived. Speed, direction and temperature were measured by the Aanderaa meters. Speed and direction were measured and rotated to true North. Data was sampled in 20 minute intervals, then edited for spurious values. Speed and direction were independently filtered with a 5 point binomial filter spanning approximately 1.5 hours then resolved into u and v components. Results from this study can be found in: Hickey, B.M. (1997) Response of a narrow submarine canyon to strong wind forcing. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 27(5): 697-726. and Hickey, B.M. (1989) Patterns and processes of shelf and slope circulation. In: Landry, M.R. and B.M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon, pp. 41-115, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Data file format is plain text.

In 1972 the University of Washington maintained 2 current meter moorings, Inshore, (IN), and Offshore (OF) during January, July, and August 1972. In addition, a joint project with the Pacific Oceanographic Laboratory (currently known as the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, PMEL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was completed in September 1972 and provided a two-month record of temperature and currents over the Washington continental shelf and slope at three moorings (S6, S8, S11). During this period similar observations were made by the Coastal Upwelling Experiment (CUE) over the Oregon shelf. These two data sets, one off Washington, the other off Oregon, resulted in a better understanding of continental shelf processes. Current meters used were Aanderaa model RCM-4 (27), Braincon type 381 (20) and 3 vector averaging current meters (VACM). The Aanderaa (AA) and Braincon (BR) instruments belonged to the University of Washington, while the VACM instruments belonged to NOAA. The AA and BR current meters measured speed and direction, which was rotated to true North, then resolved into u and v components. The AA meters had temperature sensors. AA meters sampled at 10 minute intervals, BRs sampled at 10 or 20 minute intervals, and the VACM meters sampled at 3.75 minute intervals. Data has been edited for spurious values. Speed and direction data from the AA and BR meters were independently filtered with a 5 point (used when interval is 20 minutes) or 9 point (used when interval is 10 minutes) binomial filter spanning approximately 1.5 hours then resolved into u and v components. A more complete description of the AA and BR data can be found in: Smith, Hickey, Beck, 1976, Observations from moored current meters on the Washington Continental Shelf from February 1971 to February 1974, University of Washington, Department of Oceanography, Special Report 65. Data file format is plain text.

As part of this project the University of Washington maintained 2 current meter moorings, Ocelot (OC) and Elephant (EL), from Oct. 1977 through Oct. 1978 across the continental slope at 45-20º N off Cascade Head on the Oregon Coast. All current meters were Aanderaa instruments. Speed and direction were measured and rotated to true North, then resolved into u and v components. All meters had temperature sensors. Data was sampled in 20 minute intervals, edited for spurious values then filtered with a half power point of about 2.5 hours and interpolated to even hours to produce the hourly data. In several cases the speed sensor failed for short periods. These were filled by bridging the gap using spectral characteristics before and after the gap. For longer time periods the speed, u and v series were zero filled. Occasionally the entire speed series was not good. In those cases only the direction is included. Results from this study can be found in: Hickey, B.M. (1984) The fluctuating longshore pressure gradient on the Pacific Northwest shelf: A dynamical analysis. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 14: 276-293. Huyer, A., R.L. Smith and B.M. Hickey (1984) Observations of a warm-core eddy off Oregon, January to March 1978, Deep-Sea Research, 31: 97-117. Data file format is plain text.

The University of Washington deployed 7 current meter moorings, AC831 through AC837 in and around Astoria Canyon. Current meters were all Aanderaa (AA) instruments which measured speed, direction and temperature. The AA data was sampled in 15 minute intervals. Speed and direction were measured and rotated to true North. Data was first edited for spurious values, then speed and direction were independently filtered with a 5 point binomial filter spanning approximately 1.25 hours and resolved into u and v components. Results from this project can be found in: Hickey, B.M. (1989) Patterns and Processes of Circulation Over the Washington Continental Shelf and Slope. In: Landry, M.R. and B.M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon, pp. 41-115, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Hickey, B.M. (1997) The Response of a Steep-Sided, Narrow Canyon to Time-Variable Wind Forcing. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 27(5): 697-726. Mirshak R. and S.E. Allen (2005) Spin-up and the effects of a submarine canyon: Applications to upwelling in Astoria Canyon. Journal of Geophysical Research 110, C02013, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JC002578. Allen, S.E. and B.M. Hickey (2010) Dynamics of advection-driven upwelling over a shelf break submarine canyon. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115(C08018), https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005731. Data file format is plain text.

The data in this accession was collected over one year period from Aanderaa RCM-5 moored current meters and ship THOMAS WASHINGTON deployed in NE Pacific (limit-180) as part of Flow Over Abrupt Topography project. Water Temperature, current direction, current speed, depth, wind direction, and wind speed were measured from September 16, 1990 to October 8, 1991. 8 files of current meter data was submitted by Dr. Kenneth H. Brink of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA. Good documentation accompanies the data in this accession. Data has been processed to the NODC standard Current Meter Data (Components) (F015) format. The F015 format is used for time series measurements of ocean currents. These data are obtained from current meter moorings and represent Eulerian method of current measurement, i.e., the meters are deployed at a fixed point and measure flow past a sensor. Position, bottom depth, sensor depth, and meter characteristics are reported for each station. The data record comprises values of east-west (u) and north-south (v) current vector components at specified date and time. Current direction is defined as the direction toward which the water is flowing with positive directions east and north and negative directions west and south. Data values may be subject to averaging or filtering and are typically reported at 10-15 minute time intervals. Water temperature, pressure, and conductivity or salinity may also be reported. A text record is available for optional comments.

The Dynamics of the Columbia River Plume Project was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant number OCE 8918193 to Barbara Hickey, Lead Principal Investigator (University of Washington). Other PIs included on the project were Bill Boicourt (University of Maryland), David Jay (University of Washington), and Len Pietrafesa (North Carolina State University). Twenty-two current meter arrays (14 surface and 8 subsurface moorings) were deployed in the vicinity of the mouth of the Columbia River from Oct. 1990 through Feb. 1991. Most sites were paired with a surface mooring and a subsurface mooring located within the same vicinity. Positions for the sites and their mooring ID are shown on the CRmoorsitesfla50.jpg file included with the data. In most cases surface and subsurface moorings for the same location were deployed within a quarter mile of each other and are represented as one station on the chart. If the distance between the surface and subsurface moorings was greater than a quarter of a mile an average position was used to plot that station. Surface moorings are designated by the mooring ID followed by an 'S' to indicate surface while the subsurface moorings have an 'A' appended to the mooring ID. Contour lines for 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 meters are shown. Results from this study can be found in Hickey, B.M., L. Pietrafesa, D. Jay and W.C. Boicourt (1998) The Columbia River Plume Study: Subtidal variability of the velocity and salinity fields. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103(C5): 10339-10368.

The University of Washington maintained 6 current meter moorings, UPII-1, UPII-1 surface (UPII-1S), UPII-2, UPII-3, UPII-3 surface (UPII-3S), and UPII-5, from June 12, 1982 through June 23, 1982 off the Washington coast. Current meters were a mix of Aanderaa (AA) and Vector Measuring Current Meter (VMCM) instruments. The AA meters measured speed, direction and temperature with a sample interval of 10 minutes. Speed and direction were independently filtered with a 9 point binomial filter spanning approximately 1.5 hours then resolved into u and v components. The VMCM data was sampled in 4 minute intervals. The u, v, and temperature time series data were edited for spurious values. Both the AA and VMCM edited data (u, v components and temperature) were filtered with a half power point of approximately 2.5 hours and interpolated to even hours to produce the hourly data. Results from this project can be found in: Hickey, B.M. (1989) Patterns and Processes of Circulation Over the Washington Continental Shelf and Slope. In: Landry, M.R. and B.M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon, pp. 41-115, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Hermann, A., B.M. Hickey, M. Landry and D. Winter (1989) Coastal Upwelling Dynamics. In: Landry, M.R. and B.M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon, pp. 211-253, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Data file format is plain text.

The University of Washington maintained 9 current meter moorings, QC801 through QC8010 (QC806 was not deployed) in and around Quinault Canyon. Current meters were all Aanderaa (AA) instruments which measured speed, direction and temperature. The AA data was sampled in 20 minute intervals. Speed and direction were measured and rotated to true North. Data was first edited for spurious values, then speed and direction were independently filtered with a 5 point binomial filter spanning approximately 1.5 hours and resolved into u and v components. Results from this project can be found in: Hickey, B.M. (1989) Patterns and processes of shelf and slope circulation. In: Landry, M.R. and B.M. Hickey (eds.), Coastal Oceanography of Washington and Oregon, pp. 41-115, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Werner, F. and B.M. Hickey (1983) The Role of a Longshore Pressure Gradient in Pacific Northwest Coastal Dynamics. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 13: 395-410. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1983)013<0395:TROALP>2.0.CO;2. Baker, E.T., and B.M. Hickey (1986) Contemporary sedimentation processes in and around an active West Coast submarine canyon. Marine Geology, 71: 15-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(86)90031-9. Hickey, B., E. Baker and N. Kachel (1986) Suspended particle movement in and around Quinault submarine canyon. Marine Geology, 71: 35-83. Data file format is plain text.