resources in an upwelling area can be made on the basis of particular 

 oceanographic and meteorological data. 



Meteorologists and physical oceanographers have developed their 

 theoretical and numerical models and experimental capabilities 

 through a series of Coastal Upwelling Experiments (CUE I and II), 

 which started during the spring of 1972 and 1973 off the Oregon 

 coast. At the same time chemical and biological oceanographers also 

 developed and refined their models and techniques in field 

 experiments off Mexico. 



Data gathered during these initial upwelling experiments 

 provided the basis for a short-term pilot project designed to aid 

 fishermen in locating the valuable coho salmon. While mapping 

 detailed sea surface temperatures in the upwelling region off Oregon 

 in the spring and summer of 1972, scientists observed concentrations 

 of fishing vessels clustered in areas where there was a sharp change 

 in sea surface temperature. Repeated observations of this 

 phenomenon generated a feasibility study designed to predict 

 oceanographic conditions favorable to coho salmon concentrations. 

 Refined airborne temperature mapping and upwelling models were 

 used to produce a fishery forecast for a 12- to 24-hour period. 

 Preliminary results indicate the feasibility project was successful 

 and provided valuable assistance to local fishermen by cutting down 

 their search time for the coho. 



A major international field experiment will take place between 

 February and June 1974. It will involve National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration (NASA) satellites, three ships, and one 

 instrumented aircraft from the United States; and ships from Spain, 

 France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ivory Coast, and 

 Mauritania. More than 200 researchers from 15 U.S. institutions, the 

 United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Ghana will 

 participate in the experiment. Work will be coordinated with the 

 1974 Cooperative Investigations of the Northern Part of the Eastern 

 Central Atlantic (CINECA) to study the Northwest African 

 upwelling region. The field experiment will try to improve the 

 understanding of the upwelling process as it develops from the 

 movement offshore of surface water, its replacement by nutrient- 

 rich waters from deeper layers, the growth of plants that use the 

 nutrients, the growth of microscopic animals that feed on the plants, 

 and finally, the influx and growth of fishes that feed on those smaller 

 animals. 



OTHER BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 



NSF's program in Biological Oceanography currently supports 

 research concerning the distribution, physiology, pathology, and 

 general ecology of marine living resources. A major portion of this 



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