38 



Figure 17. Diagram of conceptual model of coastal upwelling. 



PALEO-OCEANOGRAPHY STUDY 



Oceanic and atmospheric events have been carefully recorded in his- 

 tory over several centuries at a few locations about the earth. But at other 

 locations records are not kept even today. Many important continental 

 and oceanic island locations have no weather or ocean observation sta- 

 tions that could give accurate quantitative data. Data records from the 

 open sea are substantially nonexistent, except for those of the last 30 

 years from a very small number of weather ships. 



Long before written history, records of natural events began; con- 

 sider the climatic records accumulated in tree rings. Recent advances 

 in dating have correlated many of these chronologies. Indications of 

 ocean and climatic events are preserved in the strata of the sediments 

 of the oceans. Pieces of this stratigraphic record are retained in ocean 

 botom sediment cores obtained over the years from a great many locations 

 thorughout the world oceans and are preserved in marine geological 

 archives. 



Advances in dating techniques, automated analyses of individual 

 ocean bottom sediment cores, and computer correlation of many features 

 in the sediment strata may make it possible to generate truly global- 

 scale synoptic field plots of ocean currents, seasonal weather, and climate. 



