Three ships, the Yaquina and Cayuse (Oregon 

 State University) and the Oceanographer 

 (NOAA), made over 1700 automated salinity, 

 temperature and density measurements of the 

 water column. More than 2000 current-meter 

 days of circulation data were obtained. In- 

 tense computer processing of these data con- 

 tinued into early 1973. 



Results of CUE-I have shown the time- 

 motion scales of the coastal upwelling proc- 

 ess. In addition to the seasonal scale of 

 coastal upwelling, there are usually two or 

 three short-term events per month which 

 appear to profoundly affect the local upwell- 

 ing circulation. The events, caused by a 

 short-term shift to southerly winds (in the 

 Northern Hemisphere), seem to stop the up- 

 welling circulation and to stratify the coastal 

 waters horizontally within a matter of a 

 few inertial periods. The upwelling starts 

 again with the resumption of the prevailing 

 northerlies. 



When the circulation observed during CUE-I 

 turned out to be more complicated than antici- 

 pated, researchers decided to locate CUE-II 

 north of the CUE-I location in an area of 

 smoother bottom contours. Emphasis was on 

 increasing the data base and testing physical 

 theories derived from CUE-I. CUE-II also pro- 

 vided an opportunity for a pilot test of IRIS 

 to be mounted on the University of Washing- 

 ton's R/V Thomas B. Thompson. Data from 

 CUE-I and -II should provide the descriptive 

 and theoretical basis for the JOINT-I experi- 

 ment, scheduled to take place off the north- 

 west African coast in early 1974 (Figure 30). 



JOlNT-l — This experiment will be the first 

 full-scale integrated experiment to be con- 

 ducted on a marine ecosystem. The selection 

 of the northwest coast of Africa is based on 

 the presence of a powerful upwelling system 

 in that region and the extensive scientific 

 foundation provided by the Intergovernmental 

 Oceanographic Commission-sponsored Coop- 



erative Investigations of the Northern Part of 

 the Eastern Central Atlantic (CINECA) pro- 

 gram. More than twenty cruises by oceano- 

 graphic and fisheries research vessels of eight 

 countries have been conducted in the CINECA 

 region to date, and an intensive multi-ship 

 effort is taking place in 1973. The 1973 pro- 

 gram, the first of two related CINECA phases, 

 is primarily devoted to a detailed physical, 

 chemical and biological assessment of the dy- 

 namics of the Canary Current and the coastal 

 upwelling system. A possible link between 

 those systems will also be investigated dur- 

 ing transects from the coast to 550 km off- 

 shore. United States scientists from the 

 CUEA project have taken part in seven coop- 

 erative cruises in this area and will lead the 

 second major CINECA phase on upwelling 

 process studies during 1974. The JOINT-I 

 experiment will be a major attempt to under- 

 stand each component of upwelling develop- 

 ment: the offshore movement of surface 

 water; surface water replacement by nutrient- 

 rich waters from deeper, cooler layers; the 

 growth of plants which feed on these nutri- 

 ents; the growth of microscopic animals which 

 feed on the plants; and, finally, the influx and 

 growth of fish which feed on these smaller 

 organisms. Present plans call for participation 

 in JOINT-I by the United States, France, Spain 

 and the Federal Republic of Germany. At 

 least six ships are expected to contribute, 

 including three from the U.S. and three from 

 other participants. Largely as a result of this 

 broad international participation, JOINT-I will 

 be the first field experiment on a big enough 

 scale to produce the data necessary for a 

 working model of a complete upwelling eco- 

 system. Additional JOINT experiments are 

 planned for subsequent years to further refine 

 theory and modelling and to test the models 

 on different upwelling ecosystems in different 

 parts of the world. JOINT-II, for example, is 

 proposed for 1975 in the Peruvian upwelling 

 region. 



46 



