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WATER QUALITY AND UPWELLING AT GRAYS HARBOR ENTRANCE
Author(s) -
Pearson Erman A.,
Holt George A.
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1960.5.1.0048
Subject(s) - upwelling , oceanography , estuary , oxygen saturation , oxygen , water quality , environmental science , flood myth , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , chemistry , biology , ecology , geography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , archaeology
The incoming ocean water entering Grays Harbor, Washington on flood tide was observed periodically to contain abnormally low dissolved oxygen concentrations. Low dissolved oxygen concentrations (⩽5.0 mg/L or 3.5 ml/L) were associated generally with significantly lower than normal ocean water temperatures which presumably results from upwelling along the coast. On a given tidal cycle the oxygen deficiency from normally assumed saturation levels for ocean water is equivalent to the oxygen demand associated with the domestic sewage discharge of 20 million persons. It appears that upwelling phenomena may negate conclusions based on oxygen balances in pollutional analyses of estuaries unless the actual dissolved oxygen concentration at the ocean source is determined.