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The author has identified the following significant results. Results of studies of the oceanography of the northern Gulf of California (Mexico) are reported. A remote, instrumented buoy measuring and telemetering oceanographic data by ERTS-1 satellite was designed, constructed, deployed, and tested. Regular cruises by a research ship on a pattern of 47 oceanographic stations collected data which are analyzed and referenced to analysis of ERTS-1 satellite imagery. A thermal dynamic model of current patterns in the northern Gulf of California is proposed. Findings are examined in relation to the model.

Gyroscopic drift and Markov process research in inertial guidance system components study

ERTS-1 imagery for commercial fishing management in northeastern Gulf of California

Water mass flow distribution analysis in northern Gulf of California using oceanic ERTS-1 imagery and spectral models

Distribution and flow of water masses at four depth intervals were determined by analyzing ERTS imagery through the use of optical models of classes of vertical oceanographic profiles. Data used for these models was obtained from shipboard measurements including surface spectral radiance, and optical and more conventional oceanographic depth profiles. The spectral models obtained were applied to radiance-contoured ERTS imagery in band 4, 5, 6, and 7. Features mapped by direct photointerpretation of ERTS imagery include submerged shoals, current streamlines, and location of possible upwellings, downwellings and submarine springs.

There are no author-identified significant results in this report.

The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary analysis of the first three months of ERTS-1 imagery have revealed that the MSS images have particular utility for study of turbidity patterns, current phenomena, and bathymetry throughout the test area. Early indications are that well defined spatial distributions of turbidity exist in the northern Gulf of California, and that for any one point in time, these distributions vary with depth. From a single set of images, as many as 3 turbidity maps may be generated, each indicating a vertical spatial relationship of the turbidity masses. The spatial distribution of turbidity masses depend partially upon the coincident currents. In the band of deepest penetration, a map can be gathered which roughly corresponds to the bathymetry of the area. The extreme tides in the northern Gulf of California result in vast areas which can be classified as intertidal mud flats. Information on the amount of exposure at the varying tidal states is important in analysis of these mud flat areas as nursery ground for Mexican commercial fisheries.