Oceanographic Characteristics of Inlets of Vancouver Island, British Columbia

1963 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1109-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Pickard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Oxygen Content ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Secchi Disc ◽  
Water Properties ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
Water Characteristics ◽  
Clayoquot Sound

Observations of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen content in all but one of the inlets of ten or more miles in length along the west coast of Vancouver Island were made by the University of British Columbia in 1959 and some additional observations were made in 1960 and 1961. The data are summarized to provide a general picture of the oceanographic characteristics of fifteen inlets. Attention is drawn to various features, and comparisons are made with the previous data which are available for only five of the inlets here described. Comparisons are also made with inlets in the mainland coast of British Columbia previously described by Pickard in 1961 in the Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada.Generally the Vancouver Island inlets are shorter and shallower than those of the mainland coast and have shallower sills. The river runoff into the inlets is considerably less than into the mainland ones and has a winter maximum in contrast to the summer maximum on the mainland.Surface salinities during the summer in 1959, 1960 and 1961 were in most cases between 12 and 28‰ at the inlet head increasing to 27–31‰ at the mouth, while surface temperatures were between 10 and 15 °C. The low-salinity surface layer had a thickness of 2 m or less in all but two cases. Secchi disc depths were usually from 4 to 8 m. The deep water characteristics were from 7.5 to 9.5 °C and 31 to 33.6‰ except in the Clayoquot Sound group where the water was warmer (to 15.4 °C) and less saline (to 24.8‰). Dissolved oxygen values were very variable even along individual inlets. At depths greater than 100 m the content was usually less than 4 ml/l and in many cases less than 1 ml/l. The effect of the shallow sills in limiting deep water circulation appeared to be significant.Even when all the available data are assembled there are no time series of observations sufficient to prepare a description of seasonal variations of water properties, but data for six years from 1939 to 1961 are available for Alberni Inlet and for three years for the Nootka Sound inlets and for Neroutsos Inlet. These data indicate that in the deep water changes of up to 0.4‰ in salinity, 1 °C in temperature and 2.5 ml/l in dissolved oxygen content may occur from year to year.An hypothesis is advanced that, on account of the relatively shallow sills of many of the inlets, the deep water in their basins forms a 'memory' of extreme (high density) conditions of the continental shelf waters outside the inlets, and that the consistency of the basin water characteristics in the inlets suggests that the water properties observed in the shelf waters in 1959–61 by the Pacific Oceanographic Group may be typical of shelf waters in this region over many years.

Oceanographic Features of Inlets in the British Columbia Mainland Coast

1961 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 907-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Pickard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Surface Layer ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Surface Salinity ◽  
Tidal Period ◽  
Homogeneous Surface ◽  
Water Characteristics

The inlets of the British Columbia mainland coast are morphologically fjords but few possess sills of depth less than 15 m.The most significant influence in them is the fresh water runoff, chiefly from rivers. It is large in many of the inlets fed by rivers from glaciers, is seasonal in flow, and determines the estuarine character and circulation of the inlets and thereby the distribution of water characteristics.In the large-runoff inlets the surface salinity increases from zero at the head to coastal sea values at the mouth. In winter the surface temperature is low and uniform but in summer it increases from the head, reaches a maximum where the salinity is about 8‰ and then diminishes toward the mouth. The water is highly stratified, particularly from the surface to about 20 m depth where the salinity rises to 90% or more of the deep water value. The marked halocline in the upper layer is accompanied by a marked thermocline. Below 50 m the salinity and temperature do not change much along the length of an individual inlet.There is a pronounced geographical change of deep water characteristics from 30.7‰ and 8.3 °C in the southern to 33.2‰, and 6.3 °C in the northern inlets. In general, seasonal changes of temperature can be detected to 100 m but of salinity to only 30 m, suggesting a difference in the rates of eddy diffusion. Changes of deep water characteristics occur irregularly.In many of the inlets a temperature minimum at 20 to 100 m depth is common in the inner reaches in the spring and diminishes in intensity later in the year.In the inlets with medium or small runoff the surface salinity is generally higher and changes less along an inlet, and the halocline and thermocline are less marked. The homogeneous surface layer characteristic of the large-runoff inlets is usually absent.Generally the large-runoff inlets show less variable dissolved oxygen values along an inlet at any depth than do the small-runoff inlets. Supersaturation of the upper layers is common, and there is often an oxygen maximum just below the halocline of the larger-runoff inlets. A few small-runoff inlets have a mid-depth oxygen minimum in which the lowest values are at the inlet head. Dissolved oxygen values of less than 2 ml/l are not common in any mainland inlets and zero values have not been definitely recorded.The optical turbidity in large-runoff inlets is high in the surface layer, lower in the main body of water, and often increases in the bottom 50 to 100 m. At the heads of the large-runoff inlets Secchi-disc depths of 0.1 to 0.3 m are common in the summer. In the inlets with smaller runoff the turbidity is less. In both types the turbidity is at a maximum in the summer and a minimum in the winter, and the particulate material in the water is largely minerogenic.Internal waves of period 1 to 4 minutes and amplitude up to 5 m occur in the upper layers. At mid-depth (20 to 150 m), vertical oscillations of the isotherms with semidiurnal tidal period are common, the amplitude being from 5 to 75 m.A waxy substance sometimes found floating or washed ashore in Bute Inlet during cold winters appears to be peculiar to that inlet as no reference has been found to any similar substance being observed elsewhere in the world.

Some Physical Oceanographic Features of Inlets of Chile

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1077-1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Pickard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Depth Profiles ◽  
Water Properties ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
The University ◽  
Temperature Depth

The first systematic study of physical oceanographic characteristics of the fjord inlets of Chile was carried out by the Institute of Oceanography of the University of British Columbia during March 1970 as Phase V of the Hudson 70 Round-the-Americas Expedition of the Bedford Institute, Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources.Observations were made of temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen at 175 stations in 32 inlets and in the passages outside them, and soundings were made along 3500 km of track. The sounding data are presented as longitudinal sections, and water properties are summarized in temperature–salinity and temperature–dissolved oxygen correlation plots and characteristic diagrams; comparisons are made with observations for the British Columbia and Alaska inlets reported by Pickard in 1961 (18: 907–999) and 1967 (24: 1475–1506) in the Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. Observations were also made of nutrients in some Chilean inlets; these will be reported at a later date.In mean and extreme values, the dimensions of the inlets in Chile are similar to those in British Columbia/Alaska; only two shallow sills were recorded. More inlets had glaciers contributing melt water directly to them and more had icebergs present than is the case in the northeast Pacific inlets. Vertical salinity profiles in Chile were similar to those in British Columbia/Alaska, but the thinner surface layer was of higher salinity, except in the inlets having icebergs, and the deepwater salinities were 1–2‰ higher in Chile. Temperatures were 2–5 degrees C higher in Chile except in the iceberg inlets where surface values were lower than those in Alaska. Several of the iceberg inlets in Chile had much more complicated temperature/depth profiles than in Alaska, with as many as seven maxima and minima below the surface. The glacial silt in the inlet waters was more conspicuous and extensive in Chile than in British Columbia/Alaska. Dissolved oxygen values in Chile were much the same as in British Columbia/Alaska with higher values in the iceberg inlets in Chile than in Alaska, and there was little evidence of very low values characteristic of stagnant basins. The lack of low dissolved oxygen values suggests free exchange with outside waters and the inlet deepwater characteristics indicate that the effective sill depths between inlets and the ocean are only 100–150 m deep. At least four distinct major regions are evident from water properties among the inlets of Chile.

Some Oceanographic Characteristics of the Larger Inlets of Southeast Alaska

1967 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1475-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Pickard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
River Runoff ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
General Description ◽  
Secchi Disc ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
The North ◽  
Lower Temperature

Observations were made of salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen in 15 inlets in southeast Alaska in June 1964 and August 1965 with some observations in the southern inlets in May 1966. The data are summarized in tables, vertical profiles, and characteristic diagrams to provide a general description of the water property distributions in the larger inlets. Some comparisons are made with corresponding distributions in British Columbia inlets, previously described by Pickard in June 1961 in the Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada.The larger Alaska inlets are longer and wider than those in British Columbia but the mean and maximum depths are similar. Sill depths are also similar and there are few very shallow sills. The river runoff into the Alaska inlets is generally less than into the British Columbia ones. The larger rivers (the minority) have a summer maximum from glacier and snowfield melt whereas the smaller ones generally have fall and winter maxima. Icebergs occur in some of the Alaska inlets; they are not found in any British Columbia inlets.Surface salinities were generally higher in Alaska than in British Columbia, and at the heads of the inlets the highest salinity values were in the "iceberg" inlets. Surface temperatures were between 5 C (in the iceberg inlets) and 18 C. Salinity increased with depth, reaching 90% of the deep water values by 20 m or less. The deepwater characteristics extended the British Columbia inlet values toward higher salinity (to 34‰) and lower temperature (to 2.5 C in the north). Dissolved oxygen decreased with depth in most cases with the lowest values of 1.5–2 ml/liter in the deep water where there was direct access for northeast Pacific Ocean waters. A conspicuous exception was that the deepwater oxygen values were high in the iceberg inlets (5–6.5 ml/liter). Secchi disc depths varied from 0.1 m near the large rivers to 11 m near the Pacific Ocean.There were some differences between the property distributions observed in 1964 and in 1965. Salinity and temperature differences in the surface layers are presumed to be due to seasonal variation in river runoff and net heat input. Lower temperatures in the deep water of some of the northern inlets in 1965 compared to 1964 may be due to larger than usual winter cooling between the years.

Macrofungi from six habitats over five years in Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 1518-1538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Roberts ◽  
Oluna Ceska ◽  
Paul Kroeger ◽  
Bryce Kendrick
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
The Other ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Clayoquot Sound

Over 5 years, macrofungi from six habitats in Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, were documented. Habitats were categorized as dune, spruce fringe, old-growth rainforest, second-growth forest, bog, or estuarine. All but the second-growth forest are natural ecosystems. A total of 551 taxa of macrofungi were recorded. Between 17% and 36% of the species in any one habitat were found only in that habitat. The most frequently encountered and ubiquitous species was Craterellus tubaeformis (Fr.) Quel., found in all years, habitats, and sites. Of the 551 taxa, only 28 were found every year, and 308 were found in only 1 year. Rare species that were recorded include Cordyceps ravenelii Berkeley & Curtis, Hygrophorus inocybiformis Smith, and Tricholoma apium Schaeffer in the dunes and Stereopsis humphreyi (Burt) Redhead in the spruce fringe. Similarities between habitats based on taxa in common showed that bog and estuarine habitats had only 9%–17% in common with each other and the other habitats, whereas dune, spruce fringe, and the two forest types shared 21%–31% of their species. Old-growth rainforest yielded approximately 4 times as many species as bog and estuarine habitats, and approximately 1.5 times as many as the other three habitats.Key words: Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island, macrofungi, habitats, biodiversity.

scholarly journals Glacial Meltwater Identification in the Amundsen Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 933-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise C. Biddle ◽  
Karen J. Heywood ◽  
Jan Kaiser ◽  
Adrian Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Water Type ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Glacial Meltwater ◽  
Circumpolar Deep Water ◽  
Water Characteristics ◽  
Multiparameter Analysis

AbstractPine Island Ice Shelf, in the Amundsen Sea, is losing mass because of warm ocean waters melting the ice from below. Tracing meltwater pathways from ice shelves is important for identifying the regions most affected by the increased input of this water type. Here, optimum multiparameter analysis is used to deduce glacial meltwater fractions from water mass characteristics (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentrations), collected during a ship-based campaign in the eastern Amundsen Sea in February–March 2014. Using a one-dimensional ocean model, processes such as variability in the characteristics of the source water masses on shelf and biological productivity/respiration are shown to affect the calculated apparent meltwater fractions. These processes can result in a false meltwater signature, creating misleading apparent glacial meltwater pathways. An alternative glacial meltwater calculation is suggested, using a pseudo–Circumpolar Deep Water endpoint and using an artificial increase in uncertainty of the dissolved oxygen measurements. The pseudo–Circumpolar Deep Water characteristics are affected by the under ice shelf bathymetry. The glacial meltwater fractions reveal a pathway for 2014 meltwater leading to the west of Pine Island Ice Shelf, along the coastline.

scholarly journals Properties of cores of the water masses in the Okhotsk Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 184 (1) ◽  
pp. 204-218
Author(s):  
Vladimir A. Luchin ◽  
Andrey A. Kruts
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Oxygen Content ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Okhotsk Sea ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Water Properties ◽  
Oceanographic Data

Spatial distribution of depth and water properties (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen content) are considered in detail for cores of the Okhotsk Sea water masses: subsurface, intermediate, and deep, on the base of the most comprehensive oceanographic data set.

Deep water Exchanges in Bute Inlet, British Columbia

1975 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 2075-2089 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Lafond ◽  
G. L. Pickard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Renewal Processes ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
Sill Depth

Bute Inlet is a fjord of the British Columbia mainland coast connected to the Strait of Georgia through Sutil Channel. The properties of the waters in the inlet were observed during a series of cruises from June 1972 to June 1974 with the main objective of determining the water exchange below the top 100 m.Vertical longitudinal sections and time-series plots of salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen distributions measured during the 2-yr survey were used to analyze the circulation patterns and renewal processes of the water below 100 m.Inflows of deep water from the Strait of Georgia into Bute occurred frequently during the study period, and took place when the water from the Strait of Georgia above the inlet sill depth was denser than the water in the basin of the inlet. Volumes of some inflows into Bute were estimated, and calculations indicate that inflow speeds could be large enough to be recorded by existing current meters. The renewal of the deep water in Bute Inlet basin appears to be basically consistent with the annual cycle of deepwater replacement in the Strait of Georgia with its year-to-year variations.

Characteristics of Water and Variations of Salinity, Temperature, and Dissolved Oxygen Content of the Water at Ocean Weather Station "P" in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

1960 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susumu Tabata
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Dissolved Oxygen ◽  
Oxygen Content ◽  
Weather Station ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
Water Characteristics ◽  
Vertical Distributions ◽  
Salinity Data ◽  
Northeast Pacific Ocean

Vertical distributions of salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen content of the water at Ocean Weather Station "P" (lat. 50°N, long. 145°W) in the northeast Pacific Ocean have been examined for water characteristics, and deviations about their mean values. They are based on surveys made every alternate 6-week period during the 2 years between August 1956 and July 1958, and include data above the depth of 1500 metres. Temperature and salinity data are presented in two-dimensional frequency distribution on a temperature–salinity diagram. Variations at each depth during the 6-week periods are expressed in terms of standard deviations and ranges. Causes of these variations, when ascertainable, are discussed briefly.

Mycorrhizal status of some plants of southwestern British Columbia

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 1924-1928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon M. Berch ◽  
Sharmin Gamiet ◽  
Elisabeth Deom
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
University Of British Columbia ◽  
Mycorrhizal Status ◽  
Vesicular Arbuscular ◽  
First Time

During the summer of 1986, plants were collected from University of British Columbia Research Farm at Oyster River, Vancouver Island, and their mycorrhizal status was determined. Of the 60 plant species examined, 44 were always vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal, 13 were always nonmycorrhizal, and three varied. Nonmycorrhizal plants were found in species belonging to the following families: Araceae, Caryophyllaceae, Compositae, Cruciferae, Gramineae, Onagraceae, Polygonaceae, and Portulacaceae. The mycorrhizal status of 15 plant species is reported here for the first time. Of these, the nonmycorrhizal species included Lysichitum americanum (Araceae), Stellaria simcoei, Stellaria calycantha (Caryophyllaceae), and Epilobium minutum (Onagraceae), and the mycorrhizal species included Adenocaulon bicolor, Eriophyllum lanatum var. achillaeoides, Grindelia squarrosa var. serrulata (Compositae), Poa gracillima (Gramineae), Brodiaea coronaria, Disporum hookerii (Lilaceae), Polypodium glycyrrhiza (Polypodiaceae), Ranunculus uncinatus (Ranunculaceae), Rosa nutkana var. nutkana (Rosaceae), Collinsia parviflora (Scrophulariaceae), and Viola glabella (Violaceae).

Results from Tagging Experiments on a Spawning Stock of Petrale Sole, Eopsetta jordani (Lockington)

1957 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 953-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayton L. Alverson ◽  
Bruce M. Chatwin
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Northwest Coast ◽  
The West ◽  
Trawl Fishing ◽  
Spawning Stock ◽  
Island Coast

A review is made of the historical development of the petrale sole (Eopsetta jordani) fishery off the State of Washington (U.S.A.) and British Columbia (Canada), with statistical records of catches. A shift in recent years in the depth of trawl fishing from shallow water over the continental shelf to deeper water on the continental slope resulted in the discovery of dense concentrations of petrale sole at depths from 170–250 fathoms off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Tagging was carried out in the early spring of 1954 and 1955 on these deep-water stocks. Recoveries to May 30, 1956, from some 3,800 tags released showed that the male segment of the stock moved north and inshore along the Vancouver Island coast after spawning and at least part of the stock moved eventually into Hecate Strait, British Columbia. The tagged population contributed mainly to the fisheries adjacent to the northwest coast of Vancouver Island and in the Queen Charlotte Sound area. Subsequent recoveries from the Esteban Deep during the spawning seasons of 1955 and 1956 and the absence of the stock on this ground at other seasons, strongly suggest a homing tendency for this species. A discussion is given of the possible directive factors in the spawning migration. However, at the present time the actual factors involved remain unknown.

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