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Six-year records of ocean bottom water temperatures at two locations in an isolated, sedimented deep-water (∼4500 m) basin on the western flank of the mid-Atlantic Ridge reveal long periods (months to >1 year) of slow temperature rises punctuated by more rapid (∼1 month) cooling events. The temperature rises are consistent with a combination of gradual heating by the geothermal flux through the basin and by diapycnal mixing, while the sharper cooling events indicate displacement of heated bottom waters by incursions of cold, dense bottom water over the deepest part of the sill bounding the basin. Profiles of bottom water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content collected just before and after a cooling event show a distinct change in the water mass suggestive of an incursion of diluted Antarctic Bottom Water from the west. Our results reveal details of a mechanism for the transfer of geothermal heat and bottom water renewal that may be common on mid-ocean ridge flanks. Bottom water renewal on the western flank of the mid-Atlantic Ridge is driven by rapid intrusion of cold, dense water enabled by gradual warming due to geothermal heat flux and diapycnal mixing, as revealed by six-year observational records.

The major (Mw 7.9) earthquake that struck the Gulf of Alaska near Kodiak Island on 23 January 2018 was a rare, mid-plate strike-slip event that triggered a minor trans-Pacific tsunami. An analysis of the simultaneous measurements of tsunami waveforms at 21 open-ocean sites (including three independent arrays of stations) and 27 coastal tide gauges in the Gulf of Alaska and along the coast of North America has enabled us to examine properties of the 2018 tsunami, its transformation over the continental slope and shelf, and its amplification as the waves approached the coast. Results show that the tsunami wave variance decreased monotonically along the west coast from northern British Columbia to southern Oregon. Based on the variance structure, the mean amplification factor for Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island (a “beacon” site with a long time series), was $$A_{RMS}^{Tof}$$ = 5.3, in good agreement with corresponding estimates for four major past events; 4.5 (2009 Samoa), 4.3 (2010 Chile), 6.3 (2011 Tohoku) and 5.2 (2012 Haida Gwaii). This variance-derived amplification for Tofino was greater than the amplification factor based on the amplitude ratio ($$A_{{}}^{Tof}$$ = 3.2). Spectral analysis of the records showed that the tsunami had a relatively large high-frequency content (i.e., was “blueish”), with nearly 90% of the total energy in the open ocean at frequencies > 1.7 cph (periods

An introduced population of European green crabs Carcinus maenas (Linneaus, 1758) was established in San Francisco Bay prior to 1991. Their subsequent northern range expansion is linked to larval transport in the Davidson Current to northern California (1993), southern Oregon (approximately 1996), the Oregon and Washington coastal estuaries and the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia (1998). Range expansions through larval transport to the central British Columbia coast occurred before 2010, to Haida Gwaii in 2020, and into the inland Salish Sea in 2015 and 2016. Both the range expansions of C. maenas and local abundance are strongly linked to oceanic factors during their larval development. These include (1) strong northward flow of coastal waters during winter; (2) warm surface water temperatures (>10°C for larval development); and (3) coastal circulation patterns that keep larvae close to shore, where they can be carried by wind and tidal currents into estuaries and embayments to settle. The strongest year classes and largest range expansions occurred during the last two major El Nino events. The 1997 to 1998 El Nino resulted in the colonization of embayments in Oregon, coastal Washington, and on the west coast of Vancouver Island, while the El Nino of 2015 to 2016 and the Pacific Warm Blob are linked to the range expansion into the Salish Sea. More local range expansions along the west coast of Vancouver Island, to the central British Columbia Coast, to Haida Gwaii, and inside the Salish Sea occurred during non-El Nino years.

The five great trans-Pacific tsunamis of the 20th century that occurred in 1946, 1952, 1957, 1960 and 1964 were accurately recorded by analogue tide gauges on the coast of British Columbia. All available pen-and-paper records of these events were collected, digitised, de-tided and analysed. The 1946 Aleutian Islands event was recorded at two stations, Tofino and Victoria, where maximum trough-to-crest tsunami wave heights were 55 and 27 cm, respectively. These two gauged stations, as well as Prince Rupert, Alert Bay and Kitimat, also recorded the 1952 Kamchatka tsunami, which generated a maximum wave height of 77 cm at Tofino. The 1957 Andreanof Islands tsunami was recorded at six primary stations and the 1960 Chile tsunami by 17 primary and temporary tide gauges. For both of these events, the maximum tsunami wave heights also occurred at Tofino: 48 cm (1957) and 132 cm (1960). The 1964 Alaska tsunami remains the strongest tsunami yet instrumentally recorded on the coast of British Columbia. Our examination of 16 records from this event shows that maximum wave heights at eight stations were higher than 1 m, including Port Alberni (770 cm), Ocean Falls (376 cm), Tofino (237 cm) and Alert Bay (222 cm). We also find that the maximum wave at all stations for this event was among the first three waves. Subsequent wave heights rapidly attenuated following this group of waves. Frequency-time (f–t) analyses of the tsunami waveforms reveal that, for each station, the dominant frequencies of the waves and their evolution with time were very similar for different tsunamis, but differed considerably among sites for a particular tsunami, indicating the strong influence of local/regional topography on the incoming waves. From the latter point of view, the 1964 tsunami was exceptional. The epicentre of the 1964 Alaska earthquake was located much closer to the BC coast than for the other events and, therefore, the influence of the source was much stronger. The “ringing” of this tsunami was substantially shorter (

Sequences of correlated seafloor temperature, current velocity, and acoustic backscatter events recorded at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites at 4300 m depth in the Middle America Trench have been inferred to result from tidally induced turbidity currents generated in the vicinity of the 3300 m deep sill at the southern end of the trench. New data from the borehole observatories extend the temperature records to 11 years (November 2002 to December 2013) and confirm the highly episodic nature of the events. We present satellite altimetry data and ocean circulation model results to show that event timing is correlated with intraseasonal Kelvin wave motions in the equatorial Pacific. The observed temperature events had a mean (±1 standard deviation) occurrence interval of 61 (±24) days, which spans the periods of the first two baroclinic modes. Lag times between peak bottom water temperatures at the ODP sites and the passage of eastward-propagating Kelvin wave crests at locations in the eastern equatorial Pacific are consistent with the time for mode-1 waves to propagate to the southern end of the trench at a mean phase speed of 2.0 m s−1. Findings indicate that Kelvin wave currents augment tidal motions in the vicinity of the sill, triggering turbidity currents that travel northwestward along the trench axis at mean speeds of ∼0.1 m s−1. We conclude that mode-1 (or, possibly, mixed mode-1 and mode-2) baroclinic Kelvin waves generated by large-scale atmospheric processes in the western tropical Pacific lead to heat and mass transport deep within Middle America Trench in the eastern tropical Pacific.

Although the European green crab Carcinus maenas has persisted in Oregon and Washington coastal estuaries, and thrived in the inlets of the west coast of British Columbia since 1998, populations of this species had not established themselves in the inner Salish Sea, between southern Vancouver Island, the mainland, and Puget Sound. It has been hypothesized that the Strait of Juan de Fuca acts as a semipermeable barrier preventing C. maenas larvae from entering this inland sea. Most years, the water is too cold ( 2.5°C above average) from the fall of 2013 to 2015 would have allowed larvae to survive alongshore transport off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia. Reversals of the estuarine current in the Strait of Juan de Fuca forced by strong southerly winds associated with major storms along the outer coast in late October 2014 and 2015 could have transported the warm ocean water and larvae inward through the strait and, with the aid of local winds and tidal currents, into the inner Salish Sea. Preferential inward transport would have been with the Olympic Peninsula Countercurrent that forms along the U.S. side of the channel.

The northwest (NW) Coast of Canada (British Columbia) stretches from Alaska to Vancouver Island with the continental shelf including the islands of Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Sound, and Hecate Strait. It is mostly a rugged temperate-subarctic wilderness characterized by coastal mountain ranges, glacial fjords, and island archipelagos, with a rich First Nations cultural and marine harvesting history. Intense seasonal storms are a challenge for marine activities and biota, but marine birds, fish, and mammals are abundant. Deep sponge and coral complexes and ancient reefs have been minimally explored coastally and offshore, and numerous seamounts include one accessible by SCUBA. Economics of the sparse population are dominated by logging, diverse fin- and shell-fishing and ecotourism, which are susceptible to overexploitation, habitat destruction, and climate change. Urban contamination is low except for airborne persistent compounds from elsewhere and localized influence from a few pulp and paper mills and small sewage outfalls. Interest in oil and gas exploration has been intense historically, but moratoria on tanker traffic have suppressed development. Wind and wave energy are developing industries, but limited access remains a problem. Invasive species are still a minor issue, partly due to the lack of exotic aquaculture. Toxic algal blooms can intermittently affect shellfish harvesting. On-going efforts to protect old-growth forests and marine resources is this relatively pristine coast have resulted in extensive marine protected areas and parks, which in turn enhance ecotourism.

The California Undercurrent transports warm, salty, nutrient-rich, oxygen-depleted water along the continental slope from the equatorial Pacific to the Aleutian Islands. We use multiyear acoustic Doppler current profiler records collected simultaneously at two mooring sites off Vancouver Island to detail the regional structure of the undercurrent and to show that much of its variability is attributable to the passage of remotely forced, coastal-trapped waves. We also document two subsurface currents missed by earlier current measurements. The undercurrent becomes evident in spring, intensifies through summer and fall, and merges with the wind-driven poleward surface flow in winter. During intensification at the southern mooring site (A1), the undercurrent shoals from 250 ± 50 m in early summer to 150 ± 50 m depth in late fall. At the northern site (BP2), 225 km to the northwest of A1, the current is weaker and maintains a year-round depth of 150 ± 50 m. Temporal variability in the undercurrent velocity attains highest coherence with winds along the southern Oregon-northern California coast, with peak coherence occurring for “synoptic” (10–40 day period) alongshore winds off Cape Blanco in southern Oregon. The undercurrent lag of 3 ± 2 days relative to the Cape Blanco winds at synoptic periods is consistent with low mode, poleward propagating, coastally trapped waves. For periods >40 days, the wind-current coherence remains high for winds off the Oregon-California coast but lags are often negative, indicating possible forcing by alongshore baroclinic pressure gradients. At interannual time scales, the undercurrent variations have links to climate-scale processes in the equatorial Pacific.

The purpose of this study is to show that seafloor hydrothermal venting in the open northeast Pacific Ocean has a marked impact on secondary biomass and production within the overlying water column. Specifically, we use net tows and concurrently measured acoustic backscatter data collected over six summers to examine the effects of hydrothermal venting from the Endeavour Segment of Juan de Fuca Ridge on macro-zooplankton biomass and production throughout the entire 2000 m depth range. Previous research shows that ontogenetic diapausing migrators and their predators from the upper ocean aggregate above the neutrally buoyant plumes in summer and resume feeding on plume and bottom upwelled particles, resulting in increased zooplankton reproductive output to the upper ocean. Within the limitations of our sampling methodology, net tows reveal a statistically significant exponential decline in total water-column biomass with increasing lateral distance from the vent fields. The acoustic backscatter data show a similar decline, but only below 800 m depth. Near-surface biomass was highly variable throughout the region, but values near vents consistently ranged higher than summer values found elsewhere in the offshore northeast Pacific. Water-column biomass was similar in magnitude above and below 800 m depth throughout the region. Because epiplume biomass can be advected a considerable distance from vent fields, biomass enhancement of the water column from hydrothermal venting may extend considerable distances to the west and northwest of the vent sites, in the prevailing directions of the subsurface flow. Based on the extensive acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data collected, and the strong correlation between zooplankton production derived from net sample biomass and acoustic backscatter intensity, we estimate that daily macro-zooplankton production in the upper 400 m of the water column within 10 km of the vent fields averages approximately 16% of photosynthetic primary production (the “ Z ratio”), whereas the total water-column zooplankton production averages 26% of surface primary production. Local grazing-rate estimates, metabolic constraints and other open-ocean studies suggest that the Z ratio should be no higher than 5%, which it is at off-axis background sites in the study region. This finding indicates that nutrient sources other than upper-ocean primary production fuel both upper- and deep-ocean zooplankton biomass and growth near the Endeavour Ridge hydrothermal vents.

We examine the spatial and temporal variability of satellite-sensed sea surface chlorophyll off the west coast of North America from 1997 to 2010, with focus on coastal British Columbia. The variability in surface chlorophyll is complex. Whereas the spring bloom generates the highest phytoplankton concentration for coastal Alaska, the north and east coasts of Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and coastal Oregon and California, it is the fall bloom that normally generates the highest concentration for the west coast of Vancouver Island, Juan de Fuca Strait, and the west coast of Washington. The highest satellite-sensed chlorophyll concentrations occur in the Strait of Georgia, where mean values are at least 2 times higher than elsewhere in the northeast Pacific. Moreover, the annual average surface chlorophyll concentration increased significantly in the Strait of Georgia during this period, with highest concentration observed during the near neutral ENSO conditions of the spring of 2007. The next highest concentrations occur off southwest Vancouver Island but have no statistically significant trend. The lowest average peak chlorophyll concentration is observed off Southern California. The timing of the highest chlorophyll concentration is latest off the coast of Washington and earliest off the coast of Southern California. Small increasing concentration trends are observed off the Washington and California coasts.

The reproductive migration of anadromous salmonids through estuarine waters is one of the most challenging stages of their life cycle, yet little is known about the environmental and physiological conditions that influence migratory behaviour. We captured, sampled tissues, tagged and released 365 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) homing through inner coastal waters towards the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. Biotelemetry was used to assess the behaviour of individual sockeye salmon approaching estuarine waters and at river entry, which were related to both fish physiological condition at release and to prevailing environmental conditions. Sockeye salmon tended to stay close to the shore, migrated during the day, and movements were related to tide. Sockeye salmon migration rate was linked to wind-induced currents, salinity and an individual's physiological state, but these factors were specific to location and stock. We propose that wind-induced currents exposed sockeye salmon entering the estuary to stronger olfactory cues associated with Fraser River water, which in turn resulted in faster migration rates presumably due to either an increased ability for olfactory navigation and/or advanced reproductive schedule through a neuroendocrine response to olfactory cues. However, once the migration had progressed further into more concentrated freshwater of the river plume, sockeye salmon presumably used wind-induced currents to aid in movements towards the river, which may be associated with energy conservation. Results from this study improve our biological understanding of the movements of Fraser River sockeye salmon and are also broadly relevant to other anadromous salmonids homing in marine environments.

A major (M w 7.7) earthquake occurred on October 28, 2012 along the Queen Charlotte Fault Zone off the west coast of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands). The earthquake was the second strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake in Canadian history and generated the largest local tsunami ever recorded on the coast of British Columbia. A field survey on the Pacific side of Haida Gwaii revealed maximum runup heights of up to 7.6 m at sites sheltered from storm waves and 13 m in a small inlet that is less sheltered from storms (Leonard and Bednarski 2014). The tsunami was recorded by tide gauges along the coast of British Columbia, by open-ocean bottom pressure sensors of the NEPTUNE facility at Ocean Networks Canada’s cabled observatory located seaward of southwestern Vancouver Island, and by several DART stations located in the northeast Pacific. The tsunami observations, in combination with rigorous numerical modeling, enabled us to determine the physical properties of this event and to correct the location of the tsunami source with respect to the initial geophysical estimates. The initial model results were used to specify sites of particular interest for post-tsunami field surveys on the coast of Moresby Island (Haida Gwaii), while field survey observations (Leonard and Bednarski 2014) were used, in turn, to verify the numerical simulations based on the corrected source region.

Temperature is recognized as a key factor influencing physiology, behaviour and survival of anadromous salmonids, yet little is known about their thermal experience, nor factors affecting it, during marine homeward migrations. In 2006 and 2010, approximately 1000 Fraser River sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka were captured and tagged in coastal marine waters, ~215 km from the river mouth, during their spawning migration. Individual salmon were blood sampled, gastrically implanted with temperature loggers fixed to radio or acoustic tags, and released. We recovered 50 loggers from freshwater locales containing 14690 hourly temperature readings. Mixed-effects models were used to characterize marine thermal experience, and examine the association of thermal experience with initial physiological status as well as oceanographic and meteorological conditions. Sockeye salmon thermal experience was highly variable (8.4°C to 20.5°C), and we detected opposite diel patterns between study years that could be associated with moon phase, behavioural thermoregulation, olfactory/celestial navigation or predator avoidance. We were unable to find any relationships between thermal experience and environmental conditions or fish physiological state. Nonetheless, we found that the greatest variability in thermal experience was attributed to within-individual variation, suggesting that environmental and physiological variables need to be examined at different temporal and spatial scales, and/or additional environmental and physiological variables need to be assessed. Overall, the factors associated with the thermal experience of homing sockeye salmon in coastal marine environments are more complex than previously thought, and multiple year studies are needed before generalizing behavioural patterns observed from single year studies.

The California Undercurrent (CUC), a poleward-flowing feature over the continental slope, is a key transport pathway along the west coast of North America and an important component of regional upwelling dynamics. This study examines the poleward undercurrent and alongshore pressure gradients in the northern California Current System (CCS), where local wind stress forcing is relatively weak. The dynamics of the undercurrent are compared in the primitive equation Navy Coastal Ocean Model and a linear coastal trapped wave model. Both models are validated using hydrographic data and current-meter observations in the core of the undercurrent in the northern CCS. In the linear model, variability in the predominantly equatorward wind stress along the U.S. West Coast produces episodic reversals to poleward flow over the northern CCS slope during summer. However, reproducing the persistence of the undercurrent during late summer requires additional incoming energy from sea level variability applied south of the region of the strongest wind forcing. The relative importance of the barotropic and baroclinic components of the modeled alongshore pressure gradient changes with latitude. In contrast to the southern and central portions of the CCS, the baroclinic component of the alongshore pressure gradient provides the primary poleward force at CUC depths over the northern CCS slope. At time scales from weeks to months, the alongshore pressure gradient force is primarily balanced by the Coriolis force associated with onshore flow.

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) is an ecologically- and commercially-important species in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Detailed records of herring spawn off the coast of British Columbia (BC), Canada, collected annually since 1928, indicate that spawn distribution has gone through systematic changes over time. The cessation of spawning in some areas has led to concerns that commercial herring fisheries have resulted in serial depletion of local spawning. However, previous studies suggested that changes in spawn distribution may not necessarily be fisheries induced. Hitherto, there have been no satisfactory explanations for these changes. In this study, we developed boosted regression tree (BRT) models for four major spawning regions in BC (the Prince Rupert District, Haida Gwaii, the Central Coast, and the West Coast of Vancouver Island) to explore the nonlinear relationships between herring spawn abundance and environmental variables, including two indices of Pacific Ocean basin-scale variability (the PDO: Pacific Decadal Oscillation; and the NPGO: North Pacific Gyre Oscillation) and regional scale wind-stress off the BC coast. We find a “bowl-shaped” relationship between herring spawn abundance and two environmental variables (the PDO and NPGO) across all spawning regions and a “dome-shaped” relationship between spawn abundance and upwelling-favorable wind-stress, the latter indicating that there is an optimal range of wind stress values that favor herring spawn abundance. Results also suggest that, in Haida Gwaii, herring spawn abundance has been primarily governed by the NPGO and downwelling-favorable alongshore wind-stress; in contrast, the PDO and upwelling-favorable alongshore wind-stress are top contributors to spawn fluctuations in all other regions. These results help facilitate our understanding of how changes in physical environmental conditions affect herring spawn abundance as well as subsequent population dynamics.

[1] Tsunamis triggered by powerful earthquakes cause extensive damage and loss of life within many regions of the World Ocean. Although coastal inundation from major tsunamis is becoming increasingly well understood, we know little about the broader aspects of such events on distal marine systems. Here we use time series from moored oceanic sensors to show that the Tohoku tsunami generated by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake off eastern Japan in March 2011 caused days of surge-like currents and turbulent mixing in the inner basin of an anoxic Canadian fjord located over 7000 km from the seafloor rupture zone. Mixing, combined with the inflow of more oxygen-rich water from the adjoining outer basin, led to abrupt changes in the hydrodynamics, bottom sedimentation, and zooplankton behavior in the basin. These findings help define mechanisms by which major transoceanic tsunamis can significantly alter coastal marine environments located far from the source area.

Sediment traps were deployed inside the anoxic inner basin of Effingham Inlet and at the oxygenated mouth of the inlet from May 1999 to September 2000 in a pilot study to determine the annual depositional cycle and impact of the 1999 La Nina event within a western Canadian inlet facing the open Pacific Ocean. Total mass flux, geochemical parameters (carbon, nitrogen, opal, major and minor element contents, and stable isotope ratios) and diatom assemblages were determined and compared with meteorological and oceanographic data. Deposition was seasonal, with coarser grained terrestrial components and benthic diatoms settling in the autumn and winter, coincident with the rainy season. Marine sedimentary components and abundant pelagic diatoms were coincident with coastal upwelling in the spring and summer. Despite the seasonal differences in deposition, the typical temperate-zone Thalassiosira – Skeletonema – Chaetoceros bloom succession was muted. A July 1999 total mass flux peak and an increase in biogenous components coincided with a rare bottom-water oxygen renewal event in the inlet. Likewise, there were cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) just outside the inlet, and unusually high abundances of a previously undescribed cool-water marine diatom ( Fragilariopsis pacifica sp. nov.) within the inlet. Each of these occurrences likely reflects a response to the strong La Nina that followed the year after the strongest-ever recorded El Nino event of 1997–1998. By the autumn of 1999, SSTs had returned to average, and F. pacifica had all but disappeared from the remaining trap record, indicating that oceanographic conditions had returned to normal. Oxygenation events were not witnessed in the inlet in the years before or after 1999, suggesting that a rare oceanographic and climatic event was captured by this sediment trap time series. The data from this record can therefore be used as a benchmark for identifying anomalous environmental conditions on this coast.

We collated 25–30 observations of family groups of Ancient Murrelets (Synthliboramphus antiquus) between 23 May and 25 July 1988–2011 from southwest Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to central Oregon, 450–970 km south of the nearest breeding colony on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. We proposed 2 hypotheses in explanation of the presence of these groups this far south: (1) rapid long-distance movements by swimming, assisted by strong currents, from colonies on Haida Gwaii (“rapid transport” hypothesis); or (2) undetected local breeding by small numbers of pairs at nearby southern locations (“southern nesting” hypothesis). Far-south groups were generally consistent with relatively long, southern, offshore movements from rearing areas in northern Queen Charlotte Sound, initially with more rapid southward transport by relatively strong (approximately 0.25 m/s) shelf-break currents and strong westerly winds off Vancouver Island in early summer, followed by movement inshore, supporting the rapid transport hypothesis. Nesting was reported at Carroll Island, Washington, in 1924, but apparently by an isolated pair. No evidence of breeding was recorded during seabird colony surveys on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island in 1967–1998 or on the northwest coast of Washington in 1959–1986, although most surveys were conducted June-July, too late for optimal detection of Ancient Murrelets, and some islands on the Washington coast were incompletely examined. Support for the southern nesting hypothesis is lacking but appropriately timed surveys of islands off the northwest Olympic Peninsula are needed to document any limited nesting in this area.

We collated between 22 and 26 observations of family groups of Ancient Murrelets (Synthliboramphus antiquus) between 11 June and 31 July 1949–2009, off northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, 110–350 km south of the nearest colony and up to 115 km offshore. These occurrences are consistent with a relatively short, southern, nearshore extension of normal clockwise movements of groups in regular at-sea rearing areas in southern Hecate Strait and northern Queen Charlotte Sound. Movements may be facilitated in some years by intensification of the relatively weak, residual currents (approximately 0.10 m/s) or by intensification of the moderately strong northwesterly winds in early summer. Two nests reported at Triangle Island off northern Vancouver Island in 1949 may have involved isolated pairs or a small remnant population, as breeding has not been reported since, or on surveys of colonies in June–July elsewhere on the northern coasts of Vancouver Island, from 1954 to 1988. These surveys, however, were too late for optimal detection of active nests of Ancient Murrelets, but no other signs of breeding were found. Surveys of potential habitat are required to confirm the lack of current breeding.

We present the first documented evidence of thermohaline staircases generated by double-diffusion in a coastal environment. Results are based on high (centimetre scale) resolution profiles of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration collected on 20 July 2009 at seven stations along the axis of Belize Inlet on the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada (Fig. 1). Except for stations nearest the narrow Pacific Ocean entrance to the inlet, the observed temperature and salinity gradients between 70 and 210 m depth were of the same sign, therefore conducive to double-diffusive phenomena. Thermohaline features were especially well developed near the head of the inlet. Salt-fingering staircases of approximately 10 m thickness were observed above the temperature and salinity minima at 150 m depth and diffusive-convection staircases of approximately 1 m thickness were observed below this depth. We speculate that conditions favourable to double diffusion were initiated by a mid-depth intrusion of...

Logistical challenges, time, and the cost of towed net surveys make it difficult to obtain estimates of secondary biomass and production in the open ocean outside the summer sampling season. Alternate approaches are sometimes needed. This study examines the relationship between biomass obtained from 197 mixed-species zooplankton net samples and proximate acoustic backscatter data collected over six summers, a depth range of 3,000 m, and a spatial scale of 200 km centered at a major hydrothermal region in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Results show that the acoustic backscatter data from a single-frequency (150 kHz) acoustic Doppler current profiler mounted near the opening of the towed net system accounts for 84% of the variance in total net biomass, despite the remarkable mix of faunal types and depth range, and the broad spatial and temporal extent of the study. We discuss the potential reasons for the minor remaining variance in net biomass. The present findings demonstrate that profiling or moored acoustic backscatter instrumentation can provide a less-challenging methodology than net tows for obtaining bulk estimates of deep-sea zooplankton biomass in the open waters of the Northeast Pacific.

Record low returns of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka to the Fraser River in 2009 were followed by record high returns to the river in 2010, providing an unprecedented opportunity to examine links between oceanic factors and the survival of Pacific salmon stocks. The low returns in 2009 indicated poor early marine survival of juvenile sockeye salmon in 2007. The poor survival was likely due to low food levels arising from unfavorable wind and runoff conditions in the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Sound–Hecate Strait region in the spring of 2007. Conversely, the high returns in 2010 were associated with a large smolt output from the Fraser River and good early marine survival in 2008. This enhanced survival was likely associated with adequate food levels arising from favorable oceanic conditions in the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Sound–Hecate Strait region in the spring of 2008. We speculate that ocean factors during the subsequent marine years also affected brood year ...

The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami generated off the coast of Sumatra on 26 December 2004 was recorded by a large number of tide gauges throughout the World Ocean. This study uses gauge records from 173 sites to examine the characteristics and energy decay of the tsunami waves from this event in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Findings reveal that the decay (e-folding) time of the tsunami wave energy within a given oceanic basin is not uniform, as previously reported, but depends on the absorption characteristics of the shelf adjacent to the coastal observation site and the time for the waves to reach the site from the source region. In general, the decay times for island and open-ocean bottom stations are found to be shorter than for coastal mainland stations. Decay times for the 2004 Sumatra tsunami ranged from about 13 h for islands in the Indian Ocean to 40–45 h for mainland stations in the North Pacific.

Sediments from Effingham Inlet, Vancouver Island, British Columbia hold a valuable high-resolution Holocene record of paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic conditions in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Accurate interpretation of this record requires that the depositional environment be well understood. In order to assess deposition within the fjord over the last 1500 years, two cores, a Soutar box core and a Kasten core, were analyzed for fossil diatoms, and biogeochemical properties. The cores contain varved sequences intercalated with homogeneous mud layers and a seismite. We show that homogeneous mud units related to periods of bottom water renewal are geochemically distinct from the seismite and that these bottom renewal events are favored when brackish rather than marine surface water conditions are present. The seismite, deposited in AD 1946, has lower opal and higher organic carbon concentrations and higher organic carbon: nitrogen ratios reflecting greater terrestrial material input. In contrast, homogeneous mud units are marked by a lower organic C/N and more isotopically heavy δ 13 C values, suggesting a stronger marine influence. Major metals and trace element data also confirm that the source material of these units differs from that of the AD 1946 seismite. Fossil diatom assemblages within the homogeneous mud units are characterized by a decreased abundance of typical marine spring bloom taxa ( Skeletonema costatum , Chaetoceros spp., Thalassiosira spp.) coupled with an increased abundance of the brackish-water taxon Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana . Reduced surface salinity enhances stratification of the water column which, in turn, favors an intensified two-layer estuarine exchange across the shallow sills and associated bottom water renewal. The homogeneous mud units are produced through transport of sediment into the fjord coupled with a reworking of the upper layers of the sediment column. Therefore, these units represent a recorder of past changes in regional oceanography and climate.

Determining climate variations over the Holocene requires high-resolution records with well-developed age models. A 40 m long marine sediment core raised from Effingham Inlet, an anoxic fjord on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, yields such a record. Forty six14C accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates determined from terrestrial plant material form the age model. Downcore sampling at both 5 cm (20 year) and 1.5 cm (7 year) resolution indicates that high-frequency oceanographic variability has prevailed at this site over the last 10 000 years. Spectral analysis of wt.% opal, a proxy for diatom productivity in the basin, reveals the bidecadal and pentadecadal periods of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) – North Pacific index (NPI) that are related to changes in the strength of the Aleutian Low. Coherence analysis between the Effingham Inlet data and δ18O records from Jellybean Lake (a high elevation site in southwest Yukon) indicates regional coherence at periods of 45, 70, and 510 years between productivity in Effingham Inlet and changes in the Aleutian Low strength. Over the entire Holocene, the strength of decadal variability has changed. Both 20- and 50-year periods are present to some degree in the early Holocene, and only the 50 year period is evident in the late Holocene. These data imply that regime shifts would have been more frequent in the early Holocene relative to the last several thousand years.

The sedimentary record in a 40.9 m giant (Calypso) piston core (MD02-2494) raised from the inner basin within Effingham Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, during the 2002 Marges Ouest Nord Américaines (MONA) campaign, spans from 14 360 14C years BP (17 300 calibrated calendar (cal.) years BP) to about nine centuries before present. The core archives changes in sedimentation and sea level immediately following deglaciation of the Late Wisconsin Fraser Glaciation, which peaked about 15 000 14C years BP. The presence of the Mazama Ash in the core anchors a detailed chronology based on 49 radiocarbon dates and seven Pleistocene paleomagnetic secular variation correlations. Diatom assemblages identify a marine–freshwater–marine transition in the basin, which occurred 11 630 14C years BP (13 500 cal. years BP). At this time, a bedrock sill, presently at 46 m depth, was briefly exposed as sea level fell and then rose again during isostatic crustal adjustments. These data constrain a new sea-level curve for the outer coast of Vancouver Island covering the past 12 000 14C years BP (14 000 cal. years BP), providing new information on the nature of deglaciation along the west coast of Canada and informing interpretations of regional paleoceanographic records and mantle viscosity models.

The authors describe a two-dimensional (vector) regressional model for examining the anisotropic response of ice drift and ocean current velocity (“drift velocity”) to surface wind forcing. Illustration of the method is limited to sea ice response. The principal mathematical and physical properties of the model are outlined, together with estimates of the “response matrices” and the corresponding “response ellipses” (drift velocity response to a unity wind velocity forcing). For each direction, φ, of the wind vector the method describes a corresponding “wind factor” α(φ) (relative drift speed) and “turning angle” θ(φ) (the angle between the drift velocity and wind vector). The major ellipse axis corresponds to the direction of the “effective wind” (φ = φmax) and the minor axis to the direction of the “noneffective” wind. The eigenvectors of the response matrix define wind directions that are the same as the wind-induced drift velocity directions. Depending on the water depth and offshore distance, six analytical cases are possible, ranging from rectilinear response ellipses near the coast to purely circular response ellipses in the open ocean. The model is used to examine ice drift along the western shelf of Sakhalin Island (Sea of Okhotsk). Responses derived from the vector regression (four parameter) method are less constrained and therefore more representative of wind-induced surface motions than those derived using the traditional complex transfer function (two parameter) approach.

The First Nations (Da ‘naxda ‘xw) village of Kwalate, Knight Inlet, British Columbia was located along the shore of a funnel‐shaped bay. Archaeological investigations show that this was a major village that stretched 90 m along the shoreline and was home to possibly 100 or more inhabitants. Oral stories indicate that the village was completely swept away by a tsunami that formed when an 840‐m high rock avalanche descended into the water on the opposite side of the fjord. Shipboard geological mapping, combined with empirical tsunami modelling, indicate that the tsunami was likely 2 to 6 m high prior to run‐up into the village. Radiocarbon dates reveal that the village was occupied from the late 1300s CE until the late 1500s CE when it was destroyed by the tsunami.

Diatoms, silicoflagellates, and biogenic silica (BSi) were analyzed from two piston cores recovered from Effingham Inlet, British Columbia. Relatively productive marine conditions from 4850 to 4000 cal yr BP were followed by a transition to the modern ocean–climate regime marked by a decreased siliceous microfossil production since 2800 cal yr BP. This change in the northeast Pacific climate was characterized by an apparent cooling associated with higher rainfall and lower light levels. The reduced abundance of most spring–summer bloom diatom taxa (Skeletonema–Thalassiosira–Chaetoceros) was coupled with a decreased abundance of diatoms normally associated with incursions of offshore water into coastal inlets. This pattern reflected a weaker summer upwelling along Vancouver Island associated with the insolation-related increase in the strength of the Aleutian Low and a weakened North Pacific High. After ca. 2800 cal yr BP, diatom assemblages also indicated more frequent periods of relatively low spring–summer surface water salinity and a disruption of the typical bloom sequence, indicative of increased climatic variability. A period of warmer and drier climate conditions and possibly increased coastal upwelling offshore occurred ca. 1450–1050 cal yr BP. The most recent 500 yr are marked by reduced diatom production and the appearance of three distinct diatom biomarkers in the stratigraphic record (Rhizosolenia setigera ca. AD 1940; Minidiscus chilensis ca. AD 1860; Thalassionema nitzschioides morphotype A, ca. AD 1550). The oceanographic changes recorded in Effingham Inlet are correlative with other marine and terrestrial paleoenvironmental records in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

An Mw = 7.2 earthquake occurred on 15 June 2005 (utc) seaward of northern California off the west coast of North America. Based on the earthquake location and source parameters, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the region extending from the California‐Mexico border to northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia (the first tsunami warning for this region since the 1994 Mw = 8.2 Shikotan earthquake). Six tide gauges on the west coast recorded tsunami waves from this event, with a maximum trough‐to‐crest wave height of 27.7 cm observed at Crescent City, California. Waves of 2.5 to 6.5 cm were measured at the five other sites: Port Orford (Oregon), North Spit and Arena Cove (California), and Tofino and Bamfield (British Columbia). The open‐ocean Deep‐ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys, 46404 and 46405, recorded tsunami waves of 0.5 and 1.5 cm, respectively, closely matching wave heights derived from numerical models. Incoming tsunami wa...

Laminated sediments preserved in the anoxic inner basin of Effingham Inlet on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, yield a high-resolution sediment deposition record spanning about 6000 yr. The varying thickness of diatom/terrigenous mud varves in sediment cores from the basin can be interpreted in terms of annual changes in surface productivity and freshwater input within the inlet. Similarly, the occurrence of unlaminated mud units (homogenites) intercalated amongst the laminated sediments can be interpreted in terms of oceanic and climatic changes. These units appear to be associated with coastal upwelling events that result infrequently in highly oxygenated oceanic water penetrating to the bottom of the inner and outer basins of the inlet. The sedimentary record also contains massive and graded mud units considered to arise from debris flows and turbidity currents, some of which were probably initiated by seismic events, including a major event about 4500 14 C yr BP which may be earthquake related. A total of seventeen oceanographic surveys of the inlet beginning in 1995 characterize the modern seasonal coastal upwelling regime and a unique bottom water oxygenation event which was

On November 18, 1929, a M=7.2 earthquake occurred at the southern edge of the Grand Banks, 280 km south of Newfoundland. The earthquake triggered a large submarine slope failure (200 km 3 ), which was transformed into a turbidity current carrying mud and sand eastward up to 1000 km at estimated speeds of about 60–100 km/h, breaking 12 telegraph cables. The tsunami generated by this failure killed 28 people, making it the most catastrophic tsunami in Canadian history. Tsunami waves also were observed along other parts of the Atlantic coast of Canada and the United States. Waves crossing the Atlantic were recorded on the coasts of Portugal and the Azores Islands. Tsunami waves had amplitudes of 3–8 m and runup of up to 13 m along the coast of the Burin Peninsula (Newfoundland). To simulate the slide-generated tsunami from this event, our initial analysis uses a shallow-water model; the slide was assumed to be a viscous, incompressible fluid layer; water was inviscid and incompressible. The preliminary results of the numerical modeling are encouraging, with computed and observed tsunami arrival times in reasonable agreement. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper describes oceanographic conditions in which siliceous (Hexactinellida, Hexactinosida) sponge reefs thrive near the heads of shelf canyons on the west coast of Canada. Unique in the present world ocean, these colonies consist of mounds (bioherms) up to 21 m in height and beds (biostromes), which extend for tens of kilometers at depths between 140 and 240 m. The relaxation of winter downwelling and occasional weak summer upwelling enhances northward up-canyon intrusions of nutrient rich bottom waters in Hecate Strait. As bottom waters cross the shelf, they are further enriched with nutrients and depleted in oxygen by remineralization processes. Silicate concentrations in waters around sponge reefs are thus enhanced during what is likely the sponge's main growing season. Bottom waters in the vicinity of the sponge reefs contain 43–75 μM silicate and 64–152 μM dissolved oxygen, and have a temperature range of 5.5–7.3 C and a salinity range of 33.2–34.2. Canyons harbouring the sponge reefs provide a means of concentrating particulate material that the sponges can use to enrich their habitat. Detrital rain supplies particulates to canyons in what appears to be tidally modulated pulses. Particulate material entrained in near bottom currents has a residence time of approximately 6 days in contact with the largest sponge reef and is effectively trapped by sponges, which enhances mound construction. A simple budget of Si uptake by the 425 km2 area of the northern sponge reef shows that it has slight impact on the Si budget of this region. Scour by the ∼25 cm s−1 bottom tidal currents eliminates sediment accumulation on the reefs and the surrounding seabed.

Ice-drift velocity records from coastal radar stations, combined with data from moored current meters and coastal wind stations, are used to examine sea-ice motion off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. Ice motion is shown to be governed primarily by diurnal tidal currents and wind-induced drift, which explain 92%–95% of the total ice-drift variance. Diurnal tidal motions predominate off the northern Sakhalin coast, accounting for 65%–80% of the variance, while low-frequency wind-induced motions prevail off the south-central coast, accounting for over 91% of the ice-drift variance. Maximum diurnal tidal ice-drift velocities range from 90–110 cm s−1 on the north coast to 10–15 cm s−1 on the south coast, in good agreement with the barotropic model of Kowalik and Polyakov. The presence of diurnal shelf waves accounts for the strong diurnal currents on the steeply sloping northern Sakhalin shelf, while the absence of such waves explains the weak diurnal currents on the more gently sloping south-central shelf. Using a vector regression model, the authors show that wind-induced ice-drift “response ellipses” (the current velocity response to a unity wind-velocity forcing) are consistent with a predominantly alongshore response to the wind, with wind-induced currents most pronounced off the south-central coast where water depths are relatively shallow. Time–frequency analysis of wind and ice-drift series reveals that, in winter, when sea ice is most extensive and internally cohesive, the ice response is almost entirely aligned with the alongshore component of the wind; in spring, when sea ice is broken and patchy, the ice responds to both the cross- and alongshore components of the wind.

A modified and corrected version of the viscous slide model of JIANG and LEBLOND (1994) is used to assess the tsunami risk associated with hypothetical underwater slope failures in two coastal areas of British Columbia having potentially unstable sediment deposits: (a) Malaspina Strait, separating the mainland coast and Texada Island in the central Strait of Georgia; and (b) Roberts Bank on the foreslope of the Fraser River Delta in the southern Strait of Georgia. The intent of this study is to demonstrate the capability of the model for tsunami risk assessment and to improve upon previous studies of tsunami risk in the region based on reasonable submarine landslide scenarios. The potential risk from tsunamis associated with slide failures has been examined, but the likelihood of failure events themselves was not considered. For the Malaspina Strait scenarios, simulated tsunamis are generated by failure of a lobe of perched sediment situated on the slope of eastern Texada Island. Failure as a flow slide of the estimated 1,250,000 m 3 of sediment generates wave troughs reaching � 4:9 m and trough-to-crest heights of 6 to 8 m along the coast of Texada Island. At Cape Cockburn, on the opposite side of the strait, wave heights of 1.5 to 2.0 m are produced. For Roberts Bank, simulated waves are examined for two separate failure scenarios. The larger slide (Case 1) involves the failure of a sediment lobe with lateral dimensions of 7 · 3k m 2 and volume of 0.75 km 3 while the smaller slide (Case 2) fails a sediment lobe with dimensions of 4 · 2.6 km 2 and volume of 0.23 km 3 . Computations were made both for high (+3 m) and low (� 3 m) tide conditions. For both failure volumes, maximum wave amplitudes (up to 18 m for Case 1 and 8 m for Case 2) occur on the coasts of Mayne and Galiano Islands, opposite the source area. Wave amplitudes are much smaller (1 to 4 m) on the mainland coast because of the reflection of the initial waves from Roberts Bank. Additional numerical experiments were conducted for both regions to estimate the sensitivity of the computed tsunami wave heights to input parameters, such as slide viscosity, bulk density, and slide position.

Twenty-nine surface sediment samples from Effingham Inlet, a small fjord on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, were analyzed for diatoms. This fjord has been selected for paleoceanographic investigation due to the presence of laminated sediments resulting from the dysoxic to anoxic bottom water conditions in the inner and outer basins of the inlet. Distributional patterns of the diatom microflora reflected proximity to littoral regions, phytoplankton production, and marine influence from outside the fjord. Principal components and cluster analyses of the microflora established four diatom assemblages with a clear separation between the inner and outer basin diatom floras. Inner basin stations were characterized by elevated absolute abundance with assemblages dominated by spring–early summer bloom taxa including Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii, and Thalassiosira pacifica. Chaetoceros spp. resting spores were abundant throughout Effingham Inlet, with the exception of the stations closest to the fjord head. Stations located in the outer basin and towards the fjord mouth had relatively lower absolute abundance yet showed a higher relative and absolute abundance of Thalassionema nitzschioides, Rhizosolenia setigera, Coscinodiscus radiatus, Ditylum brightwellii, Odontella longicruris, and Paralia sulcata in relation to the inner basin. Many of these latter taxa are often associated with late summer and autumn conditions in fjords along coastal British Columbia. Oceanographic data for Effingham Inlet suggest that increased offshore penetration is more likely to occur from summer to early fall, with a more restricted offshore influence in the inner basin. Diatom surface sediment assemblages in Effingham Inlet appear to reflect incursions of offshore waters into the fjord. Absolute abundance estimates and the preservation of lightly silicified taxa suggest excellent preservation of fossil material in the sediments of the predominantly anoxic inner basin. Preservation in the outer basin is reduced, reflecting more frequent recharge by oxygenated waters spilling over the outer sill into the basin. Our findings suggest the inner basin should be an optimal site for reconstruction of diatom production, with records from the outer basin providing more consistent information about offshore influence and coastal upwelling conditions over the Holocene. Estimates of diatom abundance within the inner basin sediment may serve as a good proxy of production, although proxy tracers of bottom water conditions and sedimentological analyses must be coupled to the diatom record to ensure depositional conditions were not influencing valve preservation or abundance. Our results suggest that fjords can serve as good environments for paleoceanographic reconstructions of both inshore and offshore conditions although careful site selection and understanding of processes affecting the microfossil record are essential.

The Foreslope Hills are a set of 20-m-high, >5-km-long ridges at 230–350-m water depth in the south-central Strait of Georgia, occupying a >60-km 2 area at the base of the Fraser River delta foreslope. They are composed of clay, silt and fine sand. Previous authors have interpreted them as: (1) a single mass-slide deposit, (2) mud diapirs, (3) in situ rotational failures, and (4) creep deformation features, but collaborative evidence for these interpretations is lacking. Seafloor surface morphological renders derived from recent multibeam sonar bathymetry data show linear, evenly spaced symmetrical ridges with ridge bifurcation, resembling wave ripples but on a much larger scale. Detailed multichannel and single-channel seismic reflection data show sinusoidal internal reflections suggesting upslope migration. The ridges occur within the uppermost portion of the Holocene section in a very high sedimentation rate environment. Consequently, they are probably less than 3000 years old. Moored current meter records for the region show reversing currents, largely oriented normal to the ridge crests, averaging 10 cm/s with a maximum of 50 cm/s. This evidence, combined with increasing documentation of large-scale sedimentary bedforms in slope and rise environments, suggests that the Foreslope Hills should be re-interpreted as sediment waves. Upslope migration is typical of many large-scale, fine-grained sediment waves. The preferred physical interpretation for the creation and maintenance of the Foreslope Hills as sediment waves is the lee-wave model, requiring a phase shift in density-stratified flow as it passes over the wavy topography. Maximum measured bottom currents are easily strong enough to entrain silt and clay delivered to the site by turbidity currents or by sediment plume fallout from Fraser River outflow. Either strong flood tides or severe biannual density intrusions, due to their intense stratification, may be susceptible to lee wave formation and the creation of sediment waves, leading to the observed pattern of upslope migration.

Three-year records of crustal fluid pressures and temperatures at four Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites on the northern Juan de Fuca Ridge and eastern ridge flank reveal a broad range of variations that include hydrologic transients that are contemporaneous with earthquakes along the ridge axis, the Nootka transform fault, and within the Juan de Fuca plate. One example of such a transient is the response to what is inferred to be a seafloor spreading event that triggered a swarm of earthquakes near the Endeavour ridge segment, beginning with a MW = 4.6 event on June 8, 1999. The largest transients were observed at ODP Sites 1024 and 1025 located 25.6 and 33.5 km east of the Endeavour axis. Pressures rose coseismically with the first earthquake of the swarm by roughly 1.6 and 1 kPa, continued to rise to maxima of 3.2 and 2.0 kPa within hours, then decayed to half the peak levels in 1 and 2 days at the two respective sites. A small (∼0.2 kPa) response of the same sign followed by a decay over 100 days was observed at Site 1027 situated 101 km east of the axis, and a similarly small response but of opposite sign was observed at Site 857 in Middle Valley, located along strike of the Endeavour segment roughly 50 km to the north of the earthquake swarm. The pressure transients are inferred to reflect a combination of the instantaneous internal plate deformation associated with extension at the ridge axis and lateral water flow in the crust following strain-induced fluid pressure gradients. The rate at which the transients dissipate constrains the regional-scale permeability of the upper igneous crust to be of the order of 10−10–10−9 m2. Instantaneous strain calculated from the initial amplitude of the transients ranges from 8×10−9 at the most distal site to 1.7×10−7 at the most proximal. The magnitude of regional strain is much larger than that which would result from the simultaneous earthquake, and we conclude that the first and all subsequent earthquakes of the swarm, and the crustal strain responsible for the hydrologic transients, are the consequence of a dominantly aseismic spreading “event” involving ∼12 cm of dilatation at the ridge axis. There were no clear indications of associated magmatic activity; hence episodic spreading may take place outside the influence of either dike injection or seismic rupture. Given the excellent sensitivity of pore pressure to strain, we anticipate that this simple observational technique can be applied to the investigation of seismic and aseismic deformation in a variety of tectonically active settings.

Satellite-tracked surface drifters deployed in September 1993 in the vicinity of the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench were advected onto the Pacific continental shelf of the Kuril Islands where they encountered strong (40–50 cm s−1) diurnal tidal currents. One of the drifters subsequently passed through Friz Strait into the Sea of Okhotsk, experiencing intense (>100 cm s−1) diurnal currents in the strait and strong (35–40 cm s−1) diurnal currents over the Okhotsk shelf of the Kuril Islands. The across-shelf structure of the diurnal tidal currents is shown to be consistent with that of free, topographically trapped subinertial waves propagating along the continental margin of the islands. Of the three continental shelf wave models considered (a barotropic model with zero mean flow, a barotropic model with nonzero alongshore mean flow, and a baroclinic model based on the observed density structure), only the baroclinic model accurately explains the main features of the diurnal currents for the Pacific and Ok...

Short, shelf-break canyons are shown to have a substantial influence on local water properties and zooplankton distribution. Barkley Canyon (6 km long) off the west coast of Vancouver Island was extensively sampled in July 1997 and found to have water property and current patterns similar to those observed over Astoria Canyon (22 km long) off the coast of Washington State. Results from Barkley Canyon reveal that the canyon influence can occur very close to the surface (at the thermocline depth of 10 m) and that, near the canyon rim, the stretching vorticity generated over the canyon is strong enough to produce a closed cyclonic eddy of sufficient strength to trap deep passively drifting tracers. Most zooplankton species are advected by the currents; those near the ocean surface pass over the canyon, while those at depth are advected toward the coast. Euphausiids (Euphausia pacifica and Thysanoessa spinifera), the strongest swimming zooplankton collected in the 1997 study, were most prevalent in the closed eddy region near the head of the canyon. The observed aggregation of these animals appears to be linked to their ability to remain at specific depths combined with advection by horizontally convergent flows in the eddy.

Samples were analyzed from Effingham Inlet, southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to assess the oceanographic controls on benthic foraminiferal distribution. The resultant proxy data will be used to interpret cores collected throughout the basin, and assess the causes of periodic variation in fish populations over time. Seven foraminiferal assemblages were recognized with the primary controlling factors being oxygen content, and proportion of organic matter in the sediment. The estuarine Buliminella Assemblage characterizes well-oxygenated environments with high levels of terrestrial plant matter. This assemblage disappears when oxygen levels fall beneath suboxic levels of 40 μM/kg. The Buccella Assemblage, dominated in part by attached forms and islandiellids, is typical of well-oxygenated bank environments in the region. The Psammosphaera Assemblage is related to the lower salinity and variable conditions present in the shallow water where it occurs. The Stainforthia-Nonionella Assemblage characterizes one well-oxygenated environment outside the inlet. The Stainforthia-Bolivinellina Assemblage is typical of suboxic/dysoxic conditions (10–40 μM/kg) in the outer basin. The Stainforthia Assemblage is identified from dysoxic environments of deepest parts of the outer basin. A gradation between the Stainforthia-Bolivinellina Assemblage and the Stainforthia Assemblage is significant as a whole range of suboxic/dysoxic/anoxic conditions are detectable, potentially permitting recognition of even subtle variations in paleoceanographic/atmospheric circulation. The Stainforthia-Buccella Assemblage was recovered from the least oxygenated area of Effingham Inlet under fully anoxic (with H2S) conditions, and provides evidence that even the most isolated portions of Effingham Inlet are periodically oxygenated.

In April 1997, we deployed an upward-looking 165-kHz water acoustic structure profiler (WASP) at a depth of 240 m near the head of Barkley Canyon on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Acoustic backscatter intensity, recorded every 10 s at 2-m intervals through the water column, revealed that zooplankton aggregated in well-defined layers near the canyon floor during daylight hours. Several hours prior to sunset, the animals began a slow vertical ascent, which ended 7.2 ± 4.2 min after sunset with a rapid ascent to the surface. Upward migration attained maximum ascent rates of 6.3 ± 0.5 cm·s-1 and ended 55.4 ± 2.3 min after sunset (18.6 ± 2.4 min before nautical twilight). Zooplankton remained near the ocean surface for several hours before beginning a slow descent, followed by a rapid-descent 24.6 ± 3.2 min before sunrise. Zooplankton quickly descended below major fish aggregations and ended their rapid descent 22.6 ± 8.7 min after sunrise, reaching the canyon floor 2-4 h after sunrise. Small fish targets were observed near the ocean surface during the night. Large fish targets generally did not arrive until dawn and were more concentrated at middepth.

Two three-dimensional finite element models, one diagnostic and one semiprognostic, are used to simulate summer and winter currents for the western continental margin of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The calculations are forced (or nudged) with seasonal winds, climatological density fields, and elevation-specified boundary conditions that have been adjusted via inversion to more accurately represent the California Undercurrent and estuarine flow in Juan de Puca Strait. Tides are included in the simulations in order to correctly represent turbulent mixing, bottom friction, and the contribution of tidal rectification. The seasonal model currents are shown to compare favorably with multiyear, low-pass filtered current meter observations and to capture strong shears both vertically in Juan de Fuca Strait and horizontally and vertically across the continental shelf and slope. The tidal currents are more accurate than those computed with a previous three-dimensional barotropic model.

Statistics of the near-surface circulation in the northeast Pacific Ocean were derived from the trajectories of nearly 100 surface drifters tracked between August 1990 and December 1995 as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment's (WOCE) Surface Velocity Program (SVP). Drifters were drogued within the mixed layer (15 m drogue depth) or near the top of the permanent halocline (120 m). All branches of the Alaskan Gyre were well-sampled at both depths, revealing a weak Subarctic Current, a bifurcation of the Subarctic Current near 48°N, 130°W at 15 m depth, and strong, variable flow in the Alaska Current and Alaskan Stream. At 120 m depth, northward flow in the Alaska Current occurred much farther offshore than within the mixed layer. The drifter trajectories revealed interannual variability, with evidence of an intensified Alaskan Gyre during the winters of 1991–92 and 1992–93 and more southerly transport during winter 1994–95. A minimum in eddy kinetic energy was found at both depths within the northern branch of the Subtropical Gyre. Eddy kinetic energies were nearly twice as high in the mixed layer compared to below, and were 2–3 times larger in winter than in summer throughout most of the near-surface Alaskan Gyre. High eddy energies observed near the eastern perimeter of the Alaskan Gyre may be due to the offshore intrusion of eddies formed by coastal current instabilities. Taylor's theory of single-particle dispersion was applied to the drifter ensembles to estimate Lagrangian decorrelation scales and eddy diffusivities. Both the initial dispersion and random walk regimes were identified in the dispersion time series computed for several regions of both ensembles. The integral time scales and eddy diffusivities computed from the dispersion scale linearly with r.m.s. velocity, which is consistent with drifter studies from the Atlantic. An exception is the meridional integral time scales, which were nearly constant throughout the study area and at both drogue depths. The magnitudes of the derived eddy statistics are comparable to those derived from surface drifters in other parts of the world ocean. These are the first Lagrangian estimates of particle dispersion over a broad region of the near-surface North Pacific, and the consistency of the results with previous studies from the Atlantic lends credence to the idea that the simplifying assumptions of Taylor (1921) (Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society Series A 20, 196–221) are reasonably valid throughout the upper ocean. This bodes well for the effective parameterization of near-surface diffusivities in general circulation models. Finally, the drifter-derived velocity statistics were used to speculate on the source regions of waters of possible coastal origin observed at offshore stations during the field studies of the Canadian Joint Global Ocean Flux Study.

We examine the origin and behavior of the catastrophic tsunami that impacted Skagway Harbor at the head of Taiya Inlet, Alaska, on November 3, 1994. Geomorphologic and tide gauge data, combined with numerical simulation of the event, reveal that the tsunami was generated by an underwater landslide formed during the collapse of a cruise-ship dock undergoing construction. Use of a fine-grid model for Skagway Harbor and a coarse-grid model for Taiya Inlet enables us to explain many of the eyewitness accounts and to reproduce the dominant oscillations in the tide gauge record, including the persistent (∼1 h) 3-min oscillation in Skagway Harbor. The occurrence of the landslide is linked to critical overloading of the slope materials at a time of extreme low tide.

In June 1993, a seafloor dike intrusion along the CoAxial segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge was acoustically detected. A near-immediate field response and repeated plume mapping and sampling surveys during eight cruises over the next 3 years have provided a unique opportunity to estimate heat and mass fluxes from both event and chronic discharge during the life cycle of a newly created hydrothermal system. The intrusion triggered the release of at least three event plumes followed by chronic discharge focused at two sites: Flow, the site of a lava eruption at the distal end of the intrusion; and Floe, 30 km back along the trend of the dike. We have combined measurements of plume temperature anomalies, plume areal extent, and year-long averages of current flow at both sites to estimate the chronic hydrothermal heat flux Hu. Initial values of Hu at both sites were of order 104 MW, declining over time t as Hu = at−k, with k ≈ 1. Significant plumes were no longer detectable at Flow by June 1995, or at Floe by June 1996. Elemental fluxes from the CoAxial system have been derived from Hu and measurements of the ratios Mn/heat, Fe/heat, and particulate S/heat in chronic plumes. While Mn and Fe fluxes mirrored the power curve decline of heat, the combined regional particulate S (PS) flux experienced a second pronounced maximum some months after the eruption owing to a sharp increase in the S/heat ratio at Floc. Integrated inventories from chronic discharge were ∼4×1017 J for heat, ∼3×108 mol for Mn, ∼2×108 mol for Fe, and ∼1×108 mol for PS. Realistic uncertainties for all species are roughly a factor of 2. The three event plumes accounted for

A composite NOAA 14 satellite advanced very high resolution radiometer image of the Gulf of Alaska for early March 1995 reveals a sequence of six anticyclonic oceanic eddies spanning more than 1500 km of the continental margin of North America from central British Columbia to central Alaska. Although isolated mesoscale eddies have previously been documented for this eastern boundary region, the composite image provides the first evidence that trains of such eddies can develop “simultaneously” along the entire coast. The 80 km radius and 250 km spacing of these warm-core eddies are consistent with a baroclinic instability event in the poleward coastal current that prevails along the northwest continental margin of North America in “winter” (roughly October through March). Wind data from offshore meteorological buoys, combined with partial cloud-free thermal images for January and February, suggest that the event was triggered in mid January by an abrupt, coast-wide reversal in the prevailing poleward wind. The instability event disrupted the alongshore transport of relatively warm, high-salinity water and presumably resulted in a greatly enhanced cross-shore flux of brackish, nutrient-rich coastal water into the open ocean. On the basis of its basin-scale extent and more than 2 month duration it is feasible that the event had a major impact on the early spring recruitment and survival of zooplankton and pelagic fish within the highly productive fishery zones of coastal British Columbia and Alaska. Less extensive eddy sequences found in several earlier satellite images for the region suggest that these instability events are fairly common. If so, this indicates that the poleward current that forms over the eastern Pacific continental slope in late fall (herein, the “Northeast Pacific Coastal Current”) is marginally stable and likely to deform into a series of mesoscale eddies following abrupt, basin-scale reversals in the seasonally dominant wind. Provided these wind events occur early enough in the season, the coastal current could reform with the onset of poleward winter winds.