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hypoxia

Nov 28, 2016

Saanich Inlet and the science of dead zones

Saanich Inlet is one of the best-studied marine basins in the world. The combination of easy access and unusual features has attracted researchers to this glacially carved fjord since the 1930’s. A unique feature is the combination of geography, dense plankton populations, and deep water that is a natural “dead zone”—an area depleted in oxygen. Once a year, in the late summer or early fall, oxygen is restored. The result is a fascinating study area for biologists, chemists, and sedimentologists.

ONC installations in Saanich Inlet, BC

ONC installations in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia.

In June 2014, Ocean Networks Canada (...

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hypoxia | saanich inlet | salish sea | Jeff Sorensen | dead zones | vertical profiling system | vertical profiler

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A Tenth Anniversary Inshore Maintenance Cruise
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Oct 28, 2016

The extent of habitat compression and hypoxia in Saanich Inlet from the 2016 hypoxia cycle

​

Guest post by Dr. Jackson Chu, Post-doctoral fellow, Fisheries & Oceans, Canada

Dr. Jackson Chu

As part of his PhD research at the University of Victoria, Jackson examined the ecology of oxygen deficient systems by using Ocean Networks Canada data collected over the last decade. As an early adopter to seafloor observatories, his research and participation in ONC field research can be dated back to his first expedition with VENUS in 2007.

How do you determine when a system has become oxygen deficient, or hypoxic, for the species in our marine ecosystems? Part of the answer comes from mapping...

Read more

habitat compression | hypoxia | saanich inlet | benthic | Jackson Chu | marine ecosystem | time series | transect

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Saanich Inlet and the science of dead zones
Nov 28, 2016

A Tenth Anniversary Inshore Maintenance Cruise
Jun 1, 2016

A decade of discovery in Saanich Inlet
Feb 28, 2016

3D Cameras in the Ocean
Sep 20, 2014

What's the Deal with Flatfish?
Sep 19, 2014

Maintaining the VENUS Observatory: March 2014 Expedition
Mar 7, 2014

Jun 1, 2016

A Tenth Anniversary Inshore Maintenance Cruise

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully in Saanich Inlet.

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully in Saanich Inlet.

Ocean Networks Canada's tenth annual expedition season began on 28 April 2016 with an 8-day cruise to maintain the ocean observing instrumentation and platforms in Saanich Inlet and the Strait of Georgia. The Canadian Coast Guard Ship John P. Tully and the ITB Subsea Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Oceanic Explorer supported the recovery, repair and deployment of seafloor installations and...

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Fraser | fraser delta | ddl | delta dynamics lab | Gwyn Lintern | river delta | strait of georgia | salish sea | venus | SLIP | Seismic Liquefaction In Situ Penetrometer | slumps | slope failure | slope stability | hypoxia | saanich inlet | forensics | pigs | csi | sfu | simon fraser university | gail anderson | decomposition | experiment | oxygen

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Nov 14, 2019

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Feb 9, 2018

Cool tech, hard science and daring innovation - Expedition 2017: Wiring the Abyss
Apr 27, 2017

Tumbling to success: delta dynamics laboratory becomes scientific highlight
Apr 24, 2017

Saanich Inlet and the science of dead zones
Nov 28, 2016

Sep 19, 2014

What's the Deal with Flatfish?

Blog post by PhD Student Jackson Chu. Originally posted on Wiring the Abyss 2014 Expedition portal

An important part of climate change research is measuring and predicting the magnitude of ecosystem response. The northeast Pacific is a global hotspot for future oxygen loss driven by climate change. Overall oxygen content in the oceans will drop if sea surface temperatures continue to rise because warmer sea water holds less oxygen. If oxygen levels drop too low (hypoxia), animals will have to migrate, adapt or die – but how do you measure these thresholds for animal life?

Part of our ongoing ecological research on the impacts of oxygen loss on marine...

Read more

saanich inlet | hypoxia | Jackson Chu | flatfish

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A Tenth Anniversary Inshore Maintenance Cruise
Jun 1, 2016

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Feb 28, 2016

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Sep 20, 2014

Maintaining the VENUS Observatory: March 2014 Expedition
Mar 7, 2014

Mar 3, 2014

New Findings Presented at Ocean Sciences 2014

A new batch of interesting talks and posters were presented at the February 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting by scientists using Ocean Networks Canada data and facilities. These included work by scientists in a range of disciplines as well as several of our staff members. 

Marine Biology

Inter- and Intra-Annual Variability of Zooplankton Abundance in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia

This poster by researchers at the University of Washington, Institute of Ocean Sciences and the University of Victoria presents an innovative way to visualize echosounder data to the variability of zooplankton...

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conferences | posters | publications | education | ASL | sonar | echosounder | Arctic | profiler | biodiversity | benthic | mentoring | hypoxia | epibenthic | oxygen | QA | QC | tidal mixing | nutrient flux | tsunamis | zooplankton | heat flux

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Nov 14, 2019

Ocean Networks Canada 2018 visiting scientist program: Marco Francescangeli of Marche Polytechnic University (Italy)
Nov 2, 2018

Ocean Networks Canada 2018 visiting scientist program: Q&A with Warwick Vincent of Université Laval
May 8, 2018

Ocean Networks Canada in the Arctic: Local problems, global connections
Dec 8, 2017

Maintaining the Arctic’s Internet-connected ocean is no picnic
Nov 2, 2017

The Great Thaw: our melting Arctic must be monitored and Canada should lead the way
May 12, 2017

Jul 4, 2013

CBC's Bob McDonald Goes to Sea

​During the final days of Ocean Networks Canada's month-long expedition on board the CCGS Tully, award-winning science journalist Bob McDonald caught up with the research vessel at Bamfield, a tiny port on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

As host of CBC radio’s weekly national science show Quirks and Quarks since 1992, Bob has spent decades helping Canadians understand science.

...

Read more

quirks and quarks | bob mcdonald | effingham | cbc | hypoxia

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Oct 28, 2016

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Jun 1, 2016

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Sep 19, 2014

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Mar 3, 2014

MicroSquid Experiment
Apr 30, 2013

CSI Salish Sea
Apr 27, 2013

Apr 30, 2013

MicroSquid Experiment

The objective of MicroSquid project is the collection of continuous measurements of oxygen uptake by the seabed in Saanich Inlet, British Columbia. The work is an exceptional international collaboration and is adding pioneering capabilities to the VENUS cabled ocean observatory. The partners in this research are scientists, technicians, and engineers from Oregon State University' Reimers Lab, Rockland Scientific (BC, Canada), and Ocean Networks Canada.

This research focuses on understanding what drives changes in benthic oxygen flux, which is a measure of how much oxygen sediment biota consume from the overlying water. Concurrently, we are testing a new instrument’s ability to collect data via an ocean observatory...

Read more

microsquid | saanich inlet | oxygen | hypoxia | rockland scientific | eddy correlation | anerobic | benthic ecology | oregon state university | eddy correlation system | acoustic doppler velocimeter

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Jun 1, 2016

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Sep 20, 2014

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Sep 19, 2014

Apr 27, 2013

CSI Salish Sea

This series of forensics experiments began in 2006 when Dr. Gail Anderson, a forensic entomologist from Simon Fraser University deployed the first pig carcass – a human body proxy - at 96m in Saanich Inlet. A subsea camera connected to the VENUS network was the main research instrument to monitor state of the carcass. Using the interactive capability of the networked subsea camera, Dr. Anderson conducted observations, took photos and recorded videos of the events, connecting to camera over the Internet from her home and office at Simon Fraser University as well as at various locations around Canada and the world. Initial results revealed that despite low oxygen conditions in the Saanich Inlet, a large number of crustacea removed the bulk of the soft tissue very rapidly. Captured...

Read more

saanich inlet | forensics | pigs | csi | sfu | simon fraser university | gail anderson | decomposition | hypoxia | experiment | oxygen

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A Tenth Anniversary Inshore Maintenance Cruise
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Whalebone Experiment in a Minimum Oxygen Zone
May 27, 2016

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Sep 26, 2012

Saanich Inlet Hypoxia Paper Published

Saanich Inlet Digital Camera data

For a year, the VENUS camera photographed the same area of seafloor in Saanich Inlet. A recent paper examines the response of the benthic animals to changing levels of oxygen. Only a few species cope with hypoxia but the high numbers suggest that food availability and refuge from oxygen-starved predators is a good strategy for some. The research predicts marked changes on the continental shelf with growing “dead zones”.

... Read more

saanich inlet | salish sea | hypoxia | oxygen | low oxygen | benthic ecology

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