Dissolved Oxygen in the Strait of Georgia: Why Mixing it up is Important
Presentation Abstract
Dissolved oxygen in the Strait of Georgia has shown a trend towards declining concentrations since 1971. This poster will discuss the driving mechanism for this trend and asks the question; will the Strait of Georgia become increasingly hypoxic, and even anoxic, as a persistent condition? We consider budgets for anthropogenic inputs, and show that the mechanisms that drive oxygen states in the SoG are coming from offshore upwelled waters that enter via Haro Strait during late spring and summer and from remineralization/diffusive processes in the winter. Time series of dissolved oxygen, from monitoring programs will be presented and incorporated into a mixing model. Even taken into consideration the reduced oxygen solubility due to increases in temperature and its limited overall circulation, models show that even if upwelled waters become anoxic, the Strait of Georgia is unlikely to develop long-term hypoxic conditions. This is primarily due to a combination of vigorous mixing though Haro Strait and light-limited primary production.
Session Title
Session S-02A: Future Salish Sea Water Quality
Conference Track
Marine Water Quality
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 5:00 PM
End Date
1-5-2014 6:30 PM
Location
Room 6C
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events); posters
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Water--Dissolved oxygen--Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash.); Water quality management--Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash.)--Mathematical models; Aquatic ecology--Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash.)--Mathematical models; Environmental sampling---Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Georgia, Strait of (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Dissolved Oxygen in the Strait of Georgia: Why Mixing it up is Important
Room 6C
Dissolved oxygen in the Strait of Georgia has shown a trend towards declining concentrations since 1971. This poster will discuss the driving mechanism for this trend and asks the question; will the Strait of Georgia become increasingly hypoxic, and even anoxic, as a persistent condition? We consider budgets for anthropogenic inputs, and show that the mechanisms that drive oxygen states in the SoG are coming from offshore upwelled waters that enter via Haro Strait during late spring and summer and from remineralization/diffusive processes in the winter. Time series of dissolved oxygen, from monitoring programs will be presented and incorporated into a mixing model. Even taken into consideration the reduced oxygen solubility due to increases in temperature and its limited overall circulation, models show that even if upwelled waters become anoxic, the Strait of Georgia is unlikely to develop long-term hypoxic conditions. This is primarily due to a combination of vigorous mixing though Haro Strait and light-limited primary production.
