Presentation Title
Dissolved Oxygen in the Strait of Georgia: Why Mixing it up is Important
Session Title
Session S-02A: Future Salish Sea Water Quality
Conference Track
Marine Water Quality
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Start Date
1-5-2014 5:00 PM
End Date
1-5-2014 6:30 PM
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.
Rights
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Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Type
Text
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.
