At the junction of ocean, mountains, and glacially carved fjords, Calvert Island is where powerful climate forces collide. This mix of currents and complex nearshore habitats supports remarkable biodiversity.
Calvert Coastal Observatory
Ocean Observation
Our other key influence comes from ocean currents, including the upwelling of deep ocean water that floods onto the continental shelf and up the Goose Trough to fill the coastal channels and inlets.
Deep ocean water is rich in essential nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur compounds. However, it is also relatively acidic and low in oxygen, contributing to the twin problems of ocean acidification and hypoxia in coastal waters.
The water transported from the ocean to the land by weather systems falls on the coastal margin, where is accumulates in forests, bogs, snowpacks and icefields. Eventually much of that water flows back to the ocean via watersheds, fjords and channels, bringing nutrients and massive fluxes of dissolved organic carbon from decaying vegetation. This freshwater influence persists because being less dense than the rest of the water in the ocean, it floats on the surface--effectively an ocean-going river running parallel to the coast.
We have tools to study these linked phenomena in detail.
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We are on an isolated island halfway between Vancouver and Alaska. We are exposed to the open Pacific Ocean, sitting in the gap between Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. Weather systems impinge upon us from the ocean, and we feel their full brunt.
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Current moorings and manual CTD sites in red. Historic sites in Black.
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The Columbia samples along its route as well, another example of working vessels.
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The Seaspan tugboat sampled the ocean along its route for two years.
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Ocean gliders sample route offshore from Calvert Island.
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The bulk of Hakai's Ocean Observation activities on one map.
Weather
Ocean Currents and Upwelling
Our main tool is the ocean glider. They go down the Goose Trough (above), out over the edge of the coastal shelf and down into the deep ocean. Then back again. They spend several weeks at sea, guided by our land-based pilots via satellite.
Coastal Currents and Terrestrial Influences
We use an array of tools to monitor the coastal ocean and currents. Moorings, sampling from small vessels. Instruments carried by so-called vessels of opportunity, including ferries and tugboats.
We use an array of tools to monitor the coastal ocean and currents. Moorings, sampling from small vessels. Instruments carried by so-called vessels of opportunity, including ferries and tugboats.