Mean 2014 to 2023 winter surface conditions in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The survey has been taking place every year in March. Surface conditions are described by temperature, salinity and nutrient concentration (mmol/m3) interpolated on a 10km x 10km grid. Purpose Since many years, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has been conducting annual surveys, at different periods of the year, in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, each having many objectives including assessment of environmental conditions. However, these surveys, carried out on vessels, did not cover the winter period. Since 1996, a regional monitoring program, conducted by Maurice-Lamontagne Institute scientists, is taking place in order to fill this gap. The annual helicopter survey is undertaken in the beginning of March to evaluate physical oceanographic conditions of waters up to 200 m and surface water nutrient contains. These surveys are usually sampled from a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter but from an icebreaker in 2016 and 2017. Data from regional monitoring programs are combined with the ones from the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) to produce annual reports (physical, biological and a Zonal Scientific Advice) which are available at the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm). Galbraith, P.S., Chassé, J., Caverhill, C., Nicot, P., Gilbert, D., Pettigrew, B., Lefaivre, D., Brickman, D., Devine, L., and Lafleur, C. 2017. Physical Oceanographic Conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2016. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/044. v + 91 p. Devine, L., Scarratt, M., Plourde, S., Galbraith, P.S., Michaud, S., and Lehoux, C. 2017. Chemical and Biological Oceanographic Conditions in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence during 2015. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/034. v + 48 pp. Additional Information Water sampling for nutrient analysis is done from Niskin bottles according to AZMP sampling protocol: Mitchell, M. R., Harrison, G., Pauley, K., Gagné, A., Maillet, G., and Strain, P. 2002. Atlantic Zonal Monitoring Program sampling protocol. Can. Tech. Rep. Hydrogr. Ocean Sci. 223: iv + 23 pp. Nitrate titration is carried out according to the following method ((nitrite + nitrate) – nitrite): Nitrite + nitrate: Armstrong, FAJ, CR Stearns, JDH Strickland (1967) The measurement of upwelling and subsequent biological processes by means of the Technicon Autoanalyzer and associated equipment. Deep-Sea Res 14(3) 381-389. Nitrite: American Public Health Assoc. (1971) Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 13th edition, pp. 240-243, Washington D.C. Phosphate: Murphy, J, JP Riley (1962) A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters. Anal Chim. Acta 27 : 30. Silicate: Strickland, JDH, TR Parsons (1972) A Practical Handbook of Seawater Analysis, second edition. Fish Res Board Can, Bulletin 167, 310 pp. The surface water temperature and salinity are determined from CTD profiles.

Gridded temperature and salinity of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence bottom waters including shallow waters. Data are a result of a 3D interpolation on a 1km x 1km x bottom depth grid. They mostly come from the 2 multidisciplinary surveys but all the available CTD data sampled in August and September were used. The dataset contains 24 layers: one layer per year per variable from 2014 to 2023, two layers of temperature and salinity climatologies and two layers of anomalies for the last year. Purpose Since 1990, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been conducting an annual multidisciplinary survey in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence using a standardized protocol. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, these bottom trawl surveys has been carrying out each September since 1971. These missions are an important source of information about the status of the marine ressources. The objectives of the surveys are multiple: to estimate the abundance and biomass of groundfish and invertebrates, to identify the spatial distribution and biological characteristics of these species, to monitor the biodiversity of the Estuary and Gulf and finally, to describe the environmental conditions observed in the area at the moment of the sampling. The southern Gulf surveys are realized using the following standardized protocol: Hurlbut,T. and D.Clay (eds) 1990. Protocols for Research Vessel Cruises within the Gulf Region (Demersal Fish) (1970-1987). Can. MS Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. No. 2082: 143p. The sampling protocols used for the Estuary and northern Gulf surveys are described in details in the following publications: Bourdages, H., Archambault, D., Bernier, B., Fréchet, A., Gauthier, J., Grégoire, F., Lambert, J., et Savard, L. 2010. Résultats préliminaires du relevé multidisciplinaire de poissons de fond et de crevette d’août 2009 dans le nord du golfe du Saint-Laurent. Rapp. stat. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 1226 : xii+ 72 p. Bourdages, H., Archambault, D., Morin, B., Fréchet, A., Savard, L., Grégoire, F., et Bérubé, M. 2003. Résultats préliminaires du relevé multidisciplinaire de poissons de fond et de crevette d’août 2003 dans le nord du golfe du Saint-Laurent. Secr. can. consult. sci. du MPO. Doc. rech. 2003/078. vi + 68 p. Annual reports are available at the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm). Bourdages, H., Brassard, C., Desgagnés, M., Galbraith, P., Gauthier, J., Légaré, B., Nozères, C. and Parent, E. 2017. Preliminary results from the groundfish and shrimp multidisciplinary survey in August 2016 in the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2017/002. v + 87 p.

This dataset is a climatological summer chlorophyll-a layer for the Southern Ocean south of 40S, following the OC3M algorithm of Johnson et al. (2013). The climatology was calculated from level-3 binned MODISA RRS products spanning the 2002/03 to 2015/16 austral summer seasons (summer taken as day 355 to day 80).

1999 to 2023 surface temperature and salinity measured along the track of commercial ships, mostly between Montreal (Quebec) and St. John's (Newfoundland). Monitoring of surface water conditions in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence is carried out with different complementary methods such as thermosalinographs (TSG) installed on commercial ships. These ships are sailing all year long from Montreal to St. John’s, one round trip per week, and are sampling water near the surface (3 to 8 meters deep) to determine the temperature and salinity all along the route. Purpose The recorded data are used as input to numerical forecasting models for sea ice conditions and as a monitoring tool for the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Annual reports are available at the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS), (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/index-eng.htm). Galbraith, P.S., Chassé, J., Caverhill, C., Nicot, P., Gilbert, D., Lefaivre, D. and Lafleur, C. 2018. Physical Oceanographic Conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during 2017. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2018/050. v + 79 p.

Sea surface temperature (SST) plays an important role in a number of ecological processes and can vary over a wide range of time scales, from daily to decadal changes. SST influences primary production, species migration patterns, and coral health. If temperatures are anomalously warm for extended periods, drastic changes in the surrounding ecosystem can result, including harmful effects such as coral bleaching. This layer represents the maximum of the monthly mean climatology of SST (degrees Celsius) from 1985-2018. These SST dataset are derived from CoralTemp 5-km gap-free analyzed blended sea surface temperature over the global ocean. CoralTemp is derived from three different but related 5-km daily gap-free SST data sets and provides an internally consistent SST product that stretches from 1985 to present. 1) Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA) Sea Surface Temperature Reanalysis (1985-2002). 2) Geo-Polar Blended Night-Only Sea Surface Temperature Reanalysis (2002-2016). 3) Geo-Polar Blended Night-Only Sea Surface Temperature Near Real-Time (2017 to present). The 8-day composites are generated from daily Coral Reef Watch (CRW) files by OceanWatch Central Pacific. An SST climatology was first calculated by taking the average of the 5-km weekly SST data for each month, and then averaging for all same-months (e.g., January) over the 1985-2018 period. Data source: https://oceanwatch.pifsc.noaa.gov/erddap/griddap/CRW_sst_v1_0_8day.graph

“Summer” missions occur in June, July and August and these focus on the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy (i.e. 4VWX 5Yb, expanding recently to include the Laurentian Channel and Georges Bank (5Zc). Collected data includes total catch in numbers and weights by species. Length frequency data is available for most species, as are the age, sex, maturity and weight information for a subset of the individual animals. Other data such as ageing material, genetic material, and stomach contents are often also collected, but are stored elsewhere. “Summer” cruises occur in May, June, July and August and these focus on the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy (i.e. 4VWX). Cite this data as: Clark, D., Emberley, J. Data of MARITIMES SUMMER RESEARCH VESSEL SURVEYS. Published January 2021. Population Ecology Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/1366e1f1-e2c8-4905-89ae-e10f1be0a164

Chemical and biological oceanographic conditions observed in the Maritimes Region in 2022 are presented. Surface and deep inventories of nitrate and silicate were near or above normal in the eastern part of the region while the surface and deep phosphate inventories remained near or below normal across the region. Inventories of in situ chlorophyll-a have indicated important spatial and temporal variability across the region apart from the Bay of Fundy where below normal levels have been observed since 2014. Abnormally high surface chlorophyll-a concentrations measured by remote sensing were observed during winter 2022. Observations in recent years suggest earlier and longer spring phytoplankton blooms with higher-than-normal amplitude and magnitude. Diatom abundance has remained lower than normal in the Bay of Fundy while reaching near-normal levels on the central Scotian Shelf in the last two years. The overall zooplankton biomass and the abundance of Calanus finmarchicus and Arctic Calanus species remained mainly below normal levels in 2022. Observations from the Continuous Plankton Recorder confirm the main regional trends observed in phyto- and zooplankton abundances. Observations in Bedford Basin in recent years have indicated generally warmer-than-normal conditions, near-normal chlorophyll-a concentrations, and mainly near or higher-than-normal bottom nutrient (nitrate, silicate and phosphate) concentrations

Dataset consists water temperature, salinity, and other parameters of netCDF files of downcast CTD data collected at 79 CTD stations on the Scotian Shelf and in Gulf of Maine in spring 2024. This cruise is U.S. State Department MSR U2024-007 as part of the World Data Service for Oceanography.

Sea surface temperature (SST) plays an important role in a number of ecological processes and can vary over a wide range of time scales, from daily to decadal changes. SST influences primary production, species migration patterns, and coral health. If temperatures are anomalously warm for extended periods of time, drastic changes in the surrounding ecosystem can result, including harmful effects such as coral bleaching. This layer represents the maximum of the monthly mean climatology of SST (degrees Celsius) from 1985-2013. Three SST datasets were combined to provide continuous coverage from 1985-2013. The concatenation applies bias adjustment derived from linear regression to the overlap periods of datasets, with the final representation matching the 0.05-degree (~5-km) near real-time SST product. First, a weekly composite, gap-filled SST dataset from the NOAA Pathfinder v5.2 SST 1/24-degree (~4-km), daily dataset (a NOAA Climate Data Record) for each location was produced following Heron et al. (2010) for January 1985 to December 2012. Next, weekly composite SST data from the NOAA/NESDIS/STAR Blended SST 0.1-degree (~11-km), daily dataset was produced for February 2009 to October 2013. Finally, a weekly composite SST dataset from the NOAA/NESDIS/STAR Blended SST 0.05-degree (~5-km), daily dataset was produced for March 2012 to December 2013. An SST climatology was first calculated by taking the average of the 5-km weekly SST data for each month, and then averaging for all same-months (e.g., January) over the 1985-2013 time period.