A towfish containing sidescan and video hardware was used to map eelgrass in two shallow northern New Brunswick estuaries. The sidescan and video data were useful in documenting suspected impacts of oyster aquaculture gear and eutrophication on eelgrass. With one boat and a crew of three, the mapping was accomplished at a rate of almost 10 km2 per day. That rate far exceeds what could be accomplished by a SCUBA based survey with the same crew. Moreover, the towfish survey applied with a complementary echosounder survey is potentially a more cost effective mapping method than satellite based remote sensing. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Beds Using Sidescan and Video - Richibucto 2007. Published: October 2017. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/ca7af8ba-8810-4de5-aa91-473613b0b38d

A towfish containing sidescan and video hardware was used to map eelgrass in two shallow northern New Brunswick estuaries. The sidescan and video data were useful in documenting suspected impacts of oyster aquaculture gear and eutrophication on eelgrass. With one boat and a crew of three, the mapping was accomplished at a rate of almost 10 km2 per day. That rate far exceeds what could be accomplished by a SCUBA based survey with the same crew. Moreover, the towfish survey applied with a complementary echosounder survey is potentially a more cost effective mapping method than satellite based remote sensing. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Beds Using Sidescan and Video - Shippagan 2007. Published: November 2019. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/6454594e-c8f9-41c4-801a-db125b8a8875

The assessment of the status of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at the bay-scale in turbid, shallow estuaries is problematic. The bay-scale assessment (i.e., tens of km) of eelgrass beds usually involves remote sensing methods such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These methods can fail if the water column is turbid, as is the case for many shallow estuaries on Canada’s eastern seaboard. A novel towfish package was developed for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds irrespective of water column turbidity. The towfish consisted of an underwater video camera with scaling lasers, sidescan sonar and a transponder-based positioning system. The towfish was deployed along predetermined transects in three northern New Brunswick estuaries. Maps were created of eelgrass cover and health (epiphyte load) and ancillary bottom features such as benthic algal growth, bacterial mats (Beggiatoa) and oysters. All three estuaries had accumulations of material reminiscent of the oomycete Leptomitus, although it was not positively identified in our study. Tabusintac held the most extensive eelgrass beds of the best health. Cocagne had the lowest scores for eelgrass health, while Bouctouche was slightly better. The towfish method proved to be cost effective and useful for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds to sub-meter precision in real time. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Beds Using Sidescan and Video - Bouctouche. Published: November 2017. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/b4c83cd2-20f2-47d8-8614-08c1c44c9d8c

The assessment of the status of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at the bay-scale in turbid, shallow estuaries is problematic. The bay-scale assessment (i.e., tens of km) of eelgrass beds usually involves remote sensing methods such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These methods can fail if the water column is turbid, as is the case for many shallow estuaries on Canada’s eastern seaboard. A novel towfish package was developed for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds irrespective of water column turbidity. The towfish consisted of an underwater video camera with scaling lasers, sidescan sonar and a transponder-based positioning system. The towfish was deployed along predetermined transects in three northern New Brunswick estuaries. Maps were created of eelgrass cover and health (epiphyte load) and ancillary bottom features such as benthic algal growth, bacterial mats (Beggiatoa) and oysters. All three estuaries had accumulations of material reminiscent of the oomycete Leptomitus, although it was not positively identified in our study. Tabusintac held the most extensive eelgrass beds of the best health. Cocagne had the lowest scores for eelgrass health, while Bouctouche was slightly better. The towfish method proved to be cost effective and useful for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds to sub-meter precision in real time. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Beds Using Sidescan and Video -Tabusintac 2008. Published: March 2021. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/d1c58bc6-69d4-47b2-bb19-988f88233900

The assessment of the status of eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds at the bay-scale in turbid, shallow estuaries is problematic. The bay-scale assessment (i.e., tens of km) of eelgrass beds usually involves remote sensing methods such as aerial photography or satellite imagery. These methods can fail if the water column is turbid, as is the case for many shallow estuaries on Canada’s eastern seaboard. A novel towfish package was developed for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds irrespective of water column turbidity. The towfish consisted of an underwater video camera with scaling lasers, sidescan sonar and a transponder-based positioning system. The towfish was deployed along predetermined transects in three northern New Brunswick estuaries. Maps were created of eelgrass cover and health (epiphyte load) and ancillary bottom features such as benthic algal growth, bacterial mats (Beggiatoa) and oysters. All three estuaries had accumulations of material reminiscent of the oomycete Leptomitus, although it was not positively identified in our study. Tabusintac held the most extensive eelgrass beds of the best health. Cocagne had the lowest scores for eelgrass health, while Bouctouche was slightly better. The towfish method proved to be cost effective and useful for the bay-scale assessment of eelgrass beds to sub-meter precision in real time. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Bay Scale Assessment of Eelgrass Using Sidescan and Video - Cocagne 2008. Published: November 2019. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/431c815e-65f0-477b-9389-060fa41ec955

Tracking changes in bulk electrical conductivity (EC) during tracer tests in saturated sediments allows for direct observation of both mobile and less-mobile pore space exchange dynamics. Electrode arrays made up of four stainless steel rods (insulated with the exception of exposed 0.5 cm tips) were installed vertically at depths of interest and apparent electrical resistivity data (the inverse of bulk EC) were collected using a Wenner configuration with an AGI SuperSting R8 meter. The Bulk EC data are described and listed within the files below. Controlled, downward flow experiments were conducted in Dual-domain porosity apparatus (DDPA). Downward flow rates ranged from 1.2 to 1.4 m/d in DDPA1 and at 1 m/d, 3 m/d, 5 m/d, 0.9 m/d as described in the publication: Briggs, M.A., Day-Lewis, F.D., Dehkordy, F.M.P., Hampton, T., Zarnetske, J.P., Singha, K., Harvey, J.W. and Lane, J.W., 2018, Direct observations of hydrologic exchange occurring with less-mobile porosity and the development of anoxic microzones in sandy lakebed sediments, Water Resources Research, DOI:10.1029/2018WR022823.

Glider deployed at P4 as a part of the CPROOF glider program. Glider is on a repeat DFO hydrographic sampling line -Line P- running from near Vancouver Island to Ocean Station Papa in the NE Pacific. On this mission the glider will reach Ocean Station Papa and return to Tofino BC.

The short surface ocean residence times of 1-2 days over Palmer Deep is in conflict with the prevailing hypotheses that local growth support phytoplankton at the base of the food web in these biological hotspots. Instead, the implication is that horizontal dynamics are likely more important to maintaining these biological hotspots than local upwelling. However, coincident measures of phytoplankton, prey fields, and predator locations in their advective context have not been made to establish the ecological importance of horizontal flow. In this project, we will simultaneously sample across the entire food web from the phytoplankton and prey fields to the top predators to understand the ocean features that support life in these polar systems. For the first time in this region, we will integrate these glider deployed sensors with moored, remote sensed and small boat platforms to simultaneously map phytoplankton blooms, krill aggregations, and top predator foraging relative to dynamic ocean features. This real-time low-resolution dataset contains temperature, salinity, chlorophyll_a, CDOM, beta_700nm and oxygen profiles.

The short surface ocean residence times of 1-2 days over Palmer Deep is in conflict with the prevailing hypotheses that local growth support phytoplankton at the base of the food web in these biological hotspots. Instead, the implication is that horizontal dynamics are likely more important to maintaining these biological hotspots than local upwelling. However, coincident measures of phytoplankton, prey fields, and predator locations in their advective context have not been made to establish the ecological importance of horizontal flow. In this project, we will simultaneously sample across the entire food web from the phytoplankton and prey fields to the top predators to understand the ocean features that support life in these polar systems. For the first time in this region, we will integrate these glider deployed sensors with moored, remote sensed and small boat platforms to simultaneously map phytoplankton blooms, krill aggregations, and top predator foraging relative to dynamic ocean features. This real-time low-resolution dataset contains temperature, salinity, chlorophyll_a, CDOM, beta_700nm and oxygen profiles.

Glider deployed near Calvert Island and will follow a repeat sampling line - the Calvert Line - before returning to Calvert Island to be recovered by Hakai crew.