Description

This entry provides access to the figures and data tables that feature in the CSAS Research Document titled 'Optical, chemical, and biological oceanographic conditions on the Scotian Shelf and in the eastern Gulf of Maine in 2013'. Please consult the meta-data text file that accompanies the zip file download for the figure on the data usage policy and appropriate citation. The meta-data file also provides field descriptors and any other information that may be useful in interpreting the data provided in relation to the accompanying imagery. Abstract: Ocean conditions were unusually warm and stratified on the Scotian Shelf in 2012, and the plankton response to the physical environment in 2012 set the initial conditions for the plankton in 2013. In particular, zooplankton biomass and the abundance of the two dominant herbivorous copepod species, Calanus finmarchicus and Pseudocalanus spp., were low, and there appeared to be a shift to a smaller-size phytoplankton community on the Scotian Shelf. In 2013, annual average temperature anomalies were still positive in the Maritimes Region, but less so than in 2012, and temperature and stratification anomalies were marked by strong sub-annual and mesoscale variability. Variability in the physical environment was reflected in nutrient and plankton conditions. Annual average deep-water and winter surface nitrate inventories were similar to average overall, but surface nitrate was higher than average. The magnitude of the spring bloom chlorophyll peak was above average on the Eastern Scotian Shelf (ESS) and below average on the Western Scotian Shelf (WSS) and in the eastern Gulf of Maine, but summer-fall blooms were above average in all areas. Zooplankton biomass and abundance were lower than average on the eastern transects, but anomalies were mixed on the Central Scotian Shelf, ESS and Bay of Fundy. The abundance of Pseudocalanus spp. was higher than average in the central and western part of the region. Although C. finmarchicus abundance was variable and lower than average overall, it was high on the WSS and in the eastern Gulf of Maine during the summer ecosystem trawl survey and higher than average at the Halifax-2 station and in Emerald Basin in autumn, suggesting a return to more typical abundances in the western part of the region at the end of 2013. Similar to the broader Scotian Shelf, the 2013 Bedford Basin annual average temperature was warmer than normal but not as warm as 2012. Small phytoplankton were more abundant than average in Bedford Basin and large phytoplankton less abundant. An initial evaluation of relationships among annual anomalies of physical variables, nitrate, spring bloom metrics and zooplankton at Halifax-2 from 1999 to 2013 identified bloom duration and enhanced upwelling as important correlates of zooplankton biomass and dominant copepod abundance at an annual scale. Continuous Plankton Recorder sampling showed that observations of phytoplankton bloom dynamics and abundance of C. finmarchicus at Halifax-2 in 2012 were representative of shelf-wide patterns. http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ResDocs-DocRech/2014/2014_104-eng.html

Resources

Name	Format	Description	Link
Fig 10 : Maritimes region chemical and biological environment anomaly scorecard	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_10.zip
Fig 13 : Chlorophyll inventories at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_13.zip
Fig 14 : Microplankton abundance and community composition at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_14.zip
Fig 16 : Zooplankton biomass at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_16.zip
Fig 17 : Zooplankton abundance and community composition at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_17.zip
Fig 18 : Calanus finmarchicus abundance and stage distribution at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_18.zip
Fig 19 : Dominant copepods abundance	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_19.zip
Fig 20 : Zooplankton biomass - AZMP sections	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_20.zip
Fig 21 : Zooplankton biomass - Ecosystem trawl surveys	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_21.zip
Fig 22 : Calanus finmarchicus abundance - AZMP sections	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_22.zip
Fig 23 : Calanus finmarchicus abundance - Ecosystem trawl surveys	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_23.zip
Fig 24 : Immigrant copepods groups abundance anomaly scorecard	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_24.zip
Fig 27 : Bedford Basin environment anomaly scorecard	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_27.zip
Fig 28 : Bedford Basin Synechococcus abundance anomaly time series	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_28.zip
Fig 06 : Mixing properties at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_6.zip
Fig 07 : Optical properties at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_7.zip
Fig 09 : Nitrate inventories at the fixed stations	ZIP		http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/azmp-pmza/document-data-donnees-documents/data/CSAS_2014_104_fig_9.zip

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