To develop a database of high quality CTD observations at key locations in DFO’s Pacific Region, 22 stations have been selected for sampling as often as possible. Chief Scientists of DFO vessels with CTD equipment on board are asked to acquire a CTD profile at as many of these stations as possible. There may be circumstances that will prevent conducting a CTD cast but the intent is to collect as many as possible such that over time useful time series of CTD profiles will be available at these locations.

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). From 2020-2023, there were semi-annual deployments and retrievals of 3 moored CTDs in the bay. From 2020 to November 2021, moored CTDs collected hourly recordings of conductivity, temperature and pressure. From 2021 through 2023, these CTDs collected year-round, hourly, information on temperature, conductivity, pressure, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll-a. Acoustic releases also collected hourly ambient noise (mV) data. This record contains the geographic locations of the sites, and information on the timings and types of data collected at each site.

A systematic oceanographic monitoring program was initiated in September 1989 at twenty-five monitoring stations in the Passamaquoddy Bay area and approaches by Dr. Shawn Robinson based out of the St. Andrews Biological Station (SABS). Stations were established in a uniform grid pattern of two arcminutes latitude and longitude over the study area in order to develop a database on the spatial patterns of water properties. Monthly measurements of the water column for the temperatures and salinity at all stations was completed using a Seacat SBE 19 internally recording CTD from Sea-bird Electronics Inc. The CTD was programmed to record conductivity, temperature, and depth at a frequency of 2 hz, corresponding to 2 measurements per meter of water depth. CTD casts were recorded for each of the 25 stations in the study area monthly using the R/V Pandalus, and later the CCGS Viola M. Davidson based out of SABS. The CTD was configured such that the sensors were oriented towards the benthos and the CTD was then attached to a hydraulic winch on the deck of the ship by a stainless steel cable one meter above a weight, and lowered 1 m below the water's surface in order for the CTD to equilibrate for one minute. The CTD was then lowered at 1 m/s to the benthos using a metered block on the winch to determine when the CTD had reached the maximum depth at that station. Once the weight had touched the bottom, the CTD was retrieved from the water, turned off, and placed in a bucket of fresh seawater in order to minimize equilibration time at the next station. Initially, the CTD measured salinity via water forced through the salinity cell with the drop rate of 1 m/s, but in August 1992, a pump was mounted on the CTD in order to provide a more consistent flow of water across the salinity cell. Surface temperatures were measured from bucket samples collected upon arriving at each station using a hand-held mercury thermometer at each station, and Secchi disk measurements were recorded. All data were downloaded from the CTD upon return to SABS using a DFO computer and the proprietary Sea-Soft software. Downcast data from each profile was retained, binned into 1 m intervals, and processed to remove data spikes, density inversions, and anomalies due to inadequate instrument equilibration. Processed data was then stored in the DFO's Oracle database (PTRAN) under the IMTA_SABS schema in the INVHYD and INVINF tables. Station numbers and locations are recorded in the CTD_STATIONS table in the IMTA_SABS schema.Cite this data: Robinson, S. Data of: Passamaquoddy Bay monthly Conductivity Temperature and Depth (CTD) sampling (1989 - 2018). Published: October 2019. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, NB. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/12184962-7879-4214-aef0-b31162f04a27

From August 5th to September 3rd, 2012, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 28 stations along four transects. Standardized sampling was conducted at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. A specialized CTD probe (UCTD) was deployed at an additional 30 locations while the ship was underway. Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

From August 2nd to September 9th, 2013, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted a baseline survey of marine fishes and their habitats on the Canadian Beaufort Shelf and slope. Sampling was conducted from the F/V Frosti at 64 stations along ten transects. Standardized sampling was conducted on the transects at pre-determined depth stations (20-40, 75, 200, 350, 500, 750, and 1000 m) using a variety of sampling equipment including benthic fishing trawls, plankton nets, sediment cores, and CTD and water sample profiles. A specialized CTD probe (UCTD) was deployed at an additional 72 locations while the ship was underway.Presented here is the information on the sampling locations, and the sampling gear deployed at each station.

This project was completed by the Coastal Environmental Baseline Program (Coastal and Freshwater Ecology Section) in the Newfoundland and Labrador Science Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The nearshore fish and invertebrate community was sampled annually in Placentia Bay at 14 sites for 5 years (2018 – 2022). The objective of this program was to collect data on juvenile fish (specifically Atlantic cod) communities and habitats within Placentia Bay. The sites and timing (October) were selected based on historical sampling. There were several data types collected during each of these sampling trips. Boat-based beach seining was used to collect data on fish and invertebrate diversity, abundance, distribution, and size. Visual transects were used to identify vegetation and substrate (habitat) types and proportions at seine sites. CTD profiles (temperature, conductivity, depth, and salinity) were obtained using a castaway CTD. Finally, eDNA samples were collected at each site (2018-2021) to obtain complementary information on the presence of juvenile fish and other species present. This record contains the geographic locations of the 14 sites, and information on the timing and type of data collected at each site.

For several years, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has conducted annual ship-based surveys in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence to assess environmental conditions and support a range of scientific objectives. Because these surveys do not extend into winter, a complementary regional monitoring program has been implemented annually in early March since 1996. This monitoring program is typically carried out using a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter, although in 2016 and 2017 it was conducted aboard an icebreaker. The winter survey measures physical oceanographic conditions to approximately 200 m depth along with nutrient concentrations in the surface layer. Starting in 2023, the survey was expanded to include phytoplankton measurements.Data from this program are integrated with those from the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) to produce annual reports including physical (CTD) and biological (bottle) assessments and a Zonal Scientific Advisory for the Gulf of St. Lawrence which can be found on the following webpage under the given year : Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) - https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/data-donnees/azmp-pmza/index-eng.htmlHere, raw data on physical oceanographic conditions, nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton collected during the winter survey are presented. This publication contains three data files: ‘donnees_data_heli_CTD’ which contains links per year to the CTD data, ‘donnees_data_heli_bottle_bouteille’, which contains nutrient data, and ‘donnees_data_heli_phyto’ which contains phytoplankton data. The dataset covers the period of 1996 to present and is updated annually as new data becomes available. Note: this publication contains raw data, please use with caution or contact the data management team (gddaiss-dmsaisb@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) if you have any questions. For further methodological information please see the supporting document for citations.For mean winter surface conditions in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence please see the following related publication Winter surface conditions – Helicopter survey - Open Government Portal - https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9a42d891-fc9c-44b3-8fba-9d9ed96890cf

This dataset was compiled as part of a multiyear effort lead by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to support sustainable aquaculture regulation in the Coast of Bays, an area of the south coast of Newfoundland. It is the second of a series aiming to provide an oceanographic knowledge baseline of the Coast of Bays.This dataset includes temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen concentration profiles collected during CTD surveys, each survey containing a varying number of casts/profiles taken within the area of interest. In total, 760 profiles from 11 surveys, executed over 276 stations, were collected from June 2009 to November 2013. Data were processed and quality controlled using the instrumentation manufacturer guidelines, custom tools as well as visual inspection. Data are provided in tab-delimited text-based format compatible with most data processing language and tools (e.g. MS. Excel) as well as with the Ocean Data View software (https://odv.awi.de/) for rapid visualisation. A summary of the CTD profiles and stations surveyed is also provided as a comma separated values (CSV) file.A full description of the data and of its use in the context of the motivating project can be found in http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/ResDocs-DocRech/2017/2017_077-eng.html. Analyses from this dataset were presented during a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) meeting which took place in St John’s in March 2015 (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/schedule-horraire/2015/03_25-26b-eng.html) and from which a Science Advisory Report (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2016/2016_039-eng.html) and Proceedings (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/Pro-Cr/2017/2017_043-eng.html) were published.

The objective of this project was to locate the mixing zones in the coastal environment on the north shore of the lower estuary, which are caused by the friction of the waters on the bottom and measure the effects of these mixing zones on the modification of the water bodies and the productivity potential of adjacent areas, using phytoplankton biomass and size structure as an indicator of productivity. Temperature and salinity profiles were measured using CTD and water sampling was done with a Niskin bottle to try to detect the signature of the mixture and to determine if nutrient salts and/or productivity are greater in adjacent areas.Sampling took place in 3 outings from 3 stations organized in a 100 NN transect which were carried out at the start of the season (June 30), mid-season (August 16) and end of the season (October 9). The transects were each composed of three stations ranging from 10 m depth near the coast to 50 and 75 m, depending on the transect, moving away from the coast. Samples were collected for nutrients and phytoplankton biomass (> 0.7 µm and > 5 µm) analysis at depths of 1, 10, 25 and 50 m. The optical transparency of water was also measured by Secchi disk. The first file provided “donnees_profils_data” is a summary of the CTD profils of every station. The second file “donnees_discretes_discret_data” contains the results of the water sample analysis. The file “Identification_station_identification” describe the repartition of consecutives among stations.This project was funded by DFO Coastal Environmental Baseline Program under Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan. This initiative aims to acquire environmental baseline data contributing to the characterization of important coastal areas and to support evidence-based assessments and management decisions for preserving marine ecosystems.

Description:Seasonal climatologies (temperature, salinity, and sigma-t) of the Northeast Pacific Ocean were computed from historical observations including all available conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD), bottle, expendable bathy-thermograph (XBT), and Argo data in NOAA (http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/), Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS), and Institute of Ocean Sciences archives over 1980 to 2010 period in spatial resolution ranging from approximately 100m to 70km.Methods:Calculations, including smooth and interpolation, were carried out in sixty-five subregions and up to fifty-two vertical levels from surface to 5000m. Seasonal averages were computed as the median of yearly seasonal values. Spring months were defined as April to June, summer months were defined as July to September, fall months were defined as October to December, and winter months were defined as January to March.Uncertainties:Uncertainties are introduced when quality controlled observational data are spatially interpolated to varying distances from the observation point. Climatological averages are calculated from these interpolated values.