The British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program is a sea surface temperature and salinity monitoring program on the Canadian coast of the northeast Pacific Ocean. [1] The program is administered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and regroups 12 lighthouse stations in British Columbia. Most lighthouses are staffed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but some have independent contractors instead. [2]
The practice of recording ocean water temperature and salinity levels in the area was initiated in 1914 at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. Data is collected daily around the time of the daytime high tide. The methodology of the sampling was originally designed by oceanographer John P. Tully, and was never modified in order to maintain the homogeneity of the data. The program expanded to 12 stations in the 1930s. Over time, more stations joined the programs while others stopped reporting. Currently, twelve stations remain in the program. [3] [4]
Data from the Amphitrite point and Kains island lightstations, which started reporting in the mid-1930s, show an increase in coastal water temperatures of 0.08 °C per decade. On the other hand, data from the Entrance Island station, which started reporting around the same time, show an increase in coastal water temperatures of 0.15°C per decade. These trends are a result of anthropogenic climate change. [5]
The stations currently being monitored as part of the program are: [3]
Lightstation / location | Active since |
Amphitrite point lightstation | 1934 |
Bonilla island lightstation | 1960 |
Chrome island lightstation | 1961 |
Departure bay (PBS) | 1914 |
Egg island lightstation | 1970 |
Entrance island lightstation | 1936 |
Kains island lightstation | 1935 |
Langara point lightstation | 1936 |
Mcinnes island lightstation | 1954 |
Nootka point lightstation | 1934 |
Pine island lightstation | 1937 |
Race Rocks Light | 1921 |
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre is a marine research station established in 1972, located in Bamfield, Barkley Sound, British Columbia and run by the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary. The Centre hosts numerous public education programs in marine related science. BC Field Trips organizes many instructional and educational programs for school-aged children at the Centre. The Centre also runs courses for university students during the summer and during the fall through their affiliated universities.
Race Rocks Light is one of the first two lighthouses that were built on the west coast of Canada, financed by the British Government and illuminated in 1860. It is the only lighthouse on that coast built of rock, (granite) purportedly quarried in Scotland, and topped with sandstone quarried on Gabriola Island. The Islands of Race Rocks are located just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, about 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Victoria, British Columbia.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters. Its mandate includes responsibility for the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's fisheries resources while continuing to provide safe, effective and environmentally sound marine services that are responsive to the needs of Canadians in a global economy.
Argo is an international programme for researching the ocean. It uses profiling floats to observe temperature, salinity and currents. Recently it has observed bio-optical properties in the Earth's oceans. It has been operating since the early 2000s. The real-time data it provides support climate and oceanographic research. A special research interest is to quantify the ocean heat content (OHC). The Argo fleet consists of almost 4000 drifting "Argo floats" deployed worldwide. Each float weighs 20–30 kg. In most cases probes drift at a depth of 1000 metres. Experts call this the parking depth. Every 10 days, by changing their buoyancy, they dive to a depth of 2000 metres and then move to the sea-surface. As they move they measure conductivity and temperature profiles as well as pressure. Scientists calculate salinity and density from these measurements. Seawater density is important in determining large-scale motions in the ocean.
Cape Beale Lightstation is an active manned lighthouse on Vancouver Island in British Columbia., Canada.
Masset, formerly Massett, is a village in the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately 50 km (31 mi) west of mainland British Columbia. It is the primary western terminus of Trans-Canada Highway 16 and is served by Masset Airport, with flights to Vancouver and Prince Rupert. During the maritime fur trade of the early 19th century, Masset was a key trading site. It was incorporated as a village municipality on May 11, 1961.
The Langara Point Lighthouse is a staffed lighthouse located atop a scenic bluff on the northwest corner of Langara Island. It is one of only two lighthouses in Haida Gwaii – the other being at Cape St. James, at the southern tip of the islands. Both were built in 1913.
Sheringham Point Lighthouse is located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, near the community of Shirley. Built in 1912 following the fatal wreck of the SS Valencia six years earlier, it is still used for navigation. The point was named for William L. Sheringham who took part in various naval surveys although not in this area.
Active Pass is a strait separating Galiano Island in the north and Mayne Island in the south in the southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. It connects the Trincomali Channel in the west and the Strait of Georgia in the east. The pass stretches 5.5 km from northeast to southwest with two roughly right-angle bends, one at each end.
The following are considered ocean essential climate variables (ECVs) by the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate (OOPC) that are currently feasible with current observational systems.
Ivory Island Lightstation is located 14 miles northwest of Bella Bella on the junction of Seaforth Channel and Milbanke Sound on the Inside Passage of British Columbia.
The Pacific Biological Station is located on Hammond Bay Road in Departure Bay, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1908, with the Rev. George William Taylor as its first director and sole employee, it is the oldest fisheries research centre on the Pacific coast. Operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the station forms a network with eight other scientific facilities.
Entrance Island is a small rocky island in the Strait of Georgia, 841 metres (2,759 ft) due north of Gabriola Island. Marine mammals such as harbour seals and Steller's sea lions use it as a haul-out.
Chrome Island Lighthouse is a light station established in 1891 that assists traffic in the region of Deep Bay, British Columbia, Denman Island, and Hornby Island. It is currently a manned station, though in recent years the Canadian Coast Guard has considered automating it.
Triple Island Lighthouse is a large, manned light station on Triple Island. Built in 1920 after four years of construction, the concrete station features a 21.9 metres (72 ft) tower attached to a rectangular concrete structure that houses the keepers' quarters and machinery. A Triple Island helipad occupies much of the remainder of the islet. Canadian Coast Guard personnel man the station on a 28-day rotation. The station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974.
Ladysmith Harbour, originally Oyster Harbour, is a harbour adjoining the Town of Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Ladysmith area was originally known as Oyster Harbour when it came into use as a coaling port for the Dunsmuir-owned mine at Extension.
Cape Mudge Lighthouse is located on Quadra Island which is off Campbell River, on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Bonilla Island is a small, remote island in the Hecate Strait west of Banks Island. It has a lighthouse, upland bogs and coastal rainforests. The island is encompassed by the Lax Kul Nii Luutiksm/Bonilla Conservancy which was established in 2006.
Amphitrite Point Lighthouse is an active lighthouse near Uclulelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, named after Amphitrite, the sea goddess and wife of Poseidon in Greek mythology. It is also known for one of the sample pictures in Windows 7.
There is only a 1% possibility that the trend is due to chance