Fin-ished? Citizen scientists cast CTDs as part of an investigation of salmon mortality in British Columbia’s Salish Sea

In 2014, the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project (SSMSP) began, launching over thirty scientific studies into the lifecycle of Coho and Chinook Salmon of the Salish Sea. These West Coast fisheries collapsed over twenty years ago, and have not since recovered. At the close of this five-year program, researchers hope to understand why salmon mortality is so high. Their aim … Read More

Ice Shelves, Ice Islands and Measuring Change in the High Arctic

In Canada’s High Arctic, within the fiords of Ellesmere Island, there are lakes that float upon the Arctic Ocean. Called epishelf lakes, they are glacially-fed bodies of freshwater that sit atop a steep halocline. The lakes exist only where the ice shelves, filling the mouths of the fiords, act as dams, holding the water from flowing into the ocean. In … Read More

Go Big or Go Home: Instrumenting the Nearshore

Leaning over the side of the 22-foot boat and pulling up the first line of temperature sensors, oceanographer Jamie MacMahan described the state of the line as the worst bio-fouling he had ever seen. It was slimy and smelly. One down, 34 more to go. This was only a pilot project, but MacMahan’s mantra of ‘Go big or go home’ … Read More

Fishermen, Scientists Collaborate to Collect Climate Data

In the waters off the southern New England coast, local fisherman are noticing changes in the ocean. Using an RBRconcerto CTD, they are taking measurements that will help researchers better understand how climate change is affecting the ocean and their fisheries.