Tides in Strait of Georgia

Recent large variations in both the temperature and dissolved Oxygen concentrations at our Strait of Georgia East VIP location are tied to the tides. The above plot suggests that warm, low Oxygen water resides towards the north, and during low tide, at the end of an ebb flow, this northern water flows over the VIP. During the flood tide, with currents from the southeast, water from further south flows over the VIP, driving the temperature down and the Oxygen up. Oxygen concentrations vary between 2.7 and 4.4 ml/l. These temporal variations are associated with tidal excursions of a frontal region separating these two water masses.