A coastal surficial substrate layer for the coastal Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy. To create the layer, previous geological characterizations from NRCan were translated into consistent substrate and habitat characterizations; including surficial grain size and primary habitat type. In areas where no geological description was available, data including digital elevation models and substrate samples from NRCan, CHS and DFO Science were interpreted to produce a regional scale substrate and habitat characterization. Each characterization in the layer was given a ranking of confidence and original data resolution to ensure that decision makers are informed of the quality and scale of data that went into each interpretation. Cite this data as: Greenlaw, M., Harvey, C. Data of: A substrate classification for the Inshore Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy, Maritimes Region. Published: March 2022. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, N.B. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f2c493e4-ceaa-11eb-be59-1860247f53e3

The dataset includes timeseries of horizontal current speed and direction, vertical current speed, water depth, and temperature at instrument depth from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings. Data were collected 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. This dataset is the third of a series aiming to provide an oceanographic knowledge baseline of the Coast of Bays, Newfoundland. It consists of 73 ADCP timeseries varying in length from about 26 days to 235 days collected between 2009 and 2014. 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), Proceedings (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/Pro-Cr/2017/2017_043-eng.html) and several research documents were published.

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

The Strait of Belle Isle connects the Labrador Shelf and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Few observations of currents in the Strait of Belle Isle exist despite its important contribution to the heat, salt, and mass budgets of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This is because the deployment of instruments is complicated by the Strait’s remote location, its strong currents, and the presence of thick winter sea ice and icebergs. The present data set aims to provide a long-term time series of currents in the Strait of Belle Isle. Data were collected using a moored Teledyne RDI Workhorse 300 KHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The ADCP was mounted on a subsurface buoy anchored 5 m from the sea floor, in water approximately 70 m deep near the north shore of the Strait (56° 37.2 W, 51° 34.7 N). This instrument provides three-dimensional current profiles every 30 minutes at a vertical resolution of 4 m. Backscatter intensity is also collected at the same resolution. Raw data were processed using the Magtogoek software (https://github.com/iml-gddaiss/magtogoek), developed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Quality flags have been assigned to the data based on beam sidelobe contamination and required thresholds for extreme velocities, beam correlation and percentage of good four-beam transformations. The ancillary data used to apply this quality control are included in the data set. Reference : Shaw, J.-L., & Galbraith, P. S. (2023). Climatology of transport in the Strait of Belle Isle. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 128, e2022JC019084. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019084