Physical Oceanography at UBC
Study of submarine canyons under the supervision of Susan Allen
My name is Carine Vindeirinho and I did a Master of Science degree in Physical Oceanography at UBC. The department of Physical Oceanography is represented by four professors, who all have a different speciality. William Hsieh's domain of predilection is El Niņo (process study, predictions...). He works mainly with numerical models. Richard Pawlowicz is specialist in acoustical oceanography and data analysis. Lionel Pandolfo studies mainly atmospheric processes (volcanoes emissions...). Finally, Susan Allen (my supervisor) studies mesoscale processes. She works also with numerical models. One of the numerous areas she is interested in is submarine canyons. Under her supervision, I did data analyses on Juan de Fuca and Barkley Canyons (situated on the west coast of Vancouver Island). Part of my work was to participate in a research cruise to gather information and then process and analyse the data.
I was especially interested in upwelling within the canyon, that is when the local circulatin induces an up-canyon flow that brings cold, salty and nutrient-rich water from depth up to the rim of the canyon at the head. Upwelling is very important for the biological productivity since it brings up nutrients from depth to the surface, on which phytoplankton graze. I therefore studied the water properties and current patterns around these two canyons, but also looked at the biological response from the zooplankton.
Fig.1 is a contour plot that shows the value of temperatures at all depths between April and October 1997. The blue tongues show the intrusion of colder waters, associated with upwelling.
Fig.1: Contours of temperature (degC) from a thermistor chain over time and depth, from April 19th until September 30th, 1997.
If you are interested in more information, there is a general index on what I do on my home page, a page on the Master of Science and a page on my work with Globec (my Master's project).
If you want to leave me a message
My address: carine.vindeirinho@euryale.net
carine.vindeirinho@euryale.net