We used a biophysical model to examine the impacts of the 2014–2017 Northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave on plankton in the Salish Sea. Warming was strongest in the Juan de Fuca Strait, increasing phytoplankton growth. The Strait of Georgia showed stronger links to the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation with warming beyond 2017 and a reduction in large phytoplankton. Results highlight that multiple marine heatwaves can overlap within one waterbody, each with distinct effects on the local food web.

Ocean currents along continental slopes do not respond symmetrically to changing winds. This asymmetry arises from interactions between the flow and seafloor bumps. Using simplified simulations, we show that this asymmetry manifests differently for short and long wind forcing periods. These effects are likely missed in coarse-grained climate models, with implications for representing ocean flow in the Arctic.

This study examines how variability in Pacific source waters influences the biogeochemistry of the Salish Sea. Using model simulations and observations, we traced the origins and properties of inflowing water and quantified the roles of circulation and property variability in shaping fluxes of oxygen, nutrients, and carbonate system tracers. These findings highlight key drivers of interannual change and their relevance under a changing climate.

Submarine canyons are topographic features found along the continental slope worldwide. Here we use numerical simulations to study how a submarine canyon influences the circulation near the coast when winds moving poleward influence the region. Our results show that submarine canyons modify the circulation near the coast, causing strong velocities perpendicular to the coast. These changes can trap particles inside the canyon, an important mechanism to explain its role as a biological hotspot.

While the deeper waters in the coastal ocean show signs of climate-change-induced warming and deoxygenation, some fjords can keep cool and oxygenated waters in the subsurface. We use a model to investigate how these subsurface waters created during winter can linger all summer in Bute Inlet, Canada. We found two main mechanisms that make this fjord retentive: the typical slow subsurface circulation in such a deep, long fjord and the further speed reduction when the cold waters are present.