Articles | Volume 20, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-293-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-293-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Mar 2024
Research article |
| 14 Mar 2024
| 14 Mar 2024
Fjord circulation permits a persistent subsurface water mass in a long, deep mid-latitude inlet
Laura Bianucci
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC, Canada
Jennifer M. Jackson
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC, Canada
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Susan E. Allen
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Maxim V. Krassovski
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC, Canada
Ian J. W. Giesbrecht
Hakai Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Wendy C. Callendar
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC, Canada
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Short summary
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.
While the deeper waters in the coastal ocean show signs of climate-change-induced warming and...
