Flow Dynamics of Saanich Inlet
By Roberta C. Hamme | University of Victoria
Saanich Inlet is Famous for its Oxygen Depleted Bottom Water
Sill at North End Blocks Water from Flushing the Deep Saanich Inlet Basin
Water Flushes Deep Inlet in Late Summer / Early Fall
Manning, Hamme, Bourbonnais (2010) Mar Chem
Water Flushes Deep Inlet in Most Years
Figure courtesy of Steve Hallam at UBC
Picture an Aquarium (bathtub / tank) with a Partition Through the Middle. You’ve Put Water on One Side and Air on the Other. What Will Happen if You Suddenly Remove the Partition?
Saanich Inlet Experiences a Bottom Water “Renewal” When Dense Water Outside the Inlet Spills Over the Sill
Dense Salty Water Comes from the 0cean
Masson and Cummins (2004) J Mar Res
Tides Mix up the Water as it Flows Over Sills on the Way to Saanich Inlet
Tidal Currents Vary Over Time
One month record of tidal currents in Active Pass
WWW Tide/Current Predictor: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide
Sill Mooring Records High Density Water Spilling into Saanich Inlet When Current Speeds are Lowest
Sill Mooring Records High Oxygen Water Spilling into Saanich Inlet When Current Speeds are Lowest
Buoy Profiling System
Profiling Mooring Records High Density Water Filling Deep Saanich Inlet When Current Speeds are Lowest
Profiling Mooring Records Oxygenated Water Filling Deep Saanich Inlet When Current Speeds are Lowest
Oxygen In Renewed Deep Water is Consumed Quickly
