Some Characteristics of Nitinat Lake, An Inlet on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Northcote, T. G.; Wilson, Mildred Stratton; Hurn, D. R.

doi:10.1139/f64-097

Cited by 22 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The physical and chemical features of Lake Nitinat have been described by NORTHCOTE, WILSON and HURN (1964) and by RICHARDS, CLINE, BROENKOW and ATKINSON (1965). The restricted entrance and freshwater influx result in a strong halocline that restricts vertical circulation so that anoxic conditions develop below about 30 m. Hydrogen sulfide concentrations increase with depth, reaching more than 300 ~g-atom S 2--S/1.…”

Section: Environments Where Methane Has Been Observedmentioning

confidence: 99%

The occurrence and distribution of methane in the marine environment

Atkinson

Richards

1967

Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts

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The distributions of methane dissolved in the sulfide-bearing waters of the Black Sea, the Cariaco Trench, and Lake Nitinat are reported. The gas was not detected in the oxygen-deficient water of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, in the Santa Barbara Basin, nor in the sulfide-bearing water of Saanich Inlet. Maximum concentrations observed were 70/~mole CH4/1., and the distribution tends to follow that of sulfide. The data indicate that methane is derived from organic compounds not containing nitrogen or phosphorus and that its formation is much slower than that of sulfide. The solubility coefficient in seawater (salinity = 40No) is 0.021 1. (S.T.P.)/1. at 30°C and increases to 0.041 at 5°C. The processes by which methane may be formed in the marine environment are discussed. I N T R O D U C T I O N LITTLE is known of methane in marine environments. Although it is reportedly present, probably in large amounts, in the depths of the Black Sea (KRISS, 1949, 1962), there are no data or references to substantiate the supposition. Large quantities of methane have been found in the saline, anoxic bottom water of a number of stranded fjords, including Rorholtfjord (STROM, 1957), Tronstadtvatn, and Birkelandvatn (HoLTEN, 1965) in southern Norway, Botnvatn (STROM, 1961) in northern Norway, and Powell Lake on the southern coast of British Columbia (WILLIAMS, MATHEWS and PICKARD, 1961). These environments all contain relict seawater from which the sulfate has been removed by sulfate-reducing bacteria. KARABABA (1964) concluded, from the absence of bubbles in samples from depth in the Black Sea, that the gas was absent. Mass spectrometric analysis of gas extracted from Santa Barbara Basin sediments indicated the presence of methane, but it was apparently absent from the water column (EMERY and HOGGAN, 1958). REVELLE (1950) found appreciable amounts of an unidentified flammable gas in the lower parts of several cores of diatomaceous mud from the Gulf of California. Observations of the gas in Lake Nitinat, an anoxic fjord on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, were made by RICHARDS, CLINE, BROENKOW and ATKINSON (1965). The occurrences reviewed above appear to concern methane that is still at or near the site of its origin in anoxic sediments or water. DLrNLAI', BRADLEY and MOORE (1960) observed methane in seawater associated with oil or gas seeps which they define as oil or gas present in sufficient quantities to appear as a distinct phase at the surface. These occurrences are of a different nature (although they may well be *Contribution No.

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Section: Environments Where Methane Has Been Observedmentioning

confidence: 99%

The occurrence and distribution of methane in the marine environment

Atkinson

Richards

1967

Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts

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“…They showed that Nitinat Lake was a rather extreme example of the local fjords, the bottom waters of which are sometimes not renewed for a number of years, so that temporary anoxia may occur. Northcote et al (1964) found that a sharp pycnocline existed in the upper 10 m of Nitinat Lake and that the water below about 20-50 m was anoxic. It was not clear at the time of this study whether the anoxia was temporary or permanent; subsequent researchers suggested the latter.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Average fjord depth (volume/surface area) is about 100 m (Northcote et al 1964). Nitinat Lake is separated from the ocean by the Narrows, a shallow channel (depths 2-5 m at low tide) some 3 km in length that measures as few as 60 m wide at the ocean entrance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical, chemical, and microbial regimes in an anoxic fjord (Nitinat Lake)

Pawlowicz

Baldwin

Muttray

et al. 2007

Limnology & Oceanography

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New observations of physical, biological, and chemical parameters were obtained between July 2003 and February 2005 in Nitinat Lake, British Columbia, a permanently anoxic seawater fjord. These observations include continuous profiles of nitrate and bisulfide using a new instrument for in situ ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Anoxic seawaters in this 200-m-deep basin can be found as shallow as 7 m. However, Nitinat Lake is surprisingly dynamic, with a deep-water renewal time of only about 5 yr and significant spatial and temporal variability. Exchange with the ocean is limited by the size of the linking channel, and during low tides the outflow is subject to an hydraulic control. This nonlinearity causes a relatively large fortnightly cycle in water level and explains flooding events associated with heavy rainstorms. In addition, the restricted flow makes deep-water renewal gradual so that anoxic conditions are preserved. Intermediate waters (5-40 m in depth) are renewed alternately by oxygenation from surface mixing in winter and by upwelling of anoxic water and horizontal inflow of subducted ocean water in summer. The horizontal inflow results in a subsurface region of suboxic water in mid-fjord during summer. No suboxic regime is evident at either the river end of Nitinat Lake (where oxygen and sulfide-rich regions adjoin in a nitrate-depleted water column) or at the ocean end of Nitinat Lake (where oxygen and nitrate-rich regions sometimes overlap with sulfide-rich regions). Maximum phytoplankton levels near the surface are high in both winter and summer. A second peak in biological activity appears near the anoxic boundary, possibly as a result of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Sulfate-reducing bacteria are also present in anoxic water in both seasons and just above the oxic/anoxic interface in winter and just above the suboxic/anoxic interface in summer.

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“…As an example, consider the unusual return of chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta to Nitinat Lake on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 1972. Nitinat Lake is really a saline fjord with a very shallow sill at its mouth; its surface waters are made brackish and sometimes quite fresh by the inflow of the Nitinat River (Northcote et al 1964). Ordinarily, the return of chum salmon to the lake is too small to support a commercial fishery.…”

Section: Anomaliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of Climate Change for Fisheries Management Policy

Healey

1990

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society

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It is now generally agreed that world climate will warm significantly over the next half century, but the effects of that warming on fishery resources are uncertain. Unpredictable changes in biological systems that result from perturbations such as climatic warming can be classified into four types: (1) changes that are consistent with current equilibrium models (predictions); (2) high-frequency, short-lived changes that cannot be predicted by current models (noise); (3) low-frequency, short-lived changes that cannot be predicted by current models (anomalies); and (4) low-frequency, long-lived changes that cannot be predicted by current models (catastrophes). Climatic change is a gradual process and the responses of biological systems are generally expected to be of the first type. However, increases in both the frequency and amplitude of the other types of response cannot be ruled out. The typical, incremental, remedial policy adjustment of governments and agencies is unsuited to uncertain changes in fishery resource dynamics of types 2-4, particularly those of type 4. An emphasis on mitigating the effects of climatic change is also likely to be unsuccessful because it focuses on the status quo and ignores opportunities that may be inherent in the changes taking place. Bolder policies that involve adaptation to new climate conditions and experimental probing of system behavior are more likely to be successful.

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Some Characteristics of Nitinat Lake, An Inlet on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

The occurrence and distribution of methane in the marine environment

The occurrence and distribution of methane in the marine environment

Physical, chemical, and microbial regimes in an anoxic fjord (Nitinat Lake)

Implications of Climate Change for Fisheries Management Policy

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