Atlantic Zone Bottom Salinity Time Series at Quebec Stations

2014-2023 bottom salinity data from 49 stations in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, with time series for June and autumn surveys. The dataset includes CSV files with columns for Station, Latitude, Longitude, Date(UTC), Sounding(m), Depth/Profondeur(m), and Salinity/Salinité. Data was collected by Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program to track marine environmental changes.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in Salinity/Salinité at specific Station locations like the Rimouski fixed station.
• Map spatial salinity gradients using Latitude and Longitude coordinates across the 49 stations.
• Correlate Salinity/Salinité with Depth/Profondeur(m) to understand vertical structure in the water column.
• Build time series models using Date(UTC) and Salinity/Salinité to forecast changes in marine conditions.

Strengths

• Provides a decade of temporal coverage from 2014 to 2023 for seasonal (June and autumn) surveys.
• Includes data from 49 distinct monitoring stations, comprising 3 fixed stations and 46 transect stations.
• Data is collected under a standardized national monitoring protocol (AZMP sampling protocol).

Limitations

• The 2020 June survey was not sampled, creating a temporal gap in the time series.
• Sample data and specific row counts are unavailable, making initial assessment of data volume difficult.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Quebec region (Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence) of the Atlantic Zone.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP).

Collection Method

Salinity determined from CTD profiles according to the AZMP sampling protocol at fixed and transect stations.

Time Range

2014-2023 for mean layers; individual station data extends from program inception (1998).

Freshness

Data is updated as of March 2026, with surveys conducted annually.

Geography

Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, under the Quebec region of the Atlantic Zone.