Port of Saint John Coastal Oceanography Data 2019-2024

The Port of Saint John region in Canada contains continuous oceanographic monitoring data from 2019 onward, including temperature, salinity, depth, and turbidity. Data collection uses bottom-mounted instruments, surface moorings, and hard-mounted sensors across diverse environments like rivers, marshes, and a Marine Protected Area. This dataset captures dynamic salt-fresh water balance and seasonal coastal dynamics in a highly tidal area.

Use Cases

• Analyze temperature and salinity time series to model seasonal dynamics and salt-fresh water balance in the lower Saint John river.
• Investigate turbidity data from August 2020 onward to assess sediment transport and water clarity in coastal fringe marshes and embayments.
• Use depth and temperature profiles from bottom-mounted instruments to study water column stratification in the Musquash estuary Marine Protected Area.
• Correlate sensor data from intertidal zones with tidal cycles, accounting for periods of data loss during low tide events.

Strengths

• Continuous monitoring of key oceanographic parameters like temperature, salinity, and depth since 2019, providing a multi-year time series.
• Data collection covers a broad range of environments including rivers, coastal marshes, embayments, and a Marine Protected Area.
• Dataset is actively maintained, with updates in April 2025 to include 2023-24 data and corrections to historical records.

Limitations

• Data from intertidal instruments is interrupted during low tide events when water level drops below the sensor, causing gaps of 1-2 hours.
• The specific number of data points (rows), measurement frequency, and spatial resolution of sensor locations are not provided.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Coastal Environmental Baseline Program.

Collection Method

Data collected via bottom-mounted instruments in 10-50 meter depths, buoyant surface moorings, and hard-mounted instruments in intertidal zones.

Time Range

2019 onward, with turbidity data from August 2020.

Freshness

Data includes records up to 2024, with the dataset last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Port of Saint John and approaches vicinity, including lower Saint John River, Kennebecasis River, coastal marshes, embayments, and Musquash Estuary Marine Protected Area, Canada.