Passamaquoddy Bay Monthly CTD Profiles 1989-2018

1989 to 2018 monthly oceanographic profiles from 25 monitoring stations in Passamaquoddy Bay, collected using a Sea-Bird Electronics SBE 19 CTD. The program systematically measured conductivity, temperature, and depth at 2 Hz, with data binned into 1-meter intervals after processing. Dr. Shawn Robinson of the St. Andrews Biological Station initiated and maintained this long-term monitoring effort.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in salinity and temperature across the 25-station grid to study climate change impacts on the bay.
• Model spatial patterns of water properties using the 2 Hz conductivity and depth measurements binned into 1-meter profiles.
• Correlate Secchi disk measurements with processed CTD data to assess water clarity and its relationship with other oceanographic parameters.
• Investigate the effect of the 1992 pump installation on data consistency for salinity measurements across the time series.

Strengths

• 29-year continuous monthly time series from 1989 to 2018 provides a long-term baseline.
• Systematic spatial coverage from a uniform grid of 25 monitoring stations.
• High-resolution 2 Hz sampling of conductivity, temperature, and depth, later processed into 1-meter binned profiles.
• Data underwent quality processing to remove spikes, density inversions, and equilibration anomalies.

Limitations

• Sample data and specific row/column counts are unavailable, making initial assessment of data volume and structure difficult.
• The description notes a change in measurement methodology (addition of a pump in 1992), which may introduce a step-change in data characteristics.
• Geographic scope is limited to the Passamaquoddy Bay area, limiting broader regional analysis.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews Biological Station.

Collection Method

Monthly CTD casts from research vessels (R/V Pandalus, CCGS Viola M. Davidson) using a Sea-Bird Electronics SBE 19 CTD, with data processed using Sea-Soft software and stored in a DFO Oracle database.

Time Range

1989-2018

Freshness

Data collection ended in 2018; metadata was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Passamaquoddy Bay area, Canada.