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Today the edits to the plan were minor, and we have started our final push. The weather is grey, with low clouds, irregular seas, and cool temperatures. The forecast calls for an increase in the SE wind. The MVP remains in the water nearly all day, with periodic checks on the fish to inspect for … Continued

The bumpy sea abated through the night, and by morning, the winds were light and the sea a confused wash of old and dying waves. We steam along at our preferred MVP speed of eight knots, and sample with particular purpose. We’ve used the MVP to find exact locations across the continental shelf front for our … Continued

The sea is constantly changing, and today, it was a shift toward the rough side, as the forecast for gale force winds proved accurate. Work continues, but with a few further shifts to plans. Until today, seas had been calm, making it easy to climb the four decks up to the observation platform to watch … Continued

The science team continues to pore over the fire hose of data they’ve collected from CTD casts and the Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP). As they’ve begun to delineate places where upwelled deeper water seems to make it onto the continental shelf, they’ve had to constantly readjust plans in hopes of mapping out the most critical areas. In … Continued

Based on work so far, the team is reasonably confident that deep water’s main path into the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Salish Sea is the Juan de Fuca Canyon. But figuring out what’s happening on the continental shelf west of Vancouver is proving a more vexing question. Data to date haven’t supported the … Continued

Today, work along the Tully and Juan de Fuca Canyons has brought the oxygen story closer to focus and confirmed recent work by other scientists. Along the way, the team also made a trip to shore and began working on a high-resolution map of a submerged pinnacle. Toward the end of the day, with the … Continued

Late Tuesday, the team was able to begin its first work with the Moving Vessel Profiler (MVP). Since then, this key tool has gathered a pile of data that has provided the scientists food for serious thought as they work to decipher the confusing paths lower-oxygen water is following. The work to date confirms that … Continued

Today’s work was a study in classic oceanography that took the team to the source of the lower-oxygen water that is the focus of the expedition—and it all came with some beautiful views. There are more and more whale sightings, and albatross are constantly skimming the surface of the waves, which remain reasonably calm. During … Continued

This morning at 0800, Falkor arrived at the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait on her way offshore. There was a little fog, but everyone was pleased to find relatively calm seas in the 2-meter range. The acoustic Doppler current profiler ran all night during the steam from the Straight of Georgia, through Haro Strait, … Continued

This morning at 0900, after two full days of loading and prep, Falkor slipped the dock and headed north out of Nanaimo into the central Strait of Georgia. Just north of the Departure Bay – Horseshoe Bay ferry route that runs from Nanaimo to toward Vancouver, the ship parked for some critical equipment tests. The … Continued