Four Pleistocene formations in southwest British Columbia: their implications for patterns of sedimentation of possible Sangamonian to early Wisconsinan age

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1232-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Hicock ◽  
John E. Armstrong

Semiahmoo and Dashwood drifts were deposited during the penultimate glaciation, and Highbury Sediments and Muir Point Formation during the last interglacial. These sediments are defined and described, and stratotypes are established for them.Based on arboreal pollen assemblages, lithologic similarity, and relative stratigraphic position, Semiahmoo Drift of the Fraser Lowland is tentatively correlated with Dashwood Drift of Vancouver Island. Stone provenance, till fabrics, glaciotectonic structures, cross-bedding, and stone imbrication indicate that regional ice and meltwater flowed out of major fiords in the Coast Mountains and into the ancestral Strait of Georgia during the penultimate glaciation. Ice flowed southeastward against the east coast of Vancouver Island, and down the axis of the strait. Pollen and molluscs in Semiahmoo and Dashwood fossiliferous muds give evidence of transition from glaciomarine to marine conditions at the close of the penultimate glaciation.Highbury Sediments of the Fraser Lowland perhaps correlate with the Muir Point Formation of Vancouver Island, based on lithologic similarity and relative stratigraphic position. Stone provenance and paleocurrent data indicate that stream flow during the last interglacial issued from nearby mountains and onto coastal floodplains that shelved into the ancestral Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait. Abundant Pseudotsuga and Tsuga heterophylla pollen indicate that climate during that time was at least as warm as the present.

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1645-1657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville F. Alley ◽  
Steven C. Chatwin

The major Pleistocene deposits and landforms on southwestern Vancouver Island are the result of the Late Wisconsin (Fraser) Glaciation. Cordilleran glaciers formed in the Vancouver Island Mountains and in the Coast Mountains had advanced down Strait of Georgia to southeastern Vancouver Island after 19 000 years BP. The ice split into the Puget and Juan de Fuca lobes, the latter damming small lakes along the southwestern coastal slope of the island. During the maximum of the glaciation (Vashon Stade), southern Vancouver Island lay completely under the cover of an ice-sheet which flowed in a south-southwesterly direction across Juan de Fuca Strait, eventually terminating on the edge of the continental shelf. Deglaciation was by downwasting during which ice thinned into major valleys and the strait. Most upland areas were free of ice down to an elevation of 400 m by before 13 000 years BP. A possible glacier standstill and (or) resurgence occurred along Juan de Fuca Strait and in some interior upland valleys before deglaciation was complete. Glacial lakes occupied major valleys during later stages of deglaciation.


1954 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 501-506
Author(s):  
W. E. Barraclough ◽  
M. Waldichuk

An attempt is made from oceanographical observations to explain the occurrence of certain bathypelagic species of fish which have been captured in the bottom waters of the southern Strait of Georgia. It is noted that there is a considerable seaward surface Sow of water from the Fraser River. The water from intermediate depths over the continental shelf forms the inflowing deep water of Juan de Fuca Strait mixing with the Fraser River water in the turbulent channels of the San Juan Archipelago. This mixture forms the deep inflowing water of southern Strait of Georgia and the outflowing surface water of the Juan de Fuca Strait as shown by salinity distribution and current measurements. The net inward movement of deep water is suggested as an agent of transport or a directive factor for the occurrence of these fish in this region. Physical and chemical conditions of the deep water in the Strait of Georgia are shown to be only slightly different from those found in the intermediate offshore water. It is probable that a combination of factors provides conditions suitable for survival of these species in the deep water of the southern Strait of Georgia.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Allen ◽  
Tereza Jarnikova ◽  
Elise Olson ◽  
Debby Ianson

<p>Coastal regions by their very nature are dynamically diverse.  Within one geographical region there are often multiple areas dominated by substantially different dynamics that shape not only the physical characteristics but also the ecosystem.  The Salish Sea, in the northeast Pacific, is an excellent example with strongly tidally mixed regions, freshwater-dominated regions, and regions directly influenced by the open ocean.  These regions are generally well known and multiple disciplines refer to them with various boundaries and under various names.  Here we use unsupervised clustering on numerical model results to formalize these regional provinces.  The model is SalishSeaCast,  a three-dimensional real-time coupled bio-chem-physical model based on the NEMO framework.  We find that the regions clustered on ecosystem variables (phytoplankton biomass) spatially coincide with those clustered on physical variables, particularly the stratification as diagnosed by the halocline depth.  The clusters are robust across years with interannual variability manifesting mostly in changes in the size of the clusters.  As the clusters are dynamically distinct, they provide a natural framework on which to evaluate the model against observations.  We find that the model accurately simulates each of the major clusters.  The spatial and temporal resolution of the model can then characterize these different clusters more systematically than the observations, revealing biases associated with sparse sampling in the observations. Two examples will be given, one addressing a long-standing issue of the productivity gradient in the stratified main basin, the Strait of Georgia, and another concerning the seasonal cycle of productivity in the ocean-influenced Juan de Fuca Strait.</p>


1961 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1027-1071 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Herlinveaux ◽  
J. P. Tully

The distribution and structure of dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature and density, and their seasonal and tidal variations are summarized, and related to the tidal and estuarine mechanisms.Juan de Fuca Strait is a complex, deep, positive estuary. It is divided into inner and outer parts by a sill extending southward across the channel from Victoria, B.C. The Inner Strait is separated from the Strait of Georgia by the San Juan Archipelago. The water structure in the Strait of Georgia is highly stratified due to the shallow brackish upper zone maintained by the Fraser River discharge. This brackish water tends persistently seaward due to the estuarine mechanism. In the passages through the San Juan Archipelago the shallow and deep waters are mixed to near homogeneity by the turbulent tidal flows. In the Inner Strait the stratification is small. Part of this mixed water is fed back into the lower zone of the Strait of Georgia, and part escapes seaward in the upper zone of the outer part of Juan de Fuca Strait, where it overruns the intruding ocean water, creating a new stratification. The ebb flow is stronger than the flood in this upper zone, and the halocline is deepest on the northern side of the strait.The flood flow, augmented by the deep inflow required by the estuarine mechanism, is strongest in the lower zone. Here the ocean waters advance over the sill during the flood flow, but do not retreat during the ebb flow, which is relatively weak. These ocean waters are incorporated with the mixed waters in the Inner Strait. This mechanism is a tidal pump.The concentration of fresh water in the upper zone of Juan de Fuca Strait varies from 2 to 6% during the year. The amount (depth of fresh water when separated from the ocean water in the system) varies from 1 to 7 m. In this and all other properties there is a gradient from the Strait of Georgia into the Inner Strait. In the Outer Strait there are cross-channel gradients, but none longitudinally.Throughout the system the density structure is salinity dominated. During the summer the thermocline coincides with the halocline. In winter the waters are isothermal, or the upper waters become slightly colder than the deep waters. Then the stability depends on the salinity structure alone.The salinity is a linear function of temperature within 0.1 °C, except at the surface in summer. The slope of the relation varies with time (season) and location. The relation shows that the waters throughout the system are mixtures of ocean water and brackish water from the Strait of Georgia, and tributary inlets.


1941 ◽  
Vol 5b (4) ◽  
pp. 398-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Tully

The nature of the surface non-tidal circulation in the sea in the approaches to Juan de Fuca strait, latitude 48°30′N., longitude 125°00′W., is interpreted from stream line diagrams, four of which are reproduced. It is shown that the system represents a balance between a wake stream flow from Juan de Fuca strait, which is directly related to the volume of land drainage, and the independent wind-driven currents, which are due to one of the two prevailing coastwise winds in the area.


1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 913-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald, O. Hodgins ◽  
Ruben Solis ◽  
Robert Martin

ABSTRACT In estuaries and coastal waterways oil spill models must be coupled with hydrodynamic models to give accurate slick predictions. Two case studies show how the UNIX-based SPILLSIM model can be used to advantage with either two-dimensional finite-element current models (Galveston Bay) or three-dimensional current models (Juan de Fuca-Strait of Georgia waterway).


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