Clayoquot Sound Harmful Algal Blooms Investigation of Tofino Inlet - 2019

Abstract

The University of Washington Tacoma has conducted yearly summer research expeditions to Clayoquot Sound along the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia since in 2000. Data collected in the region examined the changing conditions in water properties at 86 different sites in Clayoquot Sound every summer. This research focused on the data collected from Tofino Inlet in 2019 and was compared to the Tofino Inlet data from 2014. Data was analyzed using GIS maps of nutrient distribution and contour profile plots to determine if rising temperatures from "the Blob", a warm water anomaly, created more favorable conditions for harmful algal blooms. The 2014 data had some stations with higher surface nutrients than 2019, while 2019 had some stations with higher bottom nutrients when compared to 2014. There was also an overall pattern in Tofino Inlet of warmer temperatures in 2019 than in 2014.