-.

REPORT TO
NATIONAL MARINE
FISHERIES SERVICE

g Ym II
eJJllJil iO
IN HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE
AND VICINITY
NEW BRUNSWICK , CANADA

D.E. GASKIN
G.J .O. SMITH
B. VAN NESS

A REPORT TO THE NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE

"ENVIRONM ENTAL CONDITIONS

IN HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE AND VICINITY
NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA WITH SPECIAL
REFERENCE TO VISIBILITY AND SOME LOCAL
WATER MOVEMENTS

D.E.GASKIN
G.J.D.SMITH
B. VAN NESS
OEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
GUE~PH

ONTARIO CANADA
N1G 2Wl

SEPTEMBER 1979
@

DATA IN THIS REPORT MAY ONLY BE CITED WITH THE

WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE SENIOR AUTHOR

CONTENTS
1.0

INTRODUCTION . ,.

2.0

CURRICULUM VITAE OF SENIOR AUTHOR

.3. 0 METHODS
4.0

,.

4
,

VISI BILITY IN THE QUODDY REGIO N.

OBSERVATI ON~ BY MONTH

4.1

4.2

4.1.1.

CHANGES FROMMONTH TO MONTH

DURH~ G THE SUM
MER

10

4.1.2.

DAILY CHANGE S WITH RESP ECT

TO WI ND DI RECTION AND TIDE PHASE

18

4.1.3.

THE RAPIDITY OF CHANGES IN

FOG 01 STRIBUTION

19

VISIBILITY - CONCLUSIONS

32

5.0 SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE DRIFT - SOME NEW DATA

5.1

5.2

33

SURFACE MOVEMENTS IN AREAS ADJACENT TO

HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE, 1977-1979

35

5.1.1.

LETITE PASSAGE

38

5.1.2.

SIMPSONS PASSAGE - FISH HARBOUR .. ,

38

5.1.3.

CHANNELS BETWEEN THE ISLANDS DIRECTLY

ADJACENT TO HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE

39

5.1.4.

6.0

5.1.3.1.

WHITE I - NUBBLE I CHANNEL

39

5.1.3.2.

NUBBLE I - MOWAT I CHANNEL

39

5.1.3.2.

HOSPITAL I - TIN KER I CHANNEL

39

SURFACE DRIFT - CONCLUSIONS

40

SUBSURFACE CU RRENT MEASUREMENTS

44

5.2.1.

SIMPSONS PASSAGE

44

5.2.2.

SUBSU RFACE ~10VEMENT - CONCLUSIONS

44

REFERENCES

................. .

. 46

1.0

INTRODUCTION

The University of Guelph, Department of Zoology has maintained a working

presence in the outer part of the Quoddy region since the summer of 1969.
From the outset of the marine mammal program conducted by the research group,
data have been collected on the weather conditions in the area between Deer
Island and the Wolves Islands, outside Passamaquoddy Bay.
Because accurate determination of sightings per unit effort is a vital
factor in population studies of cetaceans under conditions when no captures
can be made, a study of visibility conditions under varying types of cloud
cover and sun angle has occupied much of our attention.
As a result we have accumulated a significant number of observations on
the presence and formation of fog banks in the approaches to the Quoddy
region. These data are frequently supported .by information on wind speeds,
precipitation, wind direction, and barometric pressure.
During 1969-75 we were relying on barometric data and forecasting from
the radio station at Yarmouth, N.S.; during the last 4 years we have set up
our own meteorological equipment at Lords Cove, N.B ., whlch is serviced
daily during the period (usually June to October), that personnel are in
attendance. Data collected at Lords Cove are always supplemented by visual
and instrument readings taken at sea from the research vessel during actual
operations . During periods at sea, weather and sea conditions are recorded
every three hours.
Since data were often taken under these circumstances, we are in a position to provide some information on the rapidi ty with which visibility conditions can deteriorate or improve within the Quoddy region.
The Pittston Company has filed application to build a supertanker terminal and oil refinery at Eastport, Me, at the lower end of Head Harbour
Passage, New Brunswick, Canada. The government agencies of both the United
States and Canada are seriously concerned at the possible hazards to shipping,
the marine life, and the physical environment which would arise if large
tankers used this narrow passage at frequent intervals.
The Pittston Company has asserted that regular passage through Head
Harbour can be made with a very low risk of grounding or collision. Obviously
visibility has an important bearing on this issue , and the authors have agreed
to make their data and conclusions available to the appropriate working group
of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the United States.

2.0

CURRICULUM VITAE OF SENIOR AUTHOR

Dr. D.E. Gaskin, born 21 June 1939, presently Associate Professor

of Marine Biology at the University of Guelph , Guelph, Ontario, Canada
N1G 2Wl. He has held a position at the University of Guelph since
December 1968. Currently Dr . Gaskin is responsible for the Marine
Biology Option and its facilities at the University of Guelph , and operates a small research station at Lord's Cove, Deer Island, New Brunswick
as a base for cetacean studies by the University.
Dr. Gaskin graduated with Special Honours in Zoology at the
University of Bristol, England, in early 1961. Following this, he
joined the Institute of Oceanography of the United Kingdom and the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, holding a joint appointment
during 1961 and 1962 while he served with the floating whaling factory
expedition "Southern Venturer", operating in the Southern Ocean in the
vicinity of the Falkland Islands Dependencies. After this appointment
he accepted a post with the Fisheries Research Division of the New
Zealand Government and, based in Wellington, studied the humpback and
sperm whale populations of the Western South Pacific and the Ross Sea
until early 1965. He returned to this region again in 1966-67 on appointment with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to
work the summer season as a biologist on the Japanese whale research
vessel Chiyoda Maru #5 in the South Pacific.
With the cessation of whaling in New Zealand Dr. Gaskin accepted
a faculty appointment at Massey University, New Zealand, and lectured in
ecology, fisheries, and population dynamics -until December 1968, when he
moved to Canada. Dr. Gaskin received his Ph.D . after part~time study at
Massey, i n 1968 .
As well as the degree of Ph.D., Dr. Gaskin is M.I.Biol . (London)
and F.R.E.S. (London). He has published about 65 papers, most of them
. concerning Cetacea, in refereed primary scientific 1iterature, has
published two books on the Cetacea, and is currently writing another for
Heinemann Educational Boo ks International. Dr. Gaskin has worked in
various capacities with the International Whaling Commission since 1962,
including being New Zealand scientific representative until 1968, and an
advisor to the Small Whale Subcommittee of the Scientific Committee of
the IWC.
He is currently a member of the Population Biology Grants Committee
of the National Research Council of Canada.

3.0 METHODS
Visual observations of weather conditions in the study region have
been made since 1970, both from the field station at Lords Cove, Deer
Island, and from each working vessel used by us in the area.
Positions of fog banks were determined visually, with reference to
the many landmarks of the Inner Quoddy region, whic:1 permitted their fronts
to be mapped quite accurately.
Wind speeds in 1970-76 were measured with reference to the Beaufort
Sea State/Wind scale, judged f rom surface water conditions. In SUbsequent
years a portable wind gauge was mounted on the main research vessel, and
readings taken every three hours, or on occasions when a significant wind
velocity change was noted. Wind direction was determined with a portable
wind vane mounted on the port side of the vessel; this was used in conjunction with a magnetic compass. Wind directions were usually only measured
to the nearest 450 because of rapid veering among the island chains; but
sometimes winds remained steady from one direction only. All wind directions
have been corrected to true north in this report.
Precipitation was measured with a standard rain gauge mounted at the
fiel d st at i on. Air temperatures were recorded with a standard maximumj
minill%! thermometer at the field station, and supplemented by direct measurement s ~ a ken at sea. Sea temperatures were recorded with a Beckmann RS-5
sal i n !inet er/ t he rrni st.or uni t. Currents were recorded with an Eckman Current
Meter. Relatively few current measurements have been made because of our
limited resources, and the fact that current studies are extremely time and
labour-intensive.
Surface drift measurements were made using circular drift markers
modified from those described by Hamner and Hauri (1977), which were used
with great success to map fine-scale oceanographic drift in coastal waters
of northern Australia. Once again the number of measurements are relatively
limited, since a great deal of time and effort is required to maintain contact
with these drift discs once a batch has been released.

PASSAMAQUODDY
BAY

6;00'

~c:::::s

'-..,

ADAMS PASSAGE

~t::) .
SPRUCE
ISLA ND
SANDY ISLAND

WHITEHORSE
ISLAND

X:-;

~~

X:-~~

~~

!!. . 6",,'
<-" y~ EAST QUODDY
~~
,
LIGHT

~~
00<>

r-:

-;

Q~
~~(A~D '
.

t76 Mo WAT I '

.~c>NUBBLEI , p .....
~

'"

'" ADAMS I
~&

./'

~ .Yj?BAR NES

\V :;;

-?J'

~OJ'-?~
f.l.J :
~4':r.
C!J

~ ~.'Jr <v

.' ,0::
,

I RI S

WA-rtR

JJ~ ~"

Q'O
a

N~ f

c?

LITTL E
LET IT E "

, [}(<"/'/~
~s oo

GRAND MANAN
OFF MAP)

'V

<0

.0

"T'l

r-

):>

rn

-I

rn

-I

:z

I:::'

rn

o
:z

-I
.....

:z

:s::

:z

w~ ;
INNER
BAY OF FUNDY
(OUTER QUODD Y c
REGION) CJ ISLANDS

BLACKS
HARBOUR

ro
n

..J.

4.0

VISIBILITY ON THE QUODDY REGION

The nature of our research has dictated that the authors and their
associates have had to spend many weeks at sea in the. vicinity of Head
Harbour Passage during the period 1970-1979. During these ten years we
have developed a considerable respect for the rapidity with which visibility can change in this region. Attempting to predict what changes are
going to occur is an essential part of the effort necessary to make our
operations as safe as any can be at sea.
Yet even with the assistance of the accumulated wisdom of many local
fishermen and OUI~ colleagues at Marine Research Associates in Lords Cove,
who have also worked for many years in this region, it is difficult to draw
up a set of hard and fast rules to predict how fog will develop in this area
and when it does, for how long and in what density or form it will persist .
As a general rule, any wind shift into the east or south east in the
presence of an advancing front will bring about the development of fog in
this region. Such fog is usually preceeded by rain, and may persist for
some days if there is no wind change. This does not mean that fog cannot
persist under other wind conditions; we usually expect fog to disperse
under NW or northerly winds, but we have records of fog intensifying under
these conditions, particularly when a warm front is advancing across the
Ma rit i mes.
Fog which burns off during the day is a very frequent feature of the
summer months, and can occur even under stable high pressure conditions; it
is the result of the interplay of the rather cold water of the Bay of Fundy,
the layer of cool air just above it, and the warm masses of air which move
off the land in the prevailing westerly airstream in these months. This type
of fog may not in fact reform until the night hours; it is a frequent observation that one can retire to bed on a perfectly clear night at Deer Island,
yet wake on. an otherwise fine day to intense morning coastal fog.
One of the most dangerous conditions occurs when a persistent offshore
fog bank begins to move, or become extended under the influence of a change
in wind direction or an increase in wind velocity, or both. We have presented a series of illustrations (Figs. 7-10) to show how fast such a change
can take place. These rapid changes in position are particularly important
for a ship whi ch must enter the region at a particular tidal "launch window",
and which begins to experience such a shift in a fog bank once it becomes
committed to the passage of the island narrows.
While zones of thin summer haze may be present at any time, our use of
"f'oq" in this report is limited to conditions when visibility is little above

zero, and navigation must be carried out by instruments alone.

We have concerned ourselves only with limitations of visibility brought
about by fog. During the summer months days may be experienced when rain
without fog will reduce visibility to less than 0.5 mile, and in summer snow
will sometimes reduce visibility to barely 0.1 mile in squalls. All visibility restrictions discussed in this report must therefore, be considered the
MINIMUM which can be expected.

4.1.

OBSERVATIONS BY MONTH

.
Since our presence in the Quoddy region each year is largely concerned
with our food chain studies, especially with . respect to large whales,
harbour porpoise and seabirds, the observations are naturally clustered
around those months within which such studies can be carried out profitably
in the highly seasonal environmental conditions extant in the Bay of Fundy.
Certain months (for example Ap ril, November and December) have been worked
only once by us, simply to observe pre-concentration and post-concentration
conditions . Most observations therefore fall between the latter part of May
and the early part of October.
We have considered the distribution and nature of visibility changes
in the Inner Quoddy region, in this case with special, in fact almost
exclusive reference to the passages between Deer Island and Campobello
Island; and the outer approache s to Head Harbour Passa ge and its environs
(i.e. the area between Blacks Harbour, the Wolves Islands, the northern
extremity of Campobello Island and Bliss Island) .
The number of days for which records were kept for each month, the
number of days with complete or partial fog, and the percentage of days
within the monthly total observations when either total or some degree of fog
was experienced, are shown in Table 1. We have no reason to believe that
the sample periods for May through to October are other than generally representative of the conditions which may occur in these months in an average
year. There is relatively little difference in the percentage of days with
some fog in May to August, although the percentage of days with total fog
does decrease as the summer season progresses; in this the tables bear out
the general subjective impression of those who have resided in the area for
many years but who have not collected records. It is important however, to
point out that fog can be quite local in this region ; Lords Cove itself, and
Passamaquoddy Bay may often be completely fog-free when Head Harbour and the
other oute~ areas are covered. The lack of fog in September and October is
related to the development of the equinoxial winds in the Bay of Fundy, and
the trend towards prevailing northwesterly airstreams, instead of the weak
westerlies or southerlies which often prevail in summer under high pressure
systems. Northwesterly winds do not promote fog-forming conditions in the
fall months, it seems, although once formed, fog may not be dispersed by a
wind blowing offshore as might be expected . . The local factors involved seem
to include the balance between air temperatures over the land and over the
sea, the relative magnitude of either or both to the actual sea temperature,
and the moisture content of wind blowing off the land.

1
9

Table 1.

Month

Records of total and partial fog in the Inner Quoddy region during
field observation days in 1970-1979.*
No. of years
this
month worked
by U. of G.

Total
days of
records

Days of
partial
fog

% days
with
total
fog

Days of
total
fog

% days
with
total or
partial fog

Aprfl

May

27

26%

37%

June

68

14

21 %

32%

July

10

163

27

27

17%

33%

August

10

212

35

38

17%

34%

September

52

2%

October

20

15%

November

12

December

8.

7%

Observations are limited unfortunately, to those months when enough harbour

porpo i ses occur in the regi on to make it economi cally worthwhi 1e for the
University of Guelph to place a field team on Deer Island for extended periods.

* These are the days during the observation periods when visibility in the Head
Harbour region and adjacent areas outside Deer Island was greatly or completely
restricted by fog. This is a MINIMUM sample; there were a number of days when
visibility was greatly restricted by torrential rain or falling snow.

10

4.1.1.

CHANGES FROM MONTH TO MONTH

There are certainly significant differences in the amount of fog which

may be experienced in the Quoddy region from year to year. for example.
between August 1978 and August 1979 (Table 2). In the same table it can be
seen that the number of days with some fog was not greatly different in the
months of July on the other hand. and the number of days with total fog in
the two Julys was virtually the same. In August 1979 however, while the
number of foggy days was much less than in 1978. wind velocities were considerably higher on average. This hampered ou_ ability to work with small
boats, but would not of course, influence a large vessel under normal circumstances.
In summary, April may have on average considerable loss of visibility
through heavy rain or late snow squalls, but the differential between the
air tenlperature and the sea surface temperature is not sufficient to provide
conditions really suitable for formation of fog banks. This is not to say
that they will not occur on occasion. Similar circumstances prevail in
November and December; our observations of the last two months are not necessarily representative, since only two days of December were worked, and
the November records do not include the middle part of the month. While air
temperatures may be falling quite rapidly in late November relative to those
noted in late October and early November, the sea surface temperatures may
be lagging behind the general trend. This gives a larger differential than
might be expected at first sight. This type of differential (i.e. warm
water with cool air above it) does. not seem however. to be so conducive to
the formation of fog banks as the reverse situation, unless the cool air is
heavily laden with moisture to begin with.
The air mass over the land may begin to heat up substantially in May,
while the water temperature is only 2-5 0C. Fog is often common and persistent in this month; this is also the case in June. As the water temperatures
increase during the summer. the existing differential between air and water
temperatures tends to decrease somewhat. then increase again as the very
hot air of late July and August starts to move offshore in the prevailing
westerlies. If the moisture content of this air is less than is present in
June and early July. fog will not be formed.
As noted in the last subsection, September and October are months characterized by relatively strong winds rather-than poor visibility. although
there may be much loss of cold front activity with loss of visibility due to
heavy rain. There seems to be a common pattern whereby the weather "breaks
up" in this region during the early middle part of September, and then
stabilizes again to give an "Indian summer", with cooler air and surface
water temperatures. Upper trophic level animal activity however. decreases
significantly during the poor weather period of the early Fall, and does not
really recover again until the following summer.
In Figs. 2-6 we have displayed the positions of the leading edges of fog
banks which characterize those recorded in each month during sea-going operations on days with partial fog. All these banks remained relatively static
during the periods 'of observation; winds were light on all occasions.

3
2

0 -

evening
fog

# Days of

# Days
of a.m.
& early
p.m. fog

a
0

10

fa g

16.1

22.6

32.3

25.9**

fo g

Total # % of month
p.m. and days. with wi th some
evening fog some
inshore

# Days of

# Days of
early a. m.
and late
p.m. fog

*For July 14-17, 1978 there are no recorded weather data.

**This value takes into consideration 4 missing days of data (% figured on 27 days).

August 1979

August 1978

" J uly 1979

"

# Days of
# Days of
total fog morning fog afternoon
fog

# Days of

Detailed analysis of the temporal distribution of fog over the passages between
Deer Island and Campobello Island in July and August 1978, 1979. Offshore banks
were almost certainly present at the same time as inshore fog. In table '3 are
shown the additional days when offshore fog persisted after inshore fog lifted.

July 1978*

Month
& year

Table 2.

.....
.....

Month
& year

Table 3.

# Days of
tota 1 fog

# Days of
# Days of # Days of
morni ng fog afternoon evening
fog
fog

# Days
of a.m.
&early
p.m. fog

# Days of
early a. m.
and late
p.m. fog

Total # % of month
days with with some
p.m. and
some
offshore
evening fog
foq
fog
# Days of

Detailed analysis of the temporal di~ribution of fog banks outside of a line

from Blacks Harbour to eastern Campobello Island. These days are in addition
to those listed in ' Table 2.

13

Fig.2

KNOWN POSITIONS OF FOG BANKS DURING THE MONTH OF MAY IN PERIOD

1970-1979, DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS, ON DAYS OF PART.IAL FOG.

's

.",

...

I ETTERS

INDICATE PREVAILING WIND STREAM.

14

Fig.3.

KNOWN POSITIONS OF FOG BANKS DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE IN

1970-1979, DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS, ON DAYS OF PARTIAL FOG.
g
o~

'"

0 ",

-o

:::,,::

c::(

co

z
c::(

so

(!}

C>
1.L

(!}

C>
1.L

E
0
0

::

~.

. ~.Q

' - '----V

'8

0",

LETTERS INDICATE PREVAILING WIND STREAM.

.' --'-

Fig.4.

15
KNO~N POSItIONS OF FOG BANKS DURING THE MONTH OF JULY IN
1970-1979, DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS, ON DAYS OF PARTIAL FOG.
'o
o

.",

lJ')

o
o

5?

'8

..

.",

LETTERS INDICATE PREVAILING WIND STREAM.

.....

Fig.5.

16

KNOWN POSITIONS OF FOG BANKS DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST IN

1970-1979. DAYLIGHT CONDITWNS. ON DAYS OF PARTIA~ FQG.

LETTERS INDICATE PREVAILING WIND STREAM.

Fig.6.

17
KNOWN POSITIONS OF FaG BANKS DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER IN
1970-1979, DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS, ON DAYS OF PARTIAL FOG.
'8

..

' ",

0",

-c

(.!)

o
I.L.
E

Ii:

o
o
o

'0

or-,

-c

LETTERS INDICATE PREVAILING WIND STREAM.

18

There seems to be very little difference in configuration under different wind stream conditions. Fog banks in June are more obliquely aligned
than in other months, but this seems not to be particularly significant.

4.1.2.

DAILY CHANGES WITH RESPECT TO WIND DIRECTION AND TIDE

PHASE

Daily changes in the distribution of fog can be extensive (Figs. 7-10,

and Tables 2, 3). During July and August it is quite common for fog to
occur in the morning and burn off by noon, depending on wind conditions and
the humidity content of the air, and the differential between the air and
sea temperature, either to re-occur as evening approaches, or to reform
during the hours of darkness. Days with fog only forming in the afternoon
or the evening are rather rare (Table 2), and tend to reflect the approach
of weather frontal systems rather than the otber local changes mentioned
above.
The phase df tide certainly can have some influence on the position
of fog banks, but in general it would seem that wind direction is the prime
factor dictating the speed with which preViously static fog banks may move
and the direction of movement (Figs. 7-10).
In Figs. 2-6 we illustrate some of the common configurations which may
be found under varying wind conditions. On the whole, there seems to be
little or no significant association ' bet ween the position of the leading
edge of a fog bank in the Inner Quoddy region and the wind direction. A,
NW or WNW wind may serve to hold the fog away from the immediate coastal
belt, but not very far if the fog is heavy, and slight changes in local
wind system behaviour along the edge of Deer Island can cause the fog to ebb
and flow over a period of only a few hours, but without significant change
in the overall position of the bank. If these local air flow changes coincide with the direction in which the tide is moving, then local outward movement of fog nearly always takes place. On days when Passamaquoddy Bay and
Deer Island are themselves blanketed, this results only in a chill air
movement within the fog bank, and does not actually improve visibility in _
the Head Harbour Region. Onset of rain sometimes improves visibility, but not invariably. In general, when rain ceases, fog may re-establish itself,
or form where it did not exist previously, especially when the wind is light.
In Table 4 we outline the environmental conditions extant on days of
static fog during the observation years, in Table 5 those occurring on days
when fog moved t nsho re , and in Table 6 those when fog moved ,of f shore or burned

19

off during the day as a result of strong sunlight and lack of significant
cloud cover. Although we have only been able to run cursory statistical
comparisons because of the lack of time available to prepare this report,
we confess ourselves unable to see any kind of immediately obvious pattern
in these data. The patterns observed in the months of observation in 19701979 for maximum air temperature, average water surface temperature, the %
of days with fog, and the average wind direction;are ~isplayed in Figs.
7, 8 and 9.

4.1.3.

THE RAPIDITY OF CHANGES IN FOG DISTRIBUTION

In Figs. 10-13 we have illustrated four typical days from the JulyAugust periods of 1978 and 1979 in which, following the development of a
relatively weak but steady air mass movement with an easterly component
after a previous calm, an offshore bank of fog began to move inshore.
One is often left with the subjective impression that the fog in this
area tends to move in with the flood and move out again with the ebb tide.
These figures have been selected from a much larger number which could have
been displayed, with the specific intent of showing that this is simply
not necessar-ily the case. While the "classic" situation is depicted in
Fig. 10, with the leading edge of the bank moving inshore at about 4.3 mph
(somewhat less rapidly than the strength of the wind as observed), in the
other cases the fog is shown moving inshore during the ebb tide phase,
sometimes more rapidly than might be anticipated by the wind speed (Fig. 13).
While this seems at first inexplicable, it becomes less so when the changes
which occur during the ebb (especially during June and July, less so in
August and September) with respect to the distribution of surface temperatures
in the Inner Quoddy region are examined (Figs. 14,15). In Fig. 15 it can be
seen that the outward movement of the tidal flow brings about, or coincides
with a rather massive local upwelling of cold water from the outer Deer
Island Basin in the "River" region, and probably also from the deep trench
in Head Harbour Passage. This relatively cold water spreads out on the
surface over quite a large fraction of the outer part of the Inner Quoddy
region, and would most certainly facilitate the formation of sea fog to
join the inward-moving solid bank previously lying offshore.

Time of change

Aug 19
1500-1630
July 21
0900-1100
31
1800
Aug 25
1750-1850
May 29
1800-1940
150'0-1800
July 3
15
1500-1920
1700
Aug 4
2000
9
Aug 17
1200-1300
July 22
1100
Aug 25
1500
July 10
0900-1200
June 24
1800-2000
Aug 13' --- ' 1500- 1745 .
June 28
1530
Aug 13
1430
15
evening
July 31 1ate afternoon

Date

SSE
NE
SSW

\~

SSE*
NW

S ~ ESE
NE - t Nv!
Ny! -j N -j ENE
S
S
NE
SSE
SE
N
SSW'
W
SE

Wind
direction

5-7
0-7
0-5
0-5
5-7
7-12
no wind
12-13*
14
0-5
5-7
5-7
5-6

7-12
5-12
2-10
5-7
" ,5- 10

Average
wind
speed
(mph)

F
F
F

F
F

E
E
E
SL
F'
E
SL
E
SH
E
SH
SH
SH
, SH

Tidal
phase

24.0
21. a
23.0
15.5
18.0
16.0*
22.0
26.0
20.0
21.0
22.0

7.8
8.3
11'.3
18.6
9.3
11.0

11 .0

:1
. ,

9.0

(OC)

Di fference
of air and
water temps.

10.2
7.7
10.7
7.4**
10.7

11 .0

18.3
20.0
20.0
10.0
10.0
21.0
11 .5

(OC)

Average
surface water
temperature
( C)

Maximum
air
temp.

high
29.9 (F)
30.0
30.1

F
hi gh

high

high
high
low

Barometric
pressure
(in Hg)

En vi ronmen ta 1 data for days where fog moved inshore during the day from 1970 through 1979. For the year 1970
there were no days where movement of fog inshore was recorded. .Tf dal phases are indi cated by F - flood;
E - ebb, SH - slack high; SL - slack low.

*Before fog moved inshore.

**After fog moved inshore.

1979

1978

1976
1977

1974
1975

1973

1971
1972

Year

Table 5.

......

June
July
Aug
Aug
July

1972
1975

28

28

19
22
5
21
26
8
22
31
4
15
14
24

11

5
2

3
4
5

31

2
4
6
12
16
17
18
Oct 2
July 22
27

Oct
June
July
Aug

Aug

.J

0900-1200
afternoon
0900-1200
afternoon
1200-1500
1ate afternoon
1125-1200
early morning
2025-2125
1200
late morning
1200
0900
1200
0815
afternoon
1230
1400
1410
1400
1330
1900
1430
late morning
late morning
1ate morni ng
1ate afternoon
1ate afternoon
1ate morni ng
afternoon
1300
1130

Time of change
Wind

.1

Average
wind
speed
(mph)

5-6
5-6
6-8
9- 10
6-8

NNE
SS~'J

SE
S
S

SW

5-7
SE
S
5-12
ENE ---7 SE
3-8
E ---) S
5-12
variable
0-5
S
0-5
W-tSE
0-7
N~ E
0-5
very light
SSE
W
5-7
NE*
0-7*
SSW
0-7
E
3-12
SE
SSE*
12-13*
2
N
vJ
0-5
NE
5-7'
NNW
SSW
10-1 L

di rect i on

*After fog has moved offshore or dispersed.

**While fog was inshore.

1979

1978

1977

July
Aug
June

r~ay

1971

Date

July
Aug

1976

SL
E
SL
SL

SH
E
SH
F

F
SL
SL
E
E

SH
SL
SL
SL
SH

SL

E
E

Ti dal
phase '

23.0
30.0
LO.O
15.0
20.0
16.0
10.0
26.0
26.0
23. a
22.0
24.0
25.0
26, 0
25.0
27.0
17.0
22.0
22.0
22.0
25.0
25.0
26.0

24.0
24.0

21.0
21.0
20.0
13.0
20.5

(Oc)

Highest
recorded
air temp.

10.3
11.0
11. 0
11 .3
11 .2

11.5
10.4
9.8

7.7
10.6
7.4**
10.1*

9.9
12.3

12.5

6.0

10.8
12.4

(Oc)

Average
surface water
tempe ra tu re

11.0
13.7
13.8

10 ;5
13~ 6
15.2

8.3
.6
18.6
15.9

10. 1
2.7

11.5

7.0

10.2
8.6

(Oc)

Difference
of air and
water temps.

high
30.3 (F)
30.8
30.7 (R)
30.9 (F)
30. 1 (R)
29.9
29.6
29.9 (R)
29.9 (R) .
29.9
29.8
30. 1
29.9
30.0

rising
steady
rising
falling

rising

30.2

Barometric
pressure
(i n Hg)

I
. .I
.1
.I
J
J
.I
.1
Env i ronmenta1 data for days where fog moved offshore or dispersed duri ng the day from 1970 through 1979.
For the years 1973 and 1974 there were no such days recorded: Tidal phases are indicated by; F - fl ood;
E - ebb; SH - slack high; SL - slack low.

1970

Year

Table 6.

,I

N
N

23

Fig.7. Maximum a ~ r te ~peratu re, a ve r a ge s e a surface te mperat ur e ,

% of day s wi t h fo g, and a vera ge wind direction, for the
Inner Qu oddy reg ion, 1970 -1973.

24

Fig.B. Maximum air temperature, ave~age sea surface temperature,

% of days w~th fog, and average wind direction, for the
Inner Quoddy region, 1974-1977.

~26

ero
c:e 2 2
w
:::E:er

\ -:

~~

~~18

>< 0=

c:e W

:::E:~14
W

1-

10
.J

A
S
1974

~~13
c:e~

u..

~a:1l
Vl

:::E:

W
WI-

CI

A
1975

A
J
1976

A
S
1977

c:eo:::
ct: W

WI>c:e 7
c:e~

5
J

A
S
1974

A
1975

S * J

A
S
1977

A
S
1974

A
1975

S * J

A
S
1977

1976

80
CI
0
u,

60

:::r::
I-

;; 40
Vl

~ 20
0

1976

Fig.9.

25
Maximum air ~emperature, average sea surface temperature,
% of days with fog, and average wind direction, for the
Inner Quoddy region, 1978,1979.

~26
/YO

~~22

:::<: /Y
:::> :::>
:::<:1-18
.....
q;
x /Y
q;w

:::<: ~14
W

1-10
J

1978

D* J

1979

w~13

uo

q;~

~ 11

:::>~
<I') ::E:

WI(!)

Cl:O:
/Y W
WI-

>q; 7

. Cl: ;;;:

5
;)

1978

D* J

1979

80
(!)

0
l.L

60

::I:
I-

1\

.....
;;;: 40
<I')

>-

;3 20
~

0
J

1978

D* J

1979

I-

wu
(!) W

~~S

we

>

Cl:~E

.....

;;;:

N+-..,---.,.---...-----..-----..-----.---.----,---.-D "it J J
A
N
A S
0
J
J

1978

1979

.~.Q
~ ~

. ~

.,

"

27
Fig. 11 . TIMED MOVEMENT OF A FOG BANK FRONT ON THE EBB TIDE, UNDER THE

INFLUENCE OF A SO UTH -SOUTH-EAST WIND OF 7-12 mph.

'8

.'"

(!)

o
1..1..

o
o

- - _.- - - -l -

"".

o
o

'0

o
or-,

-c

'0

o
'\0

.... ".N
~

o
o
o

o
o
o

28

Fig.12. TIMED MOVEMENT OF A FOG BANK FRONT ON THE EBB TIDE, UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF A SOUTHEAST WIND OF 7mph.
'0
0

"

"

.....
-,

(!)

oc::(

I.J....

c:a

.,.,
0-0 -0

g
::::

o
o

l?

.
'0

e-,

-0

'8

..

0",

29
Fig.13.

TIMED MOVEMENT OF A FOG ' BANK FRONT ON THE EBB TIDE, UNDER THE
INFLUENCE OF AN EAST-NORTH-EAST WIND OF lOmph.

.~.o

'0

t-,

-<J

7 ":

.'

30
Fig.14.SURFACE TEMPERATURE REGI ME, INNER QUODDY, FLOOD TIDE, JUNE 1977

g
c

....

"

.<J

Qt;) :D

~l

U
0\

U
0\

U
0\

0\

r-;

I.D

1.0

00

r-,

1.0

.. . .. ..

II {I

,
~
c<>
<>

o
w
Z
(/)

I--<

0:: I-

::E

WI--<I-O::

I-::Eaw
:::> I--< :z: I -

(/)

lI--<

::E

:z:

I--<

-.oJ I - >-<

::E

0::: Z
W

0:::
W

I-

Z
I--<

W
0

-.oJ

31

'0
0

0..,

..

81
.<J

G0.D

O"l

O"l

O"l

O"l
I

r-,

co

r-,

. .....

III

U)

LO

LO

' .....

0..,..,

(/)

~I-

1- ......

I-::E:

w ...... O::E:
:::>......
0-1

-w

IW

---

T '
H-H+++1+I-+-H--H+++++-J-H-t-H-t-hf-++-H...,H--+B-,

(/)

I-

......

:::E:

1LI

......
Z
~ 1- ......

O:::E:
~z~

1LI
Z
Z

1LI

......

I1LI

's

..

0..,

32

4.2.

VISIBILITY IN THE QUODDY REGIpN - CONCLUSIONS

Some data on the occurrence of fog in Head Harbour Passage and the
adjacent areas of water between Campobello Island . and Deer . Island wete
.. ...
collected during 1970-1979, in all months from Aptil to the first two days
of December.
Fog was absent in April, even though visibility was reduced on 3 days .
of the 8 day observation period by rain and once by snow squalls.
There were extensive periods of fog in the months of May, June, July
and August. The respective percentages of days in these months with some
fog present, whether total or only partial,
ere 37%, 32%, 33%, and 34%.
Equivalent values for the days of total fog were 26%, 21 %, 17% and 17%.
Much less fog was recorded during 84 days of observations made in the
September to November period, coincident with a great increase in the percentage of days with wind of 15 mph or more.
A major feature of the fog in this region is the mobility of fog banks,
which may persist for days in the offshore region, especia~ly in the early
part of the summer season. That the fog comes in with the flood and goes
out with the ebb, as one is often told locally, is often, but far from invariably true. The mobility seems trr be influenced largely by wind -direc- _
. tions, rather than changes in tide flow, although the latter appears to have
some influence jn a very narrow coastal belt .
Once fog banks are established in the Inner Quoddy region, changes in
the direction of air mass flow do not necessarily themselves lead to dispersal of the banks, or great change in their configuration.
Rapid extension of the inshore extent of fog banks on the ebb tide in
the early months of the summer seems to be closely associated with the upwelling of cold bottom water which takes place as the tide turns, sharply
increasing the temperature differential between the sea surface and the air
mass above it.
Attempts to correlate the distribution and occurrence of fog and its
daily movements with other environmental factors such as changes in barometric pre ssure, air temperature, changes in magnitude of air temperature,
and changes in wind direction were far from successful. The complex
topography and the formation of "wind funnels" through Letite Passage and up
Head Harbour Passage, plus the occurrence of upwellings and shear zones in
the surface waters of the Inner Quoddy region make the process of prediction
a most difficult task.
The most reliable feature of the fog in this region has to be ironically,
its very unpredictablility. The forecasts from St. John, in our experience,
are often accurate in predicting fog along the Fundy coast when conditions
generally are poor across the region; they are much less accurate in predicting fog in this region when conditions are not poor through the province.
The influence of local factors is obviously very high.
The worst feature of the fog in this region from the point of navigation
. is the speed at which fog banks can move inshore under the right conditions,
blanketing the approaches to the Head Harbour Narrows.

33

5.0

SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE DRIFT - SOME NEW DATA

Current velocities in this region have been studied with respect to

the proposed plans for tidal power plants, and more laterly, with respect
to the proposed terminal and refinery which "ar e the subject of the present
series of reports. Data have been amply summarized for the main regions
by various authors in the Fisheries Research Board Technical report #428,
by Shenton and Horton (1973), and by Forgeron (195~).
Since these are all a matter of public record we will not discuss them
further in this report, but consider instead only new data of our own,
taken in the island channels adjacent to Head Harbour Passage and Deer
Island, which have not been examined by other workers.
In the course of our studies, we have identified a number of more or
less constant ebb features, which include weed patches in extensive surface
slicks, and what appear to be either shear zones or some other kind of surface manifestation of boundary effects. Zones of confused water, and bona
fide upwellings, have also been encountered. The latter "phenomena -l ar gel y
occur in the flood phase of tide flow in the Letite mouth of Passamaquoddy
Bay and among the island channels, and in both phases in other areas. The
rough water area off Bliss Island tends to form largely on the ebb phase.
These phenomena have been shown approximately in-Fi-g :- 16-.
Very few mtcrosca l e data can be obtained" by the use of standard drift
bottles, which are usually only retrieved when they come ashore and are
found by beachcombers and reported. The percentage recovered is fairly low.
By using the surface drift discs developed by Hamner and Hauri (1977)
and being content with tracing drift speeds only over relatively short
distances (of up to 5 km maximum), we were able to obtain for the first time
some detailed information on the small scale surface movements which can
occur, especially among the complex topography of the island channels.
Drift discs, incidentally, were only used on days of good visibility when
wind velocity was less than 5 mph. Under these conditions no significant
influence of the surface wind on the markers could be detected.
We would have liked to have more subsurface current data to present,
but, as was remarked in the footnote to Table 7, these studies are very
time consuming; the process of anchoring can take an hour or more in deep
water with a relatively fast current, and the process of freeing the anchor
afterwards can prove even more frustrating with a small vessel. With our
limitations of manpower and resources, we have greatly limited the number
of Eckman studies made, although we plan more for 1980 and the following
seasons.

1000

ff!IIIIJJt~...

"'. : ". . . . "'

. ", .

f.<:'< ::.,:. :..

~/
~
~
//uPWEL:.!.~G

OF

ZONES

.SHEARS

APPARENT

nXbOUndarieS?

eY~~~C~

WATER

CONFUSED

OF RIPS &

ZONES

FORMATION

ZONES
OF

SLi~~

II:

:..> .:~

......

"'T1

A
V>

~o
~

)::>

(/)

)::>
;;0

rrl

:r:

(/)

(/)

-0

I-t

;;0

o....,.,

:z

I-t

-I .

OJ

I-t

;;0

-I

I-t
(/)

I-'

(,Q

35

5.1.

SURFACE MOVEMENTS IN AREAS ADJACENT TO HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE,

1977-1979.

Surface movements in the areas adjacent to Head Harbour Passage are

shown in Figs. 17 and 18, in summary only, since each line represents the
range of behaviour of a group of drift discs r el eased at a common starting
station.
We carried out si x sets of drift disc release experiments in 1978 and
1979 as weather and time permitted; areas were actually chosen with reference
to importance "of areas for nursing and feeding harbour po rpoi ses.
All observations, both on ebb and flood tides, were coincidentally
carried out on neap or intermediate tide conditions, so that these results
might represent a minimum or average tide flow r ather than a maximum. The
latter would be obtained on spring tide sequence.
Releases , discu ssed in more detail in subsequent sections, were carried
"out on the flood tide in Simpsons Pa ssage, in the gap between Mowat Island
and Nubble Island, in the channel between Adams Island and Barnes/Simpsons
Island, and between Nubble Island and \~hite Island. During the ebb we
released groups of discs at the Passamaquoddy mouth of Letite Passage, in
the entrance to Fish "Harbour, and along a line between Hospital Island andTinker Island; these latte r islands are almost directly inshore of White
Island and the northern tip of Spruce Island respect ively.
Drift discs were followed by the research vessel after release, each
being marked with a black number on a brilliant red, orange or yellow
fluorescent background to facilitate detection at a distance. In practice
it was qui te difficult to maintain contact even with such brilliantly coloured markers under anything but ideal surface conditions. The markers were
recontacted at relatively short intervals, the research vessel working back
and forth across the line of relea se. The exact position at timed moments
was determined from triangulation. When the experimental runs were concluded
the final retrieval rate was above 90%.

c:?

tJiV() .

.0

. 1:3"

po.

e:

ARROWS INDICATE MOVEMENTS OF ONE OR MORE SURFACE DRIFT MARKERS AND DISTANCE M6vED
UP TO THE TIME OF RECOVERY. RATES GIVEN IN MPH. MAR KERS LIBERATED IN GROUPS Of 10 .

/i!0.2- 1.7
01 /' 0.1 - 2 .5

()u/ %.

N)(

~0.7-0.9

Oc:J

)::.>

<:

-I

>-<
)::>

:::0

0
0
~

.........

-0
)::>

Vl
Vl
)::>
G")

)::>

)::>

Z
-I
Vl

rri

rrJ
;0

)::>

n
A

c......
;0

)::>

:::s:

rn

e.;,

)::>

rrJ

;;0

)::>

)::>

........

Vl
-0
rrJ
fTl

fTl

rrt

:::0
.,

Vl

r
rn

-0

........

-I

:::s:

co
-<

fTl

;;0

rn

cO~!~

.,
r

o
c

co
;;0

........

:z:

;;0

)::>

o >-<
o
:r:: z

rrt
)::>

o
:r::

"Q

CJ

45 00 '

z!J

I'

ARR0 1JS INDICATE MOVEMENTS OF ONE OR MORE SURFACE DRIFT MARKERS AND DISTANCE MOVED
UP TO THE TIME OF RECOVERY. RATES GIVEN IN MPH. MARKERS LIBERATED IN GROUPS OF 10.

~.

- - - - 0.2-1. 0

.q

I .

......

........

co
co

:;0

........

rn

"D
rrt

):::>

(/)

rn

(/)

;::0

rrJ-l

. 7' Z

;::0 fTl

3:):::>
):::>n

c....

):::>
n):::>

.."

rn

):::>
;::0

(/) ;::0

rn

II

-l0
>-; n
v):::>

II

:::s:z

-<

c;;J

rn

;::0 (/)

(/) rrt
C

rn>>- n

3:.."

GO
rrt (/)

>-rn

(/) 0

>- -l
(/) ........

"D

;::0

ern

CO Z

;::0 ........

>-

:r: z

rn>>- -l

:r: ........

;::0

-l <:
0>-

OJ

t-'

<.0

.."

-...J

38

5.1.1.

LETITE PASSAGE

One group of drift discs was released on the ebb phase of an August
neap tide, .and the results are summarized in Fig ; .l8: :
Movement of the discs was relatively uniform; .t hey were tracked for
something close to 2,500 yds along the passage, and retrieved shortly
before leaving the mouth of Letite. Relatively little divergence of tracks
was noted, almost all the discs moved towards the mouth of the passage with
a common speed. It seemed that some water leaving the passage might join
the stream exiting from Little Letite, and pass to shoreward of Mohawk
Island, rather than between Mohawk and Greens Point. The major part of the
flow however, seemed to exit between Mohawk and Greens Point.
.
All discs were recorded as drifting at a velocity very close to 2.7
knots, considerably below those recorded for flood tide mean maximum by
Forgeron, and Shenton and Horton. Our experiment however, was not conducted
at a time of the month when the flood or ebb were expected to be running
near their maxima.

5.1.2.

SIMPSONS PASSAGE - FISH HARBOUR

In the first experiment the line of ~elease on the ebb was across the
mouth of Fish Harbour; in the ~econd experiment, the releases were made
somewhat outside this line on the flood tide.
In the first case, drift discs moved with a velocity ranging from OJ6 ..
knots to 0.8 knots; the stream of release divided when the inshore coast of
Adams Island was encountered, some travelling through Adams Passage, i.e.
going directly out to sea, while others were taken northeastwards into
Letite (Fig. 18).
Results of the flood tide release were even more interesting. One or
two discs at the southern extremity of the release line never entered Fish
Harbour at all, but were taken southwards past the outer coast of Beans
Isl and (see Fig. 17) and thence towards the more open water of the "River"
region. Drift discs which actually entered Fish Harbour moved across the
harbour with velocities of 0.7 to 0.9 knots, their line of drift starting
to diverge when they were about half way across. Those from the northernmost
end of the release line began to edge northwards towards the entrances to the
Irish Water, while the more southerly ones began to drift towards the
entrance to Lords Cove (~ig. 17).

39

5.1.3.

CHANNELS BETWEEN
HARBOUR PASSAGE

5.1.3.1.

i .. .

ISLANDS DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO HEAD

WHITE ISLAND - NUBBLE ISLAND CHANNEL

No ebb release hdS yet been made in this channel. Drift discs released
on the flood tide showed extreme variation in behaviour. One disc meandered
along the northern coast of White Island at a velocity which at most reached
only 0.3 knot, and was often only 0.1 knot. Those released nearer to Nubble
Island> or in the centre of the channel, at once began to move rapidly down
into the River area, sometimes achieving velocities as great as 1 .75 ~ 2.7
knots. One disc was retrieved after less than an hour when it was close to
south Tinker Ledge.
If an "average" flood tide velocity has any meaning in these circumstances> it could be said to be from 0.9 to 1.4 knots in this channel on the
neap tide.

5.1.3.2.

NUBBLE ISLAND - MOWAT ISLAND CHANNEL

Releases have once again so far been made only on the flood tide in
this channel; variability in movements was found to be very high. One disc
made Virtually no movements at all> circling slowly in the lee of Nubble
Island. The disc released in the centre of the passage moved straight
inshore, past the spar below Simpsons Island> and down into the open water
of the River area, at a velocity of about 1.5 knots. In fact most of the
drift discs moving down this passage attained velocities of close to 1.5
knots, while in the passage proper, but these speeds decreased to about 0.5 0.8 knots as they came out into more open water south of Simpsons Passage.

5.1.3.3.

HOSPITAL ISLAND - TINKER ISLAND CHANNEL

One set of releases was made, on the ebb tide. Velocities of drift
discs fluctuated less than in the above channels. One fairly constant feature

40

was that as markers moved into the main channel between the second and third
island chains outside Deer Island, they were noticeably deflected to the
southeast, but then recovered and moved back on to their original route, which took -t hem out towards the . channel . exit between .Whi t e Island and Spruce .. , _,,_
Island. Two discs were at first deflected south -past Sandy Island, but
aqa i n turned northeastwards once reecn inq thefar- side of this inner channel.
'At this time however, their velocity dropped from O.Sta barely 0.2 knot~,
and when retrieved, .t vey \'Iere .movincrather aimlessly in an apparent eddy _
just inshore of the northern Sandy Island ledges.

5.1.4.

SURFACE DRIFT - CONCLUSIONS

Since there are already basic current velocity measurements for the
major passages in this region we have not added anything substantially new
in that regard nor, in view of our measurements being almost entirely on
neap or intermediate tide conditions, are our recorded velocities anywhere
near the maxima recorded by earlier workers.
What we have shown, we think, is that with a system of multiple releases, two things can be demonstrated. One; even among the islands some
distance from the passages with the major water flnw, velocities still
exceed those at which oilcontainmentcQuld be attempted with any hope of
success. Two, within very limited areas, the variation in current s t renq ths
is very great, and the mapping of the current velocities that has so far '
been carried out is quite inadequate even to begin to represent what really
happens throughout the Quoddy region during the various phases of tidal.
flow. In some areas, we have noted significant water flow even at what
could 'be expected to be slack high or slack low water . We have- also' noted
that official tide table predictions of slack water can be as much as 40
minutes out, depending on the configuration and strength of prevailing wind
fields. These are all factors of great s i qn tf i cance which must be taken
into account when decisions are made about the granting of permission for
large ship traffic into this region.

41

Fig.19. Eckman current meter st~tions and velocities on 28 August 1978.

Lengths of arrows*relative (1/16
NEAP TIDE results,ie.MINIMA.
IJ = O . l m p h ) .

V)

LLJ
t-l

f--

0\

t-l

c:::J

';:

0 ",

-o

-l
LLJ

>
LLJ

~N

t-l

I-

a
0
0
-l
L.L

~~

-l

::E:

r-;
LLJ
-l

co

c:(

I-

t-l

:z::
t-l

LLJ
LLJ

::E:

V)

0
0

2m
jl

'0

0" ,

"

*Not including heads.

... velocity at 6ft.

~velocity at 30ft.
6 velocity at 60ft.

42
Fig.20. Eckman current meter stations and velocities on 28 August 1978.
Lengths of arrows*relative (1/1 6 " =O. l mp h ) . NEAP TIDE results, ie. MINIMA .

.,

~~

.: ~

.~
<:\

.~

..

0" ,

*Not including heads.

Avelocity at 6ft. velocity at 30ft.

b. velocity at 60ft.

43

Table 7.*

Results from three Eckma~ current meter stations

operated during the flood and ebb of the neap tide
on 28 August 1978, in the Simp son's Passage region
adjacent to Head Harbour Passage. . Since the se
measurements were made on the neap tide, they
represent MINIMAL velocities for August.

* Locations of stations shown in Figs.

STATION

19, 20.

EBB

DEPTH

FLOOD

6 ft

0.33 mph

0.33 mph

30 ft

0.28 mph

0.20 mph

60 ft

0.27 mph

0.22 mph

6 ft

0.61 mph

0.67 mph

# 2 -

3G ft

0.03 mph

0.37 mph

# 2

60 f t

0.32 mph

0.04 mph

# 3

6 ft

0.45 mph

0. 89 mph

# 3

30 ft

0.04 mph

0.66 mph

# 3

60 ft

0.61 mph

0.10 mph

# 2

These data demonstrate clearly the complexity and extreme

vari abi 1ity of water movements in thi s area with only very
small differences in depth and small difference s in the
times at which the observations were made.

44

5.2.

SUBSURFACE CURRENT MEASUREMENTS

5.2.1.

SIMPSONS PASSAGE

Three stations were establi shed, which were worked once each during
the ebb and flood tide phases of daylight on 28 August 1978. Considerable '
difficulties were experienced in anchoring the boat securely at two of
these stations, and in one case, difficulty in freeing the anchor again,
because of the depth, the relative speed of the current, and the nature of
the bottom. As indicated before, t hese studies are very time-intensive for
a small research unit.
The recorded data are presented in Table 7. All recordings were made
during a neap tide period, and are therefore MINIMA for the area . At both
stations two and three, water at the intermediate depth was moving much
more slowly than at the surface or at 60 ft, on the flood tide. On the ebb
tide, on the other hand, it was the 60 ft level that had the slowest movement, not the surface or 30 ft level waters.
It was at station number one however, that the greatest vector differences were noted on both the ebb and flood phases (Figs. 19, 20). In the
ebb tide readings we found more than 900 difference in the direction of water
flow between the surface and 60 ft.

5.2.2.

SUBSURFACE FLOW - CONCLUSIONS

We have added very little to the existing knowledge of subsurface flow

in this region unfortunately, although these three stations were in an area
not previously examined by other workers.
Nevertheless, these limited data reveal that on the basis of what one
observes in the surface layers it is quite impossible to predict either:
i) in which direction water masses are moving below the surface, or
ii) the velocity of flow at the same depth at closely adjacent stations,
or even at different depths at the same station.
In our opinion this just reinforces the viewpoint that:
existing data for this region (summarized in FRS Tech, Rept. #428.
and Shenton and Horton, 1973) are completely inadequate to do more than give
a few reliable maxima, and the bare bones of what might be taking place at
any given location in the area at other times.
----i)

45

even when current velocities are well below the maxima recorded
by Forgeron and others, they are still close to or above, those at which oil
sl i cks could not be handled with existing retaining equipment.
ii)

Furthermore , the data in this report strongly~uggest that even the

movement of surface oil could not be predicted by a simple model in this
complex region.

46

. .-..;

6.0

REFE RE NCES

Fis heries Res earc h Board of Canada. 1974. Summary of phys i cal , biological,
socio-economic and other fa ctors rel evant to pot enti al oil spill s in
the Pa ssamaquoddy r egi on of the Bay of Fundy . Fish. Res . Bd. Canada
Tech. Rept. 428: 1-229.
Forgeron, F.D. 1959. Temperature and salinity in the Quoddy region. Rept.
International Passamaquoddy Fisheries Board to the International Joint
Commission, Appendi x 1 (Oceanography), chapter 1, 44 pp.
Hamner, W.M. , and l.R. Hauri. 1977. Fine-scale surface currents in the
Whitsunday Island, Queensland, Australia: effect of tide and topography. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 28: 333-359.
Shenton, E.H., and D.B. Hornton. 1973. Literature review for t he ma rine
environment data for Eas t port , Maine. Th e Research Instit ute for the
Gulf of Ma ine, Vols. r , II.