|  Saanich
Inlet is a fjord near the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is
more than 200m deep in the center, but exchange of deep waters with
the neighbouring Georgia Strait is restricted by a 50m deep sill
at the mouth. The slow replenishment of deep waters produces an
environment similar to that found in some unusual, but important,
deep regions of the open ocean, and hosts a range of interesting
biogeochemical reactions. Some of these reactions are important
in the cycling of biologically active trace metals, while others
such as nitrification, denitrification and anammox are central to
the nitrogen cycle. Unlike the open ocean, Saanich Inlet is easily
accessible.
 A
collaboration between the University of Victoria, the Institute
of Ocean Sciences and UBC will allow a large number of water column
samples to be collected in Saanich Inlet at weekly to monthly intervals
throughout 2004. Measurements of nutrient concentrations, temperature,
salinity, trace gas concentrations, particulate matter, sinking
organic matter and the isotopes of N and O in various species will
provide an unprecedented level of detail on the cycling of nitrogen
species within the Inlet. Meanwhile, monitoring of Ag and Cd cycling
within the water column will provide new insight on the poorly understood
roles these elements play in the marine environment.
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