Temperature and salinity 



Mean annual ranges in temperature and 

 salinity of the surface layer in the Quoddy 

 Region are approximately 34° to 54° F. 

 and 30 to 33 parts per thousand. Seasonal 

 variations in inshore areas and in Passa- 



maquoddy Bay are slightly greater than 

 in offshore areas. During 1957 and 1958, 

 43 cruises were completed in the Quoddy 

 Region. They covered a network of sta- 

 tions, in which temperature and salinity 

 were observed and drift bottles re- 

 leased. 



Figure 3,--Seasoiial variations in temperature and salinity of surface and bottom waters in the inshore and 



offshore areas of the Quoddy Region. 



Oceanographic features in the 2 years 

 were very different. This difference has 

 been related, in part, to abnormal river 

 runoff, which was well below normal in 

 1957 and well above normal in 1958. The 

 flushing time (i.e., the average length of 

 time required to remove 1 -day's con- 

 tribution of river water) for Passama- 

 quoddy Bay varied from about 8 to 20 

 days, with the more rapid flushing 

 rate occurring during high river dis- 

 charge. 



Tides and tidal currents 



Currents were measured at 60 stations 

 in Pas sama quoddy Bay and the Bay of 

 Fundy during the summers of 1957 and 

 1958. This project was carried out jointly 

 by the Canadian Hydrographic Service of 

 the Department of Mines and Technical 

 Surveys and the Atlantic Oceanographic 

 Group of the Fisheries Research Board 

 of Canada. The program was aimed at 

 determining the tidal and nontidal water 

 movements in Passamaquoddy Bay and 

 its approaches and in part of the Bay of 

 Fundy. 



Tides in the Bay of Fundy are charac- 

 terized by a predominant semidiurnal 

 component. Tidal amplitude in the Quoddy 

 Region varies from an extreme minimum 

 of approximately 14 feet at neap tide to a 

 maximum of nearly 28 feet at spring tide. 

 The mean tidal rcinge is approximately 

 20 feet. Tidal currents vary markedly 

 throughout the Region. Maximum recorded 

 speeds were found in Letite Passage where 

 mean maximum speeds reached 8 feet 

 per second (4.8 knots). In Passamaquoddy 

 Bay, speeds were mostly less than 1 foot 

 per second. Near the mouth of Cobscook 

 Bay, mean mziximum speeds were 5 feet 

 per second. In the outside area, mean 

 maximum speeds seldom exceeded 5 feet 

 per second. Currents were usually maxi- 

 mum in the surface layer and decreased 

 slowly with depth. Residual flows were 

 mostly less than 2 miles per day in 

 Passamaquoddy Bay, Cobscook Bay, and 

 the approaches. In the Bay of Fundy, 

 residual flows were variable and in some 

 areas were as much as 10 miles per day. 



Nontidal drift of surface waters 



During 1957 and 1958, approximately 

 10,000 drift bottles were released in the 



