Tag Archives: standing waves

March 14 – West Wind and Waves

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Overcast and rain in the morning, sunny in afternoon
Wind: 1-11 knots from the W and N in the morning, 22-46 knots from the W from the late morning onwards
Air Temperature: Low 9.3°C, High 11.3°C
Ocean Temperature: 9.2°C

A gale warning in the afternoon, with winds gusts up to 46 knots, remained in effect for the rest of the day. The gulls had a hard time sitting and claiming their nesting sites when the wind gusts reached 46 knots. Due to the winds, the afternoon was filled with indoor tasks like cleaning, organizing the basement and drinking tea. The winds diminished in the evening.

Hanne Christensen, one of the visiting Pearson students, took some photos around the island yesterday and today. They are included in the gallery below.

Eagles, waves and engine troubles

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The barometer continued to rise today, from 1019 hPa to 1024 hPa.  The wind blew from the west and southwest between 14 and 34 knots.  The sky was mostly clear, with occasional brief showers and rainbows.  There was a large swell coming in from the west.

There were no boats seen in the reserve today.

There were four bald eagles seen in the reserve this morning.  Large groups of gulls got to practice their evasive manoeuvres as the eagles flew overhead.  Our UK camera viewer, Pam Birley, spotted a peregrine falcon on the helicopter pad at 15:20.

I was unsuccessful in running the monthly check on the fire pump and refill of the salt water cistern, but not for lack of trying.  I strung all the hoses from the jetty to the underground cistern, only to find that neither engine was willing to start and pump.  I will continue to tinker with those engines.  On the up side, I got to practice unrolling and rolling all the hoses.

Standing Waves

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The fine weather continued today with light outflow winds and clear skies. The barometric pressure rose to almost 1020 hPa by mid–morning and then started to slowly slide back down. This pattern is forecast again for tomorrow.

I counted 32 tour boats in the reserve today and may have a missed a few as I was busy. I talked to the Garry Fletcher, Ecological Reserve Guardian and learned a great deal.
There were Biggs Killer Whales out to the west again so many of the boats broke up their trips coming or going with a stop at Race Rocks. A few recreational fishers went through at low speed but no poaching today. The only transgression noted was a Grady White speeding. The man with the white hat and red rubber boat was back but stayed just outside the line.

Just before sunset, an enormous aircraft carrier headed past and on out to sea. Ahead of it was a container ship and behind a schooner. The volume of goods and people coming and going in Juan de Fuca Strait is really amazing and it all passes by Race Rocks. Port Metro Vancouver alone trades $184 billion in goods and then there is Seattle, Victoria, Bellingham, Spokane etc..

Corrections to yesterday’s log: 1. There are still at least two Pigeon Guillemots feeding young. 2. I forgot to count in the four Canada Geese that are here daily. 3. I got a good look at the Black Turnstones from the tower today and counted 23.

I did some research today, starting with reading a few papers on Steller’s and California Sea Lions and looking at a paper on Glaucous-winged Gull chick mortality. I talked to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Guardian, Garry Fletcher, learning a great deal. I started a Glaucous-winged gull survey today and found 30 so far. It is important to get this done before it starts getting too damp.

The practical side of the day involved more cleaning and starting a perimeter fence for the science house. The doors of the house are no match for a 2200 pound sea lion.
I watched the creation of large, breaking standing waves today, right in front of the house/jetty. The tide was flooding in and there was no wind so there must have been some ebb pushing out against it. Pretty spectacular for a few minutes then it calmed down.

Waves as an Abiotic Factor at Race Rocks

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This file is extracted from a report of the analysis of the data by Rick Birch of ASL from the ADCP deployment at Site 2.
Below is the wave height spectra for site 2. During the time of deployment, two significant storm events occured. The results show up very well in the graphs
This provides a sample of the type of data we logged when we used an ADCP deployed in the spring of 2006:Wave Data from ADCP Deployment at Site 2.

Below is an interesting set of data that documents the behaviour of waves arriving from two directions at the same time.

 Wave Energy as an Abiotic Factor Determining the Distribution of Organisms at Race Rocks

When one is on the island during a storm, the impact of wave energy is certainly obvious. The docks are awash making it impossible to launch a boat and further providing a great deal of force on the organisms living in the upper intertidal zone.<bulletlist>

  • Waves bring debris that can impact directly on mussels and goose-neck barnacles, however the adaptations of those animals as well as the intertidal algae have ensured that they remain clinging (for the most part) to the rocky substrate.
  • The energy flow of many species of marine algae involves wave energy depositing them on shore.
  • Wave energy also brings  rocks and other aggregates onto the shore.
  • The evolution of shorelines and shoreline ecosystems is also the result of wave energy.
  • Waves carry salt water sea spray far inland as well. This restricts the kind of plants which can survive near shorelines. Certain plants survive only with the benefit of salt spray however, such as the Romanzoffia tracyi.
  • One of our concerns with all Ecological reserves with shoreline borders is that any spill at sea of oil or chemicals which can wash up on shorelines could have consequences for the ecosystems of ecological reserves far inland.
  • Rarely do abiotic factors act alone. A good example at Race Rocks is that they cause “surge or swell” which causes water to reach higher  levels on the shore.
  • Another good example is wind energy and currents combine to form standing waves in current channels at Race Rocks.

See the other posts on this website about waves:

 

Ocean Wave Model ForecastsWaveModel