| Title | Distribution of hexactinellid sponge reefs in the Chatham Sound region, British Columbia |
| Download | Downloads |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Shaw, J; Conway, K W; Wu, Y; Kung, R |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research (Online) 2018-1, 2018, 14 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/306310  Open Access |
| Links | Erratum
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| Year | 2018 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | British Columbia; Western offshore region |
| NTS | 103A; 103B; 103G; 103H; 103J/01; 103J/02; 103J/03; 103J/06; 103J/07; 103J/08; 103J/09; 103J/10; 103J/11 |
| Area | Chatham Sound; Devastation Channel; Kitimat Arm; Estevan Channel; Hecate Strait; Queen Charlotte Sound; Prince Rupert; Haida Gwaii; Skeena River |
| Lat/Long WENS | -132.0000 -128.5000 54.7500 52.5000 |
| Subjects | marine geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; fossil fuels; geophysics; reefs; glaciomarine deposits; moraines; turbidity; postglacial deposits; marine sediments; muds; continental margins;
continental shelf; marine environments; nearshore environment; seafloor topography; bathymetry; submarine features; submarine ridges; geophysical surveys; acoustic surveys, marine; sonar surveys; side-scan sonar; petroleum occurrence; pockmarks;
oceanography; modelling; salinity; tidal currents; hydrodynamics; sedimentation rates; drainage; rivers; runoff; geological history; glaciation; sea level changes; morphology; Chatham Sound Reef Complex; sponges; Hexactinellid sponges; Phanerozoic;
Cenozoic; Quaternary |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; geophysical profiles; 3-D images; models |
| Program | Public Safety
Geoscience Marine Geohazards |
| Released | 2018 01 18; 2018 03 09 |
| Abstract | Systematic mapping of the Chatham Sound region, British Columbia, shows that hexactinellid sponge reefs are a significant component of the seafloor mosaic. Based on the three criteria for reef
identification (positive relief, low backscatter strength, and acoustic transparency) it is shown that the total reef area is 48 km2. The largest cluster of identified reefs is located within Chatham Sound sensu stricto and covers more than 27 km2 of
seafloor in water depths of 35-170 m. It includes reefs up to 25 m high and is designated the Chatham Sound reef complex. The authors describe some of the wide range of morphologies in this reef complex and the nearby reefs. Oceanographic modelling
shows that the seafloor in the Chatham Sound reef complex has developed in a region of directionally variable tidal currents, although surface currents show a persistent northward flow of a low-salinity plume. Several small reefs have developed
within 3 km of the Skeena River delta, where sedimentation rates are more than 1 cm/a. Comparison with newly discovered reefs in the region reveals the geomorphic variability of glass sponge reefs. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Systematic mapping of the Chatham Sound region, British Columbia, shows that hexactinellid sponge reefs are a significant component of the seafloor
mosaic. Based on the three criteria for reef identification (positive relief, low backscatter strength, and acoustic transparency) it is shown that the total reef area is 48 km2. The largest cluster of identified reefs is located within Chatham
Sound sensu stricto and covers more than 27 km2 of sea floor in water depths of 35¿170 m. It includes reefs up to 25 m-high and is designated the Chatham Sound Reef Complex (CSRC). We describe some of the wide-range of morphologies in the CSRC and
the nearby reefs. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 306310 |
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