Oceanographic features of Hecate strait and Queen Charlotte Sound in summer

We present evidence of previously unresolved oceanographic features in Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait using data collected in the summer of 1990 and interpreted using a three-dimensional, finite-element diagnostic numerical model for two separate simulations: baroclinic flow without wind-forcing and barotropic flow with wind-forcing. Features include a strong, prevailing southward flow along the east coast of Moresby and Kunghit Islands, clockwise circulation around the edge of Middle Bank and a cold-water plume flowing from the shallows at the north end of Aristazabal Island toward the south and through the trough between Middle Bank and Goose Island Bank. A persistent (near-surface) outflow into the Pacific Ocean is found near the surface within 20 km of Cape St. James at the southern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands and intermittent surface outflows are observed across the mouth of Queen Charlotte Sound. In central Hecate Strait, to the north of Middle Bank prevailing along-strait currents are weak and there is an east-west interleaving of two water masses: warm water from the west side of the strait and cold water from the east side.