Advanced developments in DFO’s FVCOM models for the Discovery Islands and Broughton Archipelago

PARR-2018-P-05

Description

The complex coastal waterways northeast of Vancouver Island support a vibrant fish farming industry. To ensure the sustainable management of the industry, understanding the regional hydrology is essential given the potential connectivity between some farms. Previous work, PARR-2011-P-08 and PARR-2010-P-03, developed hydrodynamic models with FVCOM for the Broughton Archipelago and the Discovery Islands. These models have demonstrated the benefits of being able to simulate with confidence current flows, water temperature and salinity in three dimensions. FVCOM has been proven to provide this information and address area-based management issues, such as particle tracking, virus dispersion and sea lice infectivity trends. PARR-2018-P-05 will advance the overall capabilities of FVCOM. Firstly, the existing FVCOM model for the Broughton Archipelago will be reconfigured to provide higher resolution output in the area around Port Hardy. Secondly, a biogeochemical module will be implemented within FVCOM and applied to the existing Discovery Islands FVCOM hydrodynamic model. With this biogeochemical-hydrodynamic coupled model, we will examine oxygen dynamics and the processes that control oxygen concentrations in a region with finfish aquaculture.  Both of these FVCOM developments are logical extensions of the work already completed and will improve the quality and range of coverage available for area-based aquaculture management decisions.

Findings

N/A

Publications

N/A

Program Name

Program for Aquaculture Regulatory Research (PARR)

Years

2018 to 2020

Principal investigator

Laura Bianucci
Research scientist, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC V8L 5T5
Email: Laura.Bianucci@dfo-mpo.gc.ca