Back to back storm fronts have dumped plenty of rain on the Oregon coast and created large swells that prevented us from sampling. We have received 18 inches of rain at Hatfield Marine Science Center this year! We patiently waited for a weather window between storms and in early February we took advantage of a break in the swell to sample out to NH-15.
As expected, our nets were very clean; a typical sign of wintertime conditions. Our vertical nets were full of small, clear copepods and the community consisted of a mix of Paracalanus, Ctenocalanus, and Clausocalanus. Of interesting note in our plankton nets were a significant number of Corolla spectabilis, a marine gastropod.
It is cold! Toby rinsing down the vertical net before the wind picks up and we need to return to dock. Photo: NOAA Fisheries
Wave height measured at NOAA Buoy 46050 over the past 60 days. Check out the wave heights from the storm on January 11th. Depending on the sea state, around 12 ft wave height can make our sampling difficult and dangerous.
