Salish Sea Science Roundtable begins in October

Image courtesy of Welch et al.
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While there are often opportunities to go deep in our respective fields, breakthroughs can come from unexpected connections and interdisciplinary discussions. The Salish Sea Science Roundtable is a virtual monthly seminar inspired by just that. UW Puget Sound Institute is co-convening the roundtable with several organizations, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Each month we’ll connect to share emerging science that’s shaping Salish Sea recovery and sustainable development, reconnect with colleagues in different fields, and enjoy thought-provoking discussions. We hope you’ll join us virtually the first Tuesday of each month from 12:30-1:30 […]

Collaborative Leadership Project featured at national retreat on scholarship and research

The view from AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. Photo by Michael Kern.
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In August, PSI Director of Special Projects Michael Kern was invited by the University Network for Collaborative Governance (UNCG) to discuss the research questions driving the Collaborative Leadership Project at the UNCG Scholarship Retreat. The retreat was held at the University of Wyoming’s AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. It was attended by about 20 top academics and practitioners in the field of collaborative governance, from universities across the country.  Michael provided the attendees with a brief overview of the project, explaining it is intended to capture Washington’s 50-year […]

Two new baby orcas with no deaths over the past year could make for a remarkable census

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This year’s census for the Southern Resident killer whales apparently will document two new calves but no deaths for the 12-month period ending July 1. According to my unconfirmed records, this will be the first time in nearly 30 years that no deaths will be reported in the annual census update. Consequently, the overall population for the three orca pods rises from 73 in 2022 to 75 in 2023. These numbers won’t be official until the Center for Whale Research submits its annual report to the federal government sometime before […]

Salish Sea Model tracks pollution, currents and climate change

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This article is the latest in a series about computer models and their uses within the Puget Sound ecosystem. Today, we look at the Salish Sea Model, one of several models in the region helping to predict water circulation, water quality and food-web relationships. Read the full series: Where and how the water moves The waters of Puget Sound contain complex chemical mixtures arising from natural and human sources. The waters are blended and pushed around by currents and other physical forces, creating conditions that vary from place to place. […]

Puget Sound Institute is hiring!

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The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute is seeking qualified candidates for two grant-funded positions. Follow the links below for the complete position announcements. Research Scientist/Engineer 2 (Grand Uncertainty Matrix)This position will work closely with partners and stakeholders in the Puget Sound National Estuary Program to oversee the development and implementation of a regional research plan based on the Grand Uncertainties Matrix. Research Scientist/Engineer 3 (Contaminants of Emerging Concern)This position will support the development and application of a computational ecosystem population model that relates chemical exposures to effects on growth, reproduction, and […]

Prey and predators create varying life-or-death conditions for salmon, as shown with Atlantis model

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This article is the latest in a series about computer models and their uses within the Puget Sound ecosystem. As scientists uncover more and more information about a particular ecosystem, computer modelers are often eager to put that raw data to good use in complex models tuned to local conditions. One highly acclaimed model, called Atlantis, has been applied to more than 40 ecosystems around the world. In Puget Sound, Atlantis has been used to study the food web to determine whether salmon are more threatened by predators or by […]

Examining the link between low summer stream flows and climate

Low stream flows in a tributary of the Skykomish River. Photo by Jeff Rice.
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A 2023 paper in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association says future low flows in Puget Sound streams could be lower than are projected by climate models that do not reliably account for multidecadal climate variation. The paper is co-authored by Nicholas Georgiadis and Joel Baker of the Puget Sound Institute. When rains finally returned to Puget Sound last fall, they provided welcome relief for spawning salmon. Drought conditions had left streams at record lows, causing many creeks to become dangerously warm for fish, and in some cases […]

Wastewater fee study reveals hardship for low-income households

Washington Department of Ecology has issued a new permit to control nitrogen at 58 treatment plants, including Bremerton's Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Ecology says the upgrades could increase sewer utility fees. Photo: Washington Department of Ecology
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Low-income households may need financial help to address the impact of rising wastewater bills, according to a study of current and projected sewage treatment costs published last month by the Puget Sound Institute. The study was initiated in support of the Marine Water Quality Implementation Strategy, a state and federal recovery plan addressing water pollution in Puget Sound. Since 2018, concerns have been rising about the potential ecological impacts from treated sewage flowing into the waterway. State regulators are calling for improvements to wastewater treatment plants that could increase utility […]

Southeast Alaska troll fishing restored for this year by court of appeals pending full legal review

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Fishing in Southeast Alaska by the commercial troll-fishing fleet will not be cancelled this year, as ordered by a Seattle judge, thanks to a last-minute ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Considerations for the economic damage that would be caused by shutting down the Alaskan fishery outweigh the “speculative environmental threats” that led the lower court to effectively close the fishery, according to the appeals court order. The heart of the legal battle — how fishing for Chinook salmon affects the endangered Southern Resident orcas — remains […]

Quantitative models, including Ecopath, take food web studies to a higher level of analysis

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As part of a project exploring the technical uncertainties surrounding Puget Sound water quality, we are reviewing how computer models are used to advance our understanding of natural systems. This blog post is part of a series focused on different models and their uses within the Puget Sound ecosystem. The project is jointly sponsored by King County and the Puget Sound Institute. In the early 1980s, NOAA scientist Jeffrey Polovina and fellow researchers at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Hawaii developed what they called the Ecopath model, designed to describe […]

New federal and state funding to study toxics in Puget Sound

A recently funded study at the Puget Sound Institute will look at the impacts of emerging contaminants on juvenile Chinook salmon. Photo: Roger Tabor/USFWS (CC BY-NC 2.0)
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The Puget Sound Institute (PSI) and its parent organization the Center for Urban Waters (CUW) are the recipients of more than $3.2 million dollars in grants this month from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Puget Sound Partnership. The funds will go toward understanding and reducing emerging threats from toxic chemicals in Puget Sound. The grants — six in total — will support projects based at our labs at the University of Washington Tacoma. These include: The research builds on earlier work coming from the lab including the discovery of 6PPDQ, […]

Second PCB symposium focuses on source identification and tracking

English sole are among the fish in Puget Sound that pick up contaminants from PCBs through the food they eat. Photo: biodiversityguy https://biodiversityguy.smugmug.com/Underwater/Reference-List-Photos-of/i-3GgD5hB/A
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This Thursday, June 15th, the Puget Sound Institute will host the second in a series of symposiums focusing on contaminant PCBs in regional waterways. The program will include three case studies about PCB source tracking in San Francisco Bay, the Newton Creek Superfund site, and Anacostia River & Lower Beaver Dam Creek. The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and include opportunities for participant questions. More information is available on PSI’s Cross Program Contaminant Working Group web page. The symposium takes place on June 15, 2023 from 9 […]