Author: Puget Sound Institute

Latest Puget Sound marine waters overview now available

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Announcement from the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program: Today, the Puget Sound Marine Waters Work Group of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program released the eleventh annual report on marine water conditions in Puget Sound. The report combines a wealth of data from comprehensive monitoring programs and provides a concise summary of what was happening in Puget Sound’s marine waters during 2022. It covers areas such as climate and weather, river inputs, seawater temperature, salinity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, ocean acidification, phytoplankton, biotoxins, bacteria and pathogens, shellfish resources, and more. The […]

Upcoming event: Science roundtable continues with updates on Marine Survival Project

Salish Sea Marine Survival Project infographic
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Join the next Salish Sea Science Roundtable on December 5th from 12:30 – 1:30 pm (PT) for an Update on the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project. The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project was a seven-year collaborative, international research effort focused on identifying factors affecting early marine survival of Chinook and coho salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea. The evidence from more than 90 individual studies identified that changes in food supply and an increase in predators are the primary factors driving the decline. Habitat loss, contaminants, disease, and hatchery practices exacerbate the impacts, […]

GAO report calls for strengthening of regulations on nonpoint source pollution

A carcass of a female coho salmon affected by the toxic chemical 6PPD-quinone in stormwater runoff in Seattle's Longfellow Creek. This salmon died before spawning, retaining nearly 100 percent of its eggs. Source: Tiffany Linbo, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. | GAO-24-105687
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By Sarah DeWeerdt A new report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) is renewing calls to strengthen Clean Water Act protections against nonpoint source pollution such as stormwater and agricultural runoff.  The recommendation echoes findings made by the GAO in 2013 when it called for Congress to revise “largely voluntary” regulations for nonpoint pollution sources that wash into waterways such as Puget Sound. The report, which focuses on the link between Puget Sound water quality and salmon recovery, also criticizes a series of missed deadlines by the Washington State Department of […]

PCBs in building materials

An aerial image of the lower Duwamish River as it flows into Puget Sound. The river is heavily contaminated with PCBs and other toxic chemicals. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
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On Wednesday, November 1st, the Puget Sound Institute will host its third symposium on PCBs in regional waterways. The online symposium will include a national discussion about the management of PCBs in building materials. Speakers will include: The symposium takes place on November 1, from 9 am – 12:30 pm PT / 12 – 3:30 pm ET. The official start time is 9 am PT, but we hope you’ll join at 8:45 am PT/11:45 am ET for some informal networking. More information is available on the Puget Sound Institute’s Cross […]

Next Salish Sea Science Roundtable will focus on coho salmon

Coho salmon. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
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Join the next Salish Sea Science Roundtable 11.7.2023 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm PT Emerging Salmon Science with Fisheries and Oceans Canada Chrys Neville Program Head – Salmon Marine Interactions Program, REEF/ESDThe story of coho salmon in the Strait of Georgia is complex. Historically it supported a very lucrative recreational fishery. However, the fishery collapsed in the 1990s due to a combination of factors including changes in distribution as well as declines in marine survival. The Salmon Marine Interactions Program has ongoing surveys for salmon in the early summer and fall of each year […]

2022 Salish Sea toxics monitoring synthesis: A selection of research

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A new report from the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program takes a comprehensive look at some of the greatest dangers posed by toxic chemicals in the Salish Sea. The report was produced with support from the UW Puget Sound Institute, and brings together recent findings on PCBs, CECs, PFAS, 6PPD-Q, and other toxics of concern. It represents a compilation of activities from almost 50 groups in both the United States and Canada. Read it to find out how rogue chemicals are affecting the health of the ecosystem. Overview The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A tale of two islands

Adult breeding rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata). Photo: Frostnip (CC BY-NC 2.0)
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By Eric Wagner Science is hard, but coming up with a title for a scientific paper is harder. Exhibit A: the paper some colleagues and I recently published in Marine Ecology Progress Series. Originally I wanted to call it, “A Tale of Two Islands: Disparate Responses to a Marine Heatwave at Two Pacific Seabird Colonies.” I was an English major in college and literary allusions have always appealed to me. (I concede this is obnoxious.) But I felt that title wasn’t too far off the mark. There were indeed two […]

Findings and reports: February 2023

Image of San Juan Islands from the Salish Sea Model
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Salish Sea Model provides insights on circulation and residence times The amount of time water circulates and “resides” in Puget Sound is of intense interest to regulators and emergency response officials who want to understand how quickly wastewater is flushed out of Puget Sound and into the ocean. A paper in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science reports that contrary to expectation, flushing of deeper waters may take longer in wintertime in large fjord-like basins such as Hood Canal. A new, higher resolution version of the Salish Sea Model […]