As the Puget Sound Partnership nears completion of a revised four-year plan for restoring the Puget Sound ecosystem, a new set of recovery goals, known as targets, has begun to emerge. The well-worn wheel of 25 Vital Signs with indicators has been replaced by a solid square of 23 Vital Signs with indicators, some similar, …
PSI monthly roundup for March 2022 Nick Georgiadis joins SeaDoc Society’s scientific advisory board Puget Sound Institute senior research scientist Nick Georgiadis has been selected as a member of the SeaDoc Society Scientific Advisory Board. Nick specializes in ecosystem-scale research on subjects ranging from elephant conservation to ecological pressures in the Salish Sea. Read more. Around the Sound April 15 …
New papers this month 6PPD-Quinone: Revised Toxicity Assessment and Quantification with a Commercial Standard A 2022 article in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters revises previous findings on the environmental concentration and toxicity of 6PPD-Quinone, a novel compound lethal to coho salmon. The paper reports that 6PPD-Quinone, a chemical resulting from tire wear particles, …
The Puget Sound and Salish Sea watersheds contain many incredible geographic features, but it’s not always easy to tell which ones are truly part of the region. Does Puget Sound really include three active volcanoes? (Yes! See above.) How far north does the Salish Sea extend? And does that reach as far as Canada’s wonderfully named …
Congratulations to our recent colleague Dr. Zhenyu Tian for receiving the Seattle Aquarium’s Conservation Research Award! Tian, who is now an assistant professor at Northeastern University, has been recognized by the Aquarium for his work in 2020 to identify a chemical from automobile tires that has been killing Coho salmon in Puget Sound. Tian and …
State legislation designed to enhance salmon habitat by requiring protective buffers along streams has been set aside pending further discussions over the coming year. Meanwhile, several other salmon-protection measures proposed by the governor could move forward with decisive funding from the Legislature. The buffer bill (HB 1838), named the Lorraine Loomis Act, would prohibit degradation …
The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute is sponsoring up to 10 student writers to report short (300-word) stories about science findings presented at the upcoming Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference. The conference will be held online April 26-28. We are offering $200 per story and can cover conference registration costs. Successful writers will publish their work …
The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute is seeking a Research Scientist experienced in applying state of the art numerical models, or analysis and reporting of results for large model and measured physical data sets. This position will expand current capabilities within the Puget Sound Institute and the Salish Sea Modeling Center at the Center for Urban Waters, supporting applied …
The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute (PSI) is seeking a highly motivated stakeholder engagement and science communication manager, with experience working with municipal staff and their stakeholders in wastewater or stormwater, marine/aquatic resources, or other interdisciplinary environmental management and planning areas. The position will expand current PSI capabilities to synthesize and communicate scientific results in a compelling …
A North Pacific research expedition is underway, with projects said to be bigger, bolder and more scientifically sophisticated than cruises in 2019 and 2020. Four research vessels carrying more than 60 scientists from various countries will span out across the Pacific Ocean to increase their understanding of salmon — including migration, environmental stresses, availability of …
A series of reports from the Puget Sound Institute will synthesize key findings from close to 100 projects funded over the past five years by the Environmental Protection Agency. Six years ago, the EPA authorized more than $20 million dollars for projects to protect, restore and study critical habitats like beaches and floodplains in Puget …
In 2011, sonar operators aboard the ocean-going Research Vessel Thomas G. Thompson inadvertently recorded a surprising natural phenomenon, as the 274-foot ship traversed through Puget Sound while returning to port at the University of Washington. At the time, researchers on board were focused on a host of other projects. They might not have known that …