Culminating more than a decade of fierce debate, Washington state officials formally adopted new water-quality standards for toxic chemicals to protect the health of people who eat fish from our local waterways. On its face, this action appears inconsequential, considering that these numerical criteria were already in place, having been imposed two years ago by […]
December 12, 2024
Annual report documents Puget Sound’s marine conditions
The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) has released its 13th annual overview of Puget Sound’s marine water conditions. The report is funded in part by the Puget Sound Institute and is produced by 67 contributors from federal, tribal, state, and local agencies, academia, nonprofits, and private and volunteer groups. The compilation looks back on the […]
December 11, 2024
$1 million awarded for new approach to removing PBDEs from municipal wastewater
The University of Washington has been awarded a $1 million grant by the Stormwater Strategic Initiative Lead for Piloting Solutions for Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Wastewater. The project will be led by Heidi Gough, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and Andy James, University of Washington Tacoma, Center for Urban Waters and the Puget […]
November 7, 2024
Some orcas extend their stay in Puget Sound; others visit capture site for first time in years
Southern Resident killer whales have been hanging out in Puget Sound much longer than normal this fall, probably because of an unusually large run of chum salmon coming into Central and South Puget Sound, experts say. As of today, J pod has remained in Puget Sound for 19 straight days with the exception of a […]
November 7, 2024
Featured paper: Salish Sea Model examines new way to reduce ocean acidification
Mixing and dilution controls on marine CO2 removal using alkalinity enhancement In the human body, dialysis is used to remove waste, a process that helps to reduce acidity in the blood. Scientists are using a similar process to withdraw seawater, remove acid, and return the high alkalinity water to the ocean. Ocean alkalinity enhancement is being […]
October 4, 2024
Orca census shows declining population; researchers discuss risk of extinction
UPDATE, Oct. 11, 2024 Although the newest calf in L pod has not yet been declared missing or deceased by the Center for Whale Research, it is hard to imagine a good outcome from the description by CWR’s field biologist Mark Malleson, who observed K and L pods on Oct. 5 at Swiftsure Bank near […]
September 20, 2024
Publish or perish the thought: Orcas, seals, and a curious scientist
In 2022, more than three million scientific papers were published in about thirty thousand journals. This represented something like a 9% increase over the year before, and a 47% increase since 2016. “Academic publishing has a problem,” wrote Mark A. Hanson, the biologist at the University of Exeter who compiled these figures. “The last few […]
September 16, 2024
Modeling climate resilience in coastal communities
Puget Sound Institute research scientist Caitlin Magel is Co-PI on a collaboration with Washington Sea Grant to support the Willapa-Grays Harbor Estuary Collaborative (WGHEC). The project receives $599,533 over 3 years (2024-2027) with funding from NOAA’s Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA) program. Magel will co-develop a qualitative network model to support scenario planning, management strategies, and adaptation pathways […]
July 31, 2024
Photo essay: Rebirth of an estuary
More than 90 percent of Puget Sound’s tidal wetlands have been lost to development. These rare estuaries, where tidal flows mix with outputs from local rivers, are critical to the early life stages of Chinook and other salmon. A restoration project near Port Susan Bay at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River is bringing back […]
July 16, 2024
September 3 roundtable will share sea level rise resiliency tools
The Salish Sea Science Roundtable speaker series continues on Tuesday, September 3 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Washington Sea Grant works collaboratively with local communities and agency partners to assess and address coastal hazards. WSG staff Ian Miller and Sydney Fishman will share several examples of WSG’s sea level rise resiliency work. Highlighted projects will include […]