Category: PSI Roundup

PSI monthly roundup: September 2022

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PSI monthly roundup: September 2022 View the fully formatted newsletter Six things that people should know about ecosystem modeling and virtual experiments Mathematical models running on high-speed computers are being used successfully to describe and predict all sorts of environmental changes, from annual salmon runs to sea-level rise to warming waters in streams, bays and oceans. We talked with six experts involved in a variety of ecosystem models. Here’s what they said you should know about how models work and why computer simulations are becoming increasingly important to our understanding of the […]

PSI monthly roundup: June 2022

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VIEW THE FULLY FORMATTED NEWSLETTER in your browser Boundary spanning in Puget Sound Ecosystem-based management is often a large-scale collaborative effort involving many distinct groups. Boundary spanning organizations such as the Puget Sound Institute can help to support communication and policy development across institutions. In a new paper in the journal Environmental Science & Policy, we look at how knowledge exchange influences science-based ecosystem recovery in Puget Sound. Our paper is now online, and we have created an extended abstract available on the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Read more. Magazine series looks […]

Job opening: Research Scientist/Engineer Assistant

The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute is located at the Center for Urban Waters on Tacoma's Thea Foss Waterway.
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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 water quality modeling for regional utilities, research centers, environmental NGOs, and state, federal, and tribal governments. We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in data analysis using Python or MATLAB, or related coding […]

Job opening: Research scientist/engineer 2

The University of Washington Puget Sound Institute is located at the Center for Urban Waters on Tacoma's Thea Foss Waterway.
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The Puget Sound Institute is seeking a highly motivated researcher with a background in interdisciplinary environmental science, marine/aquatic resource management, or conservation planning and experience connecting science to policy. The position is housed at the Center for Urban Waters in Tacoma, Washington, and is expected to work on campus but may be eligible for partial teleworking. Preferred start date is January 2022, and the position is funded through December 2023. This position will support a project funded by the Puget Sound National Estuary Program’s Habitat Strategic Initiative. The primary focus […]

PSI launches Salish Sea Modeling Center

Maps generated from the Salish Sea Model showing surface layer transport in the Northwest Straits (left) and sea surface salinity (right). Images: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
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The Puget Sound Institute is launching a new program that will use supercomputers to advance ecosystem recovery of the Salish Sea. The Salish Sea Modeling Center will allow scientists from around the region to access sophisticated computer models to predict changes in the ecosystem. Work at the center will tackle vexing environmental problems such as the changing chemistry of the Salish Sea and other mysteries puzzling scientists. The center is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and other regional water quality partners. If you want to understand where fish or […]

PSI is hiring a GIS Specialist

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–The position has been filled– The Puget Sound Institute at the University of Washington is seeking a GIS Specialist to work on geospatially explicit tasks relating to the regional strategy to restore and recover valued components of the Puget Sound ecosystem. These include data acquisition, development, maintenance, mapping, and basic geospatial analysis. The position is funded by the EPA’s National Estuary Program. DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: Develop and maintain effective working relationships with project clients, stakeholders and team members. Contribute to the design of spatial elements of projects aimed at advancing […]

PSI is hiring a postdoc for a water quality modeling project

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The Puget Sound Institute (PSI) is looking for an early-career research scientist or engineer to contribute to a collaborative project modeling the sources, movements, and fates of toxic chemicals in the Salish Sea. In this position you will be responsible for aggregating, evaluating, and interpreting large monitoring data sets to support the development of a deterministic, hydrodynamic water quality model. You will also serve as the collaborative link between the modelers from the Pacific Northwest Laboratories, who developed the Salish Sea Mosel, and water quality scientists and engineers from PSI, […]

Young herring ‘go with the older fish’ a key finding in Ocean Modeling Forum’s efforts

A school of herring.Jacob Bøtter/Flickr
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Puget Sound Institute lead ecosystem ecologist Tessa Francis was quoted in a recent article in UW News. From UWT News Service: “Young herring ‘go with the older fish’ a key finding in Ocean Modeling Forum’s efforts,” by Michelle Ma, UW News, May 29, 2019, http://www.washington.edu/news/2019/05/29/young-herring-go-with-the-older-fish-a-key-finding-in-ocean-modeling-forums-efforts/. Tessa Francis is both the lead ecosystem ecologist at the Puget Sound Institute, housed at UW Tacoma’s Center for Urban Waters, and the managing director of the Ocean Modeling Forum (OMF), a science-collaboration group led by UW. She is quoted in this story about new […]

PSI is hiring for a new postdoc position

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PSI is seeking a postdoctoral research scientist to focus on modeling the connections between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Puget Sound. The full job announcement is available below. University of Washington Postdoctoral Research Scientist Modeling Terrestrial-Aquatic Linkages in Puget Sound The Puget Sound Institute, a University of Washington research center located in Tacoma (www.pugetsoundinstitute.org), is seeking a postdoctoral research scientist who focuses on modeling the connections between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, especially how the built environment controls the movement of water, nutrients, and chemical contaminants into adjacent surface waters.  This […]

PSI Director to present lecture at “Superheroes of Science” series

Puget Sound Institute Director Joel Baker
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PSI director Joel Baker will present “Water in the City: Let’s Get Better At This” at the RAIN Superheroes of Science lecture series on April 8th in Tacoma. Water is ubiquitous. We all take it for granted and yet agonize over it. Most of us use 10 gallons each morning before our first cup of coffee and over 100 gallons throughout the day. While 3 in 10 people worldwide lack access to clean water in their homes, those of us in developed countries blithely turn the spigot. Despite this, we […]

Marc Mangel joins PSI

PSI senior research scientist Marc Mangel.
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By Jeff Rice How many fish are in the Salish Sea? It’s an impossible question that drives the Puget Sound Institute’s newest senior scientist Marc Mangel.  Mangel has spent his career working on fish and fisheries issues and uses mathematical models to answer critical questions about species such as their population numbers and population health. He joins PSI this month as an affiliate professor at the University of Washington Tacoma where he will focus on a range of subjects related to species such as salmon and forage fish. Mangel comes […]

Bay mussels in Puget Sound show traces of oxycodone

Bay Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) on Edmonds Ferry Dock. Photo [cropped]: brewbooks (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/8840874065
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By Jeff Rice The opioid epidemic has now hit the waters of Puget Sound. State agencies tracking pollution levels in Puget Sound have discovered traces of oxycodone in the tissues of native bay mussels (Mytilus trossulus) from Seattle and Bremerton area harbors. The mussels were part of the state’s Puget Sound Mussel Monitoring Program. Every two years, scientists at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) transplant uncontaminated mussels from an aquaculture source on Whidbey Island to various locations in Puget Sound to study pollution levels. Mussels, which are […]