One of our collaborators made news this week for his pilot study quantifying marijuana use in Seattle and Tacoma. Dan Burgard, a chemist at the University of Puget Sound, is analyzing wastewater from sewage treatment plants to identify levels of metabolized THC. The study is designed to determine if new recreational marijuana laws are leading to an increase in marijuana […]
June 4, 2015
Ocean Modeling Forum to hold Pacific Herring Summit June 8-10
Puget Sound Institute lead ecologist Tessa Francis is co-chair of an upcoming summit to examine the human dimensions of Pacific herring fisheries in the Salish Sea. The forum brings together “social and natural scientists, tribes and First Nations, and federal and state managers” to identify new approaches to ecosystem-based management, including the use of traditional ecologic knowledge […]
February 13, 2015
UW scientist studies how pharmaceuticals impact the environment
Dr. Ed Kolodziej is one of the Puget Sound Institute’s newest collaborators. Kolodziej began his appointment at the University of Washington Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering last fall with a joint appointment at Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at UW Tacoma. His research looks at some of the ways that organic compounds like steroids and […]
January 11, 2015
Identifying priority science for Puget Sound recovery
In December 2014, the Puget Sound Leadership Council adopted the 2014-2016 Biennial Science Work Plan, a document identifying decision-critical science for Puget Sound recovery. PSI Research Scientist Nick Georgiadis was lead author on the report in collaboration with the Puget Sound Partnership and its Science Panel. In the report, Georgiadis addresses the challenge of managing large scale ecosystems in the face […]
January 7, 2015
New data could yield clues to herring declines
It was a treasure trove, waiting to be uncovered. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) had been surveying Puget Sound herring habitat for more than 40 years, but until recently, much of that data remained in the original logbooks, un-digitized and unused. Recent efforts by Puget Sound Institute Lead Ecologist Tessa Francis in collaboration […]
September 26, 2013
New geospatial and monitoring features on the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
PSI’s Encyclopedia of Puget Sound has a number of new features on its Maps/GIS page. We have improved access to the maps and data from our collaboration with NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration. Nigel Heinsius at UW Creative Communications created a new interface that allows users to view GIS metadata without leaving the Encyclopedia website, and […]
June 25, 2013
An idea whose time has come (25 years later)
We recently came across this editorial from Seattle Times writer John Hamer. The text still seems fresh, like it could have been written just a few years ago. The issues that prompted it remain pressing, but the date — January of 1985 — shows that it can take a while for words to resonate. “Nearly every […]
June 20, 2013
Kelly Biedenweg appointed Lead Social Scientist at PSI
Dr. Kelly Biedenweg has been appointed Lead Social Scientist at the Puget Sound Institute, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Puget Sound Partnership. As part of her role at the Institute, she will develop critical social science to support recovery of the Puget Sound, immediately focusing on the development and testing of […]
June 19, 2013
PSI in the news
The Puget Sound Institute and the Center for Urban Waters were featured in several news outlets over the past month, including the Kitsap Sun, Crosscut, and WYPR in Balitimore.
June 19, 2013
The Center for Urban Waters welcomes summer interns
The Puget Sound Instititute and the Center for Urban Waters welcome seven student interns this summer. This is the third year for our internship program, which offers students and recent graduates the chance to work with post-doctoral, and professional scientists on a range of research projects— from field sampling and lab work to multimedia production for the Encyclopedia […]