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News, Events, & Blog Featured Posts

October 1, 2025

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What is driving ongoing contamination in Commencement Bay?

Despite more than four decades of a Superfund cleanup along Tacoma’s industrial Tideflats, research suggests that large amounts of toxic chemicals like PCBs and PBDEs may still be entering the waterway. Our affiliates at the Center for Urban Waters are co-leading a new project to identify contaminant hotspots. When it was first designated in 1983, […]
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July 7, 2025

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A photographic tour of the entire Puget Sound shoreline by watercraft and aircraft

Kayaker-scientist Brian Footen is back on the waters of Puget Sound this summer, paddling through inlets and circling islands on a 2,700-mile journey to photograph the shoreline and document natural and human-caused changes to the habitat. This state-funded project is Brian’s second photographic trip along the sinuous shoreline throughout the entirety of the Sound, from […]
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June 23, 2025

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The debate over oxygen in Puget Sound

A draft nutrient reduction plan from the Washington Department of Ecology is out for public review. Now, many new developments — technical, scientific and legal — are reaching a critical stage and setting up a framework to make some major decisions. This four-part series in Our Water Ways looks back on how we have reached our present condition, including a consideration of possible solutions.
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June 9, 2025

Sea lions resting on docks at a marina with sailboats and yachts in the background under a cloudy sky.">

Follow the herring: Why sea lions have been calling Shilshole Marina home

For the past three springs, Shilshole Bay Marina has been contending with droves of California visitors occupying their guest boater moorages––California sea lions that is. To Shelby Allman, Port of Seattle Harbor Operations Supervisor, it seemed like the furry visitors arrived almost overnight. By mid-May nearly 120 animals had hauled themselves onto five “finger” docks […]
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April 15, 2025

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The winner of Grand Uncertainties Madness!

After five rounds of voting, the winner of the Grand Uncertainties Madness tournament bracket is: What type of protection and restoration actions have the largest and most lasting impact on floodplain function and which types of actions are cost effective? This research need (from the rivers group) won in a close but decisive victory over […]
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April 10, 2025

The “unstructured grid” used in the Salish Sea Model allows for greater resolution (smaller triangles) when studying complex water circulation, such as around the Hood Canal bridge. Graphic: Tarang Khangaonkar">

Unpacking uncertainty: How experts recommend improving Puget Sound modeling

An external scientific review by independent experts is a common and valuable practice, particularly when the models have significant management implications. This ethos is why peer review is foundational to science in general. By providing an objective assessment, external reviewers can help ensure the models are robust and appropriate for the management decisions they’re being […]
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