Tag: Dissolved oxygen

Salish Sea Model tracks pollution, currents and climate change

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This article is the latest in a series about computer models and their uses within the Puget Sound ecosystem. Today, we look at the Salish Sea Model, one of several models in the region helping to predict water circulation, water quality and food-web relationships. Read the full series: Where and how the water moves The waters of Puget Sound contain complex chemical mixtures arising from natural and human sources. The waters are blended and pushed around by currents and other physical forces, creating conditions that vary from place to place. […]

Introducing DORA Explorer

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Whether on land or in the sea, oxygen is critical for sustaining life. Healthy ecosystems depend on it, and the amount of dissolved oxygen in marine environments is one of the ways that scientists measure water quality. Both the research community and the regulatory authorities rely on complex computer models of the Salish Sea to predict dissolved oxygen levels, and key mechanistic drivers of water quality change, such as Nitrogen (N), and Net Primary Production (NPP). Now, the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute and the Salish Sea Modeling Center […]

New sewage-treatment permit would be a step to curbing nitrogen in Puget Sound

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In an effort to stem the flow of excess nitrogen into Puget Sound, Washington Department of Ecology has proposed a new type of permit for some 60 sewage-treatment plants operating throughout the region. The flexible permit, called the Puget Sound Nutrient General Permit, aims to hold nitrogen releases close to or below their current levels at most of the treatment plants while offering plant operators options for how to meet those goals. It’s a temporary solution, because the long-term goal is to make significant cuts in the total amount of […]