Tag: Ocean Acidification

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. […]

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 […]

New report describes anticipated climate-change effects in Washington state

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Early effects of a warming Earth have reached Washington state, as we can see from actual measurements. Annual snowpack is declining in the mountains; ancient glaciers are shrinking; sea levels are rising; and coastal waters are becoming less hospitable to sea life. These are some of the changes outlined in a new easy-to-read briefing report titled “Shifting Snowlines and Shorelines” by the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington. The report is designed to bring a clear message to leaders and citizens of Washington state regarding where we have […]

Sharing info, as changes in ocean chemistry affect Northwest waters at alarming pace

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It was fairly alarming, even to scientists, to hear the latest research regarding ocean acidification — a powerful change in ocean chemistry that results from excess carbon dioxide passing from the atmosphere into the oceans of the world. One of the most alarming reports came from Richard Feely, senior scientist at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. Dick talked about how changes in ocean chemistry will soon accelerate, with damaging consequences, as the ocean’s buffering capacity begins to break down. It’s all a bit technical, but I worked carefully […]

Rate of ocean acidification may accelerate, scientists warn

In laboratory experiments, a pteropod shell dissolved over the course of 45 days in seawater adjusted to an ocean chemistry projected for the year 2100. Photo: NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory
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Last summer, scientists met at the University of Washington to address alarming findings concerning the rapid acidification of the world’s oceans. Experts at that symposium warned that wildlife in the Salish Sea, from salmon to shellfish, may start to see significant effects from changing water chemistry within the next 10 to 20 years. PSI senior writer Christopher Dunagan reports on the symposium’s key findings. Read the article in Salish Sea Currents. Editor’s note: This article  was commissioned and edited by the Washington Ocean Acidification Center which hosted the symposium. Funds […]

Ocean acidification may be twice as extreme in Puget Sound’s seagrass habitats, threatening Dungeness crabs

An eelgrass bed in Puget Sound. Photo courtesy of Oregon State University.
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Ocean acidification could be up to twice as severe in fragile seagrass habitats as it is in the open ocean, according to a study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The conditions may threaten Dungeness crabs by 2050 and will be especially pronounced in the winter, the study says. Read the story in Salish Sea Currents.

Local actions highlight ocean acidification report

Ocean Acidification: From Knowledge to Action - Washington State's Strategic Response (report cover)
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By Christopher Dunagan, Puget Sound Institute The dangers of ocean acidification — an intrinsic feature of climate change — are coming early to Washington state, causing measurable harm to sea life, according to a new report that outlines a state strategy for pushing back against the problem. The report, titled “Ocean Acidification: from knowledge to action,” updates and expands upon strategies first developed in 2012 by the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. “Ocean acidification threatens Washington shellfish, fisheries industries, and the coastal communities that depend on them,” […]