Oceanography of Puget Sound (Salish Sea)

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1 Oceanography of Puget Sound (Salish Sea) ESCI 491 Puget Sound Partnership Goals Ensure that activities and funding are focused on the most urgent and important problems facing the Sound. Protect the intact ecosystem processes that sustain Puget Sound. Restore ecosystem processes that will sustain Puget Sound. Prevent the sources of water pollution. Puget Sound Partnership Core Priorities Clean up contaminated sites and sediments. Prevent toxic contamination Prevent harm from storm-water runoff Prevent nutrient and pathogen pollution Protect functioning marine and freshwater habitats Restore degraded marine and freshwater habitats Protect species diversity. Prepare for and adapt Puget Sound efforts to a changing climate Summarized in 2009 State of the Sound Report. 1

2 Health of the Salish Sea 13 species in decline including Olympia oyster, copper rockfish, harbor porpoise, and marbled murrelet. Commercial stocks of bottom fish, salmon and herring in poor condition (Diving ducks, kelp, harbor seals doing well) Hypoxia in Hood Canal, southern Puget Sound, Whidbey Basin 49 sites with contaminants exceeding regulations (Elliott Bay, Commencement Bay, Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, Sinclair and Dyes inlets, Bellingham Bay, Everett Harbor, and Budd Inlet.) Toxins in marine mammals (Orca, harbor seals) Shellfish contamination (human pathogen [fecal coliform] and PSP) Degraded habitat due to shoreline modification Sediment erosion deposition Geology Physics Primary Fields of Oceanography Water depth Basin geometry Weathering Precipitation/ Dissolution Circulation pattern mixed-layer depth Light attenuation Bottom topography Organic C production & degradation Chemistry Biology Nutrients Contaminants Marine Science Courses at WWU Introduction to Oceanography: ESCI 321 Oceanography methods: ESCI 322 Biological: ESCI 432 Current topics in marine ecology ESCI 426 Marine invertebrates and their environment Biol 407 Marine ecology Other marine ecology courses (algae, wetlands, fish) Chemical: ESCI 454 Marine Chemistry, ESCI 361 Water quality, ESCI 444 Biogeochemistry of Marine Sediments Geological: GEOL 340 Geological Oceanography Physical: ESCI 491 Oceanography of Puget Sound Course objectives Examination of physical, chemical and biological processes in Puget Sound, focusing on circulation Use mathematical and physical models to better understand circulation and related processes (note that we will use calculus throughout the quarter) Apply problem-solving skills to a regional environmental problem in Puget Sound integrating oceanography and environmental policy Practice communicating scientific principles to a nonscience audience through oral and written assignments Prepare a resume and cover letter for employment or further study following graduation from Western Syllabus: 2

3 Research problem Nitrogen in Bellingham Bay Issues Long term changes in Salish Sea nutrient chemistry Nitrogen is increasing, but inputs are stable!?! Nitrogen limits productivity & can lead to eutrophication Opportunities International program on nitrogen focusing on the Nooksack R. watershed! ( New buoy moored in Bellingham Bay continuous measurements of T, S, and DO! WA Dept. Ecology geochemistry project includes Bellingham Bay Analytical instrumentation: Membrane-inlet mass spectrometer Deep-water dissolved oxygen, Point Francis, Bellingham Bay Broader trends in Puget Sound Krembs et al Potential Research topics Bellingham Bay nutrients Post Point WWTP: Variation in nutrient input Nooksack River: Where does the N originate? How much enters Bellingham Bay? Deep water from Strait of Georgia Groundwater: Not-yet quantified source Rates of sedimentary denitrification Modeling: Quantifying ecosystem processes through mathematical modeling Outreach and education 3

4 Sources of nutrients to Bellingham Bay Inflow? Nooksack R WWTP Deep section with intermittent hypoxia Sill Nutrient sources Nooksack WWTP Sediments Deep water Groundwater Runoff Flow directions? Flow rates? Scientific questions What are the nutrient sources to Bellingham Bay and how do people contribute? Nooksack River Post Point WWTP (ammonium, urea?) Deep water Groundwater Sediments (denitrification) Role of circulation in oxygen consumption, primary productivity, and nutrient cycling Policy questions Consequences of Bellingham growth and input from WWTP? What should be done about point sources of N to the Nooksack River? What do residents know about changes in N input to Bellingham Bay? 4

5 Bellingham Bay Buoy fixed_platform:nwic_bellinghambay Continuous measurements of surface and deep water S, T, and DO. CTD survey to supplement buoy data Capstone projects Nooksack River nitrogen How does N vary within the river? Where does it enter the river? How much N does it deliver to Bellingham Bay? Post Point WWTP Magnitude and variation in N input Groundwater input of N Flow rate, variation, N content Sedimentary denitrification Average rates Nitrogen within Bellingham Bay and in deep water Box model of Bellingham Bay Use buoy data Calculate rates of N supply, removal and ecosystem processes Other topics Selection of capstone project/projects Scheduling sampling trips Assignment: Resume One paragraph proposal on topic of choice List four top projects in order Include schedule: When are you free to sample? 5