Background:

Puget Sound is the southernmost fjord on the glaciated coast of Pacific North America, and the largest such body of water in the United States outside Alaska. It is a remarkably pristine marine environment that supports many marine industries and forms a large element in the high quality of life our region enjoys.

Yet this state of health is precarious. In recent years, a number of definite impacts caused by, and potential threats due to, human activities have emerged:

 

• Devastating oil spills have impacted shorelines and marine life, and contamination of shoreline from combined sewage outflows (CSOs) during storm events have occurred;
• Elliott Bay, on which the city of Seattle is located, reports among the highest incidence of chemical contaminations and fish disease in the U.S., in spite of stringent regulation of sources that has led to some decline in recent years.
• Close to sixty percent of nearshore, estuarine wetland habitat has been destroyed, resulting in population decline of waterfowl, shorebirds and numerous fish species including several commercially important species such as hake, Pollock, rockfish  and Pacific .
• Persistent low-oxygen conditions (hypoxia) are found in several inlets, including Budd Inlet, where the state capital is located, and Hood Canal.

 

In order to address these problems, we need better science of the marine environment of Puget Sound, and better tools that can help us make decisions on how to manage the region’s resources in an ecologically friendly way.

 

The Region Needs Marine Modeling

Computer models have become important tools for environmental research, where they are used as “virtual laboratories” to simulate hydrodynamic and ecological behaviors that are complex. They have also become important tools for informed decision-making used by agencies with responsibilities for environmental management. An accurate computer model can –

• Forecast how an oil spill would move in response to tidal currents;
• Help us assess how shorelines might be impacted by coliform bacteria released in a combined sewage outflow (CSO) event caused by a rainstorm;
• Help us figure out how climate change might affect flushing of the sound’s basins and water quality, including oxygen levels;
• Do many more….

 

A Renewed Commitment to Sound Science

In the late 1990s, prompted by mounting environmental concerns, regional agencies and scientific institutions have renewed or redoubled their effort to monitor, understand and model the marine environment of Puget Sound.

• University of Washington started the Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model (PRISM) initiative, with the goal of providing a comprehensive suite of models for the Puget Sound region together with educational and outreach activities;
• King County, Washington conducted an oceanographic observation program in the north Main Basin of Puget Sound as a part of the study for the siting of the marine outfall for the new BrightWater Treatment Plant, and collaborated with the University for development of a model for the whole Puget Sound;
• Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in collaboration with SPAWAR in San Diego developed a regional model of the Sinclair – Dyes Inlets and surrounding watersheds;
• Washington Department of Ecology developed a circulation model of the South Sound region,

 

It appeared to be an opportune time for the institutions to get together and develop synergy among them. At the same time, the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) issued a call for proposal for modeling partnerships that would encompass academic, governmental and private sectors. We came together to formulate such a partnership for the region, which resulted in a successful proposal that has led to the formation of Puget Sound Marine Environmental Modeling (PSMEM) partnership.

 

Sharing Resources

At the inception of our partnership, we conducted an informal survey of local agencies regarding their needs for marine modeling. The survey indicated that many of them are hampered from entering this area because of lack of persons with expertise in environmental modeling, computer operation and programming. Those institutions that do have such expertise, therefore, could function as a valuable community resource - as a partner in a study that requires modeling, and as a provider of advice and training.

 

The same survey also indicated that there are a large number of agencies engaged in marine monitoring activities around Puget Sound; however, each institution typically collects data for its own purposes independent of others. The value of the collected data will dramatically increase when placed in context along with other data. Moreover, data-gathering institutions are not often aware that the data can be of use to modelers. Modelers, too, need to know what data is available for forcing and validation before they can formulate a modeling strategy, and should have an input into planning for future monitoring activities.