Eyes Over Puget Sound on June 23, 2014

By Sandy Howard, communications manager, Environmental Assessment Program

Our guest feature this month is about phytoplankton monitoring in Budd Inlet, plus we’ve got an in-depth look at our mooring program. Our technology is now hitching a ride on the state ferries.

We hope you enjoy our June 23, 2014 Eyes Over Puget Sound.

Our cover photo shows a green bloom and mats of organic material 

floating at thesurface in Fidalgo Bay, Anacortes.

What's happening right now in Puget Sound

Onshore winds have been keeping the Puget Sound lowlands cool and cloudy, but sunlight and warmer temperatures are returning.

We saw large organic mats of surface debris in Hood Canal, Padilla Bay, and Lay Inlet – our scientists say that many are macro-algae. There were strong red-brown blooms in Discovery Bay, East Sound, and parts of Georgia Basin.

There was sediment-rich water north of San Juan Islands. Jelly fish are increasing in numbers. Colder, saltier conditions in early 2014 and lower oxygen in Whidbey Basin, Central, and South Sound continue. Hood Canal remains unusually cold. At our Mukilteo mooring, temperatures are similar to last year, but salinity and dissolved oxygen follow the Puget Sound-wide trend.

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Eyes Over Puget Sound combines high-resolution photo observations with satellite images, en route ferry data between Seattle and Victoria BC, and measurements from our moored instruments.

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