A foot of water can make or break a King Tide

By Hugh Shipman, Puget Sound coastal geologist, Shorelands program

King Tides are overtaking a shoreline near you

Help scientists track and document King Tides this year! The King Tides Photo Initiative, which is going on now, is aimed at getting people to take photographs during unusually high tides and share them.

Tracking King Tides shows us how future sea level, which is expected to rise significantly during the coming decades, will impact our coastal communities. The projected sea level rise, caused by climate change, will make the extreme high tides we’re chasing now become increasingly common.

Find predicted King Tides
near you to participate!

“King Tides” are defined as the highest tides of the year. In Washington, these phenomenal tides usually occur in December and January. While we work hard to predict the true King Tides; sometimes those on the schedule turn out not to be the highest tides of the winter, even if they are very high tides. Let’s find out why…

Many things make King Tides hard to catch 

Some of you may have tried to help us document King Tides this year and had the experience of being a bit underwhelmed by the high tide you observed. It can be disappointing to go out at the crack of dawn on a day with a projected King Tide, only to see the same ol’ high tide you’re used to seeing. Then, it can be extra upsetting to see news of a truly spectacular high tide a week later when you weren’t expecting one at all.

What’s going on? King Tides can be tricky to predict and catch. The highest tides of the year may not necessarily occur when we expect them. This is particularly true this winter as the strong El Niño is raising water levels, and making King Tides difficult to pinpoint.

Although we have long been able to make very precise predictions of future tides, these are based on the position of the earth relative to the sun and moon, and do not reflect contributions from the ocean or weather. Factors such as wind storms, atmospheric pressure and ocean conditions are very difficult to predict far in advance, and can significantly influence water levels. Who in Washington hasn’t experienced our weather forecast changing drastically from day to day—or even minute to minute?! These same factors can throw a wrench into King Tide predictions by producing water levels that are a foot lower or higher than expected.

Ocean acidification, sea level rise topics of workshop in Aberdeen April 8

By Sandy Howard, Environmental Assessment Program

Ocean acidification and sea level rise are the centerpieces of a free public workshop in Aberdeen on April 8.

The day-long workshop will be held at the Rotary Log Cabin Pavilion, 1401 Sargent Blvd. It’s being presented by Global Ocean Health in collaboration with the Surfrider Foundation.

The 9 a.m. to noon session will focus on emerging research assessing potential to remediate carbon pollution and acidification with marine and coastal vegetation, while restoring estuaries and other coastal areas.

Salt marsh plants, sea grasses, kelp, and other natural and cultured vegetation will be discussed and sea level rise considered.

Various scientists presenting

Presenters Jennifer Ruesink, a University of Washington biologist, and Stephanie Smith from the Oregon State University College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, will speak about current research on seagrasses.

Stephen Crooks, climate change program director for Environmental Services Associates, will report on the carbon-burying potential of estuary restoration.

The morning will conclude with aquaculture consultant John Forster looking at the proven benefits and potential earnings from farming the sea while sequestering carbon.

Macroalgae culture

Macroalgae culture can yield food, fuel, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other commercial products.

The 1-4 p.m. session will explore options to prepare for ocean acidification and sea level rise through local planning and policy processes such as Shoreline Management Plans and other forums.

Who should attend

Elected officials, board and commission members, agency officials, and others involved in ocean planning and policy are urged to attend. Members of the Marine Resources Advisory Council, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, and coastal Marine Resource Committees will participate.

Estuaries will expand with rising seas

“Rising seas will drive a huge expansion of estuaries,” said Brad Warren, director of Global Ocean Health, an initiative of two nonprofit groups that helps seafood producers and coastal communities adapt to changing ocean chemistry.

“If we learn to plan for it well, sea level rise might be more than just a problem—which it certainly will be—but an opportunity. Higher water will make more room for estuarine ecosystems that can sometimes chemically shelter vulnerable larvae from corrosive waters. It won’t be a smooth transition, but sea level rise may open up new areas for farming shellfish and marketable marine macroalgae. It will increase coastal habitats that support hunting and fishing, and expand the nursery grounds that support most of the world’s seafood supply. Some of these habitats also bury more carbon than a tropical rainforest.”

No registration is required for the workshop.

If you have questions, contact Eric Swenson at eric.swenson@sustainablefish.org 206- 334-7333 or Casey Dennehy at cdennehy@surfrider.org, 360-556-6509.

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Our Changing Climate: Mount Adams glaciers disappearing

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program

Over the weekend, the Yakima Herald-Republic published this interesting article about how warming temperatures are melting glaciers on Mount Adams.

The photo of Mount Adams is from the U.S. Geological Survey.

For more information on Cascade Mountains glaciers, check out the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project from Nichols College in Massachusetts.

On another note, the Kitsap Sun had this recent blog post on sea level rise. It stems from a reader’s reply to a story on high tides, which stems from Ecology’s call for people to be on the lookout for so-called “king tides.”

You can read more about Ecology’s “king tides” project here. And you can see the photos of high tides that people submitted to Ecology.

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Our Changing Climate: Mapping Climate Change

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program

A friend sent a link to an interesting website, Climate Hot Map, offered by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

It includes a clickable map that shows how climate change is impacting and could impact places all over the world, including in Washington. (The photo, which is not on the website, shows the receding South Cascade Glacier in Washington's Cascade Mountains.)

The site also provides a lot of information on climate impacts on people and different aspects of the environment.

My friend wrote: “Especially under the People icon, you can see issues related to human health, food, water use and economic costs (just the stuff most people care about, quite a lot in the USA). Also other icons you can check are water (too much, too little), oceans (sea level, acidity, ice), ecosystems and temperatures (air, ocean, water, ground).”

Check it out and see what you find.

In Washington, one of the impacts that poses concerns is rising sea levels and tides. Here’s a recent KPLU report that explores the subject.

Around the Sound: Wyckoff open house is under way

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

Bainbridge Island residents are showing up at IslandWood to learn about possible cleanup alternatives for the Wyckoff site on the edge of Puget Sound.

The site, on Eagle Harbor, is contaminated with large amounts of creosote compounds produced by historic wood-treating operations. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a containment remedy that includes containment and water treatment.

Ecology wants to look for other alternatives, given the potential long-term (think hundreds of years) costs of maintaining and occasionally rebuilding that remedy. We also want to see if we can remove more of the material from the site, so there would be less to contain.

Here’s a quick rundown on the alternatives proposed by national experts who participated in an Ecology-led workshop in January:

+ Full on-site treatment of contaminated material, using steam and electrical heat. The full life of the project is estimated between seven and 20 years.

+ Excavate the entire site, use heat to remove contaminants and use the treated material to fill the site. Estimated project life is four to seven years.

+ Excavate the top 30 feet of material, treat it with heat and replace it. Lower-level material would be treated in place with heat. Estimated project life is eight to 19 years.

+ Excavate the top 30 feet, treat it with heat and stabilize the lower-level material by mixing in cement. Estimated project life is four to six years.

Upcoming Winter High Tides: A Preview of Future Sea Level Rise

By Spencer Reeder
Seasonal high tides occurring throughout the region over the next week and again in early February will provide a preview of what the state might expect to see on a more regular basis as a result of rising sea levels.

Members of the public who happen to photograph these high tide events are invited to submit their images to the Washington State Department of Ecology. The agency is interested in using these images to help document the coastal impacts our state is likely to face with increasing frequency as sea levels continue to rise.

Images can be submitted to sea level rise, along with the date, time, and detailed location information. Please provide contact information if you'd like us to send you a release form for future publication of your photos.

For those in the Olympia area, there will be a gathering at the Percival Landing waterfront on Monday, January 4th at 8:15 a.m. to observe a potentially 17 foot high tide. For more information, see the Tacoma News Tribune story.

High-tide events will vary by location around the state. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) provides detailed information on tide heights and timing, although these can vary significantly depending on weather conditions. See NOAA tide prediction information for complete information on upcoming high-tide events around the state. The National Weather Service provides specific coastal weather conditions.

Increases in global sea levels have been recorded by NOAA tide gauges for many years, and more recent observations have been collected by NASA satellites. The steady rise has been attributed to both a warming of the oceans and contributions from melting glaciers and land-based ice sheets. Climate modeling combined with these direct observations suggest sea level rise will continue well into the future with significant implications for Washington’s more than 3000 miles of marine coastline.

Analysis conducted by the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group and the Washington State Department of Ecology show that increases in sea level in Puget Sound could be as high as 22 inches by mid-century, with upper estimates of more than four feet of rise by 2100.

Understanding the future impacts from sea level rise and creating tools and information to assist local governments and the citizens of the state is a priority for Governor Gregoire and the Department of Ecology. A recent executive order signed by the Governor in May 2009 directed the agency to “evaluate the potential impacts of sea level rise on the state’s shoreline areas.”

For additional information on climate change impacts, preparation, and adaptation please see www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/adaptation.htm