By Jessica Payne, Environmental Assessment Program communications manager
Everyone in Washington is feeling the heat this summer, and Puget Sound is no exception. It's been hot and dry, with all kinds of weather records being set. These unusually hot temperatures don't end at the water's edge. We're also seeing the record-breaking warm water temperatures from “the Blob” of North Pacific Ocean water that made its way through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and into Puget Sound late last year.
“The Blob entered Puget Sound on a massive scale in the fall of 2014 and rapidly changed conditions for temperature and also oxygen,” said Dr. Christopher Krembs, Ecology senior oceanographer. “We’re measuring water temperatures 4
° F higher than normal from our past 25 years of record keeping. We’re seeing the warm water everywhere, from Olympia to Bellingham.”
Monitoring suggests that these warm conditions are having many negative consequences on the Puget Sound marine environment. This year we've seen increasing harmful algae blooms, increasing and early shellfish closures, lower dissolved oxygen levels, and unfavorable conditions for salmon and other cold-loving marine species.
Why is Puget Sound warm?
Puget Sound waters have been hit with a double-whammy. Late last year, "the Blob" Was followed by an extremely warm winter and our usual snowpack didn’t form in the mountains. We rely on this melting snow to drive our river flows in the spring and summer. Without snow to melt and flow down our rivers, Puget Sound does not have enough estuarine circulation to push the Blob out of Puget Sound. Decreased circulation can lead to low oxygen conditions and allow pollution to hang around longer.
Monitoring suggests that these warm conditions are having many negative consequences on the Puget Sound marine environment. This year we've seen increasing harmful algae blooms, increasing and early shellfish closures, lower dissolved oxygen levels, and unfavorable conditions for salmon and other cold-loving marine species.