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Warmer and sunnier days result in higher than normal river flows from the Skagit and Nisqually. Biological activity in the water column is high. Abundant organic surface debris in Hood Canal, Padilla Bay, and many Inlets. Red-brown blooms in South Sound, Discovery Bay, and regions of Bellingham Bay. Different blooms in Skagit Bay, Padilla Bay, and Sinclair Inlet. Jelly fish are numerous in all southernmost South Sound Bays. Hood Canal remains cold but Puget Sound-wide temperatures are now warmer and less salty. Data from the Victoria Clipper and our sampling in the Strait provides important information on water exchange with the ocean.

River flows are above normal and air temperatures are increasing slowly. The spring phytoplankton bloom is slow to develop with visible blooms limited to smaller bays such as Sequim and Bellingham Bays. Noctiluca observed in East Sound on Orcas Island, coinciding with high numbers of jellyfish. Debris lines are mostly confined to Hood Canal. Pockets of colder water observed in Central Sound and Hood Canal, likely from the colder, saltier conditions that developed during the winter in the northern regions. Oxygen is variable yet close to expected ranges. Sizable oil sheens were sighted in Gig Harbor and Carr Inlet.

The ocean and air remain warm with sunshine and dry weather across the region. As a result, Puget Sound is a lot warmer going into the new year. Hood Canal is responding with temperatures warmer than previous measurements, breaking its low temperature stint. First signs of growing phytoplankton are coloring the water green. Patches of jellyfish are overwintering in finger inlets of South Sound. Tidal fronts and suspended sediment are visible amidst the stunning San Juan Islands scenery. A sediment-rich water mass is trapped in Rosario Strait. Check out the South Sound Estuarium and the many reasons we love Puget Sound!

Puget Sound conditions are normalizing after seven months of lower oxygen. Calm, dry, cool, and foggy mornings abruptly changed on October 28 to sun and strong northerly winds. Red-brown blooms and abundant jellyfish in south Puget Sound inlets appeared as we flew to the coast. Blooms were still visible near ocean beaches and inner bays. Grays Harbor had abundant surface debris with green algae in North Bay. We spotted red-brown blooms in rivers and sloughs in Willapa Bay, as well as schooling fish near sandbanks. Many patches of suspended sediment appeared in shallow water unrelated to tidal currents and remain unexplained.

Air temperatures have fallen due to unusually weak northern winds bringing in cold air. A dry beginning to winter causes low river flows. This dry winter brings new Puget Sound conditions with colder saltier waters observed in the northern regions. Oxygen has stabilized again within expected ranges. Suspended sediments along wind and wave exposed beaches add artful brushstrokes to the Puget Sound waterscape. Jellyfish are still going strong in Eld Inlet. Oil seen leaking from a boat in Commencement Bay and Ecology’s Spills Program responds. Our intern, Clifton, brings renewed passion to monitoring!

Large-scale climate patterns and local weather patterns are returning to more normal conditions. La Niña helped build a favorable snowpack, projected to persist well into spring due to cooler weather. As a consequence, stream flows are largely normal. In Puget Sound, we see again normal water conditions and observe early spring blooms in Central Sound, northern Hood Canal, and Whidbey Basin. Herring are spawning in Admiralty Reach and further north. Salmon Bay in Seattle continues to have frequent oil sheens on the water.

In July, conditions were normalizing, yet river flows remained lower, continuing into August. July also saw lower oxygen appearing in southern Puget Sound. By August, jellyfish are occurring in high numbers in Eld and Budd Inlet. South Puget Sound has Noctiluca drifting at the surface in large orange lines in many places and red-brown blooms widespread in finger inlets, as well as in Sinclair Inlet. Central Sound surface-water temperatures are high, still in the 60s, and algae are abundant. See what we are measuring to understand ocean acidification in Puget Sound.

Abundant sunshine gives rise to large algal mats in South Sound, Hood Canal, and Sinclair Inlet. Red-brown algal blooms dominate in Budd, Totten, and Eld Inlets and jellyfish begin to increase. Northerly winds push algal blooms from Whidbey and Central Basins past Seattle and a bloom in northern Hood Canal southward. Satellite thermal imagery shows patterns of near-surface mixing and injection of nutrients into the surface layer. Glacial-fed rivers deliver glacial flour into Commencement Bay, stratifying the water and supporting different colored phytoplankton blooms (green, brown, and red). Since the beginning of 2013, dissolved oxygen is dropping below expected values.

ENSO is in a cold phase (La Niña) and it is wetter and warmer than normal. Strong precipitation in October greatly improved Puget Sound streamflows. At the coast, we had strong downwelling. As a result, water temperatures, salinities, and oxygen in Puget Sound are returning to normal. While surface water in Puget Sound has cooled, it is still warmer than in the Straits. Surprisingly, masses of suspended sediment occurred east of Steamboat Island in Totten Inlet. We continue to see large jellyfish aggregations in finger Inlets of South Sound and slowly fading red-brown blooms.

The weather changed from cool, cloudy and southerlies, to sunny warm conditions and light northerly winds on Mother’s Day. At the water surface, blooms and large debris lines occur in Bellingham, Padilla, and Samish Bays, Hood Canal, East Sound, and the Straits, as well as the finger inlets of South Sound. Large amounts of sediment-laden water from Port Susan are flowing into Central Basin. Turquoise water mixing to the surface in places around the San Juan Islands. After some trouble-shooting of the hardware and communication system, we will resume collecting Victoria Clipper data next week. Meet Eyes Under Puget Sound: Sediment Monitoring Program at Ecology.