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Good conditions to be in the field Less rain, average temperatures and not much sun. Temperatures continue to cool and blooms fade. Algae bloom still in northern Quartermaster Harbor. Jelly fish in Budd Inlet.

We are in a weakening La Niña, coastal downwelling has lessened and we are getting out of a cold and wet stretch, hurray. In March, rivers have almost returned to normal and carry clear water. It’s a good time to go diving if you don’t mind cold water. The productive season has only started in some places and patches of jellyfish are visible. Have a look at this edition and marvel about the secrets of the dead, or mysterious sediment clouds and the oil sheen spotted near Lummi Bay.

Multiple algal blooms in South Sound and Main Basin. Ferry and satellite images confirm center of algae bloom in the Main Basin and indication of a bloom in Carr Inlet. Oxygen levels are increasing on moorings. Oil sheen in Colvos Passage.

Temperatures in Main Basin drop below 15 °C. Marco algae in Central Sound. Red-brown blooms in South Sound Inlets and parts of Central Sound. Jellyfish patches increasing in size in Sinclair and Budd Inlets. Low-Moderate fluorescence and turbidity in Main Basin and Admiralty Inlet.

A 2014 article in the journal Northwestern Naturalist shows how Harbor Seal tissues can reflect regional and temporal trends in contaminants in Puget Sound.

Temperatures range from 9-11°C. Red-brown blooms and jellyfish continue in terminal inlets. Low fluorescence throughout Central Sound and Admiralty Inlet. Since 2011 much colder and much fresher and oxygen levels are up.

Summer is here! Surface water temperatures have warmed to 14-15 °C. Widespread algae bloom in Main Basin. Puyallup River discharge is very large. Extensive phytoplankton blooms in Central and South Sound, large patches and strands of macroalgae in South Sound/southern Central Sound.

Little sunshine, cold air temperatures, and higher river flows. Freshwater plumes extend far into the waterways. Chilly surface temperatures in Central Sound. First blooms begin in South Sound. A thinner freshwater layer at Mukilteo suggests a low discharge of the Snohomish river.

In the south a persistent marine layer over the lowlands keep conditions cooler. River flows are high. Water temperatures approach 15 °C. High fluorescence in the Main Basin Extensive red-brown blooms in South Sound. In Whidbey Basin, higher DO and algal bloom in surface waters.

River flows are below normal. Temperatures in Puget Sound are 12-14 °C. Extensive red-brown blooms in Inlets of South and Central Sound. Jellyfish are increasing in numbers. Low-moderate fluorescence in Central Sound. In Possession Sound dissolved oxygen decreased by 1.1 mg/L.