All Articles
Before supercomputers, a structural model helped scientists predict currents in Puget Sound
One of the first working models of Puget Sound was a scaled-down concrete reproduction, with actual water running through channels, around islands and into bays, inlets, and harbors. Motors, pumps and timing gears are part of an elaborate mechanism that replicates tides and river flows in the still-functioning model.
Researchers use a qualitative network model to test ways to boost production at shellfish farms
The skeletal beginnings of nearly all models is a conceptual understanding of the basic workings of the system being studied: Who are the important actors, and what are their roles within the system?
Health of killer whales examined through Bayesian network modeling and informed predictions
Many types of computer models are helping researchers study the health of Puget Sound. Bayesian network models are used to examine the probabilities that certain actions will take place within the ecosystem.
Quantitative models, including Ecopath, take food web studies to a higher level of analysis
The Ecopath model, designed to describe the flow of energy through a food web, as evolved since it was first developed in the early 1980s in Hawaii. This article is part of a series focused on different models and their uses within the Puget Sound ecosystem.
Prey and predators create varying life-or-death conditions for salmon, as shown with Atlantis model
The three-dimensional Atlantis model can represent physical, chemical and biological processes and can incorporate direct human involvement, such as fisheries management, habitat improvements and economic outcomes. It has been used to study the food web to determine whether salmon in Puget Sound are more threatened by predators or by the lack of a stable food supply and to evaluate specific
Puget Sound's Grand Uncertainties Matrix
Researchers are compiling a strategic list of scientific uncertainties related to Puget Sound recovery. The list will be used to prioritize future funding and research to address critical knowledge gaps about the ecosystem.
Impacts of low oxygen on Puget Sound aquatic life (infographic)
Chronic stress from lack of oxygen can make aquatic organisms more vulnerable to disease, pollution, or predation. Low oxygen can also result in reduced habitat for some species. Aquatic species may escape, acclimate, adapt, or die with exposure.
Circulation in Puget Sound (infographic)
Estuaries around the world including Puget Sound perform an amazing feat of continuous water mixing called estuarine exchange flow.
Pacific Whale Watch Association 2022 Sightings and Sentinel Actions
The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) is a community of ecotourism professionals with a shared commitment to education, conservation, and responsible wildlife viewing in Washington state and British Columbia. The 2022 PWWA annual report summarizes wildlife sightings and sentinel actions logged by members throughout the year. Sentinel actions are protective measures taken by professional whale
Sources of nitrogen in Puget Sound (infographic)
Nitrogen is a chemical element that is essential for the growth of all life on earth. But too much nitrogen can lead to low dissolved oxygen and other problems such as toxic algal blooms that can harm or kill aquatic organisms.