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Flame retardants
Efforts to reduce fire hazards over a half century ago have left an unintended trail of persistent environmental contaminants from flame retardant chemicals known as PBDEs. Bans and substitutes are still evolving.
New law will increase testing of chemicals
New federal legislation, approved overwhelmingly by the U.S. Congress in December 2015 and signed into law by President Obama in June 2016, is designed to make sure that people and the environment are not harmed by new and old chemicals on the market.
Puget Sound Recovery Atlas
The Puget Sound Recovery Atlas is a map-based, online tool that allows users to learn more about an important subset of Puget Sound restoration and protection activities.
Devastating transboundary impacts of sea star wasting disease on subtidal asteroids
A study in the journal PLOS ONE uses volunteer diver surveys to assess the impacts of sea star wasting disease in the Salish Sea. Data shows that sunflower sea stars were especially hard hit and have all but disappeared from the region.
Hitting a wall: Can we fix Puget Sound’s beaches?
New numbers show progress in the state’s efforts to remove shoreline armoring, but they don’t tell the whole story.
![Bay Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) on Edmonds Ferry Dock. Photo [cropped]: brewbooks (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/8840874065](/sites/default/files/styles/article_landing_page_image/public/topical_article/images/8840874065_da3b29ce56_crop_1200.jpg?itok=npjybrbF "Bay Mussels (Mytilus trossulus) on Edmonds Ferry Dock. Photo [cropped]: brewbooks (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/8840874065")
Salish Sea snapshots: Mussel memory
Scientists are testing ways to use transplanted shellfish such as mussels to monitor toxic contaminants in Puget Sound.
Salish Sea snapshots: Invasive species and human health
Invasive species are considered a top threat to the balance of ecosystems worldwide. New discoveries of non-native green crabs in Puget Sound have highlighted that concern here at home, but invasive species can impact more than just the food web. Some introduced species can produce toxins that accumulate in shellfish or by directly infecting the human body.
Eyes Over Puget Sound: Surface Conditions Report – September 26, 2016
September is jellyfish season and they are everywhere in southern Puget Sound! Sunny, warm, and dry conditions promoted strong late-summer plankton blooms in colors of red, green, and brown, now widespread in many bays. In contrast, Central Sound looks clear with low algal activity. Southern Puget Sound has large floating mats of organic material and developed lower oxygen in August. Meet the
2015 Puget Sound Marine Waters Overview
The Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program released its fifth annual Marine Waters Overview this week. The report provides an assessment of marine conditions for the year 2015 and includes updates on water quality as well as status reports for select plankton, seabirds, fish and marine mammals.
- Algae
- Circulation
- Climate change
- Disease
- Eutrophication
- Forage fish
- Harbor porpoise
- Harmful algal blooms
- Hypoxia
- Marine birds
- Marine habitat
- Marine Waters Overview
- Monitoring
- Reports
- Salmonids
- Selected publications
- Sewage and fecal pollution
- Shellfish
- Species and food webs
- Stormwater
- Water quality
- Water quantity
- Estuaries
- Nearshore habitat
- Freshwater habitat
Second invasive green crab found in Puget Sound
Another European green crab has been spotted in Puget Sound prompting concern that the species may gain a foothold in the region.