Eops 2016 02_08

Surface ConditionsReport, January 8, 2016
Eyes Over Puget Sound
Field log Climate Water column Aerial photos Continuous monitoring Streams
Publication No. 16-03-080
Up-to-date observations of visiblewater quality conditions in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Start here
Warm air at
the coast and
at altitude

Personalfield log p.3
Ecology’s R/V Skookum,a 26-ft Almar gets the jobdone when
conditions are foggy or windy.
Climateconditions p. 4
Air temperatures were above normal for January and
accompaniedwithstrongtemperature inversions andcold,
sunny days. El Niño conditions prevail.
Watercolumn p. 5
Winter showers bring change! Withrecent precipitation,salinity
is remarkably lower but temperatures are still at record-breaking
highs in Puget Sound. At the Coast,water is fresher.
Aerialphotography p. 9
Jellyfishstill aggregate inpatches in finger inlets of SouthSound.
First signs of increasingphytoplanktonincoastal bays that mix
with boggy waters.
Continuous monitoring p. 31
Near-surface water onthe ferry route remains cool andwell
mixed. Turbidity was higher in the Strait of Juande Fuca than
Puget Sound.
Streams p. 34
While we’re losing a bit of snowpack to this warmweather,our
snowpack is still in muchbetter shape than it was at this time
last year. But rivers have responded to warmer conditions.
LONG-TERMMARINEMONITORINGUNIT
Skip Albertson
Dr. Christopher
Krembs
Julia Bos
Suzan Pool
Editorial assistanceprovided by: Suzan Pool, CarolMaloy
Marine conditionsfrom 2-8-2016 at a glance
Mya Keyzers
Laura Hermanson
Jim Shedd
Don Watt

It’s a boat, it’s a plane, it’s… whatever it takes to get data!
Personal Field Impression
Field log Weather Water column Aerial photos Continuous monitoring Streams
Personal Field Impression
What are we doing on a boat? Using a floatplane makes sensewhen your job is to
collect water quality samples fromthe Canadian border to the most southern
inlets in Puget Sound and to cover a lot of ground in a shortperiod of time.
But sometimes Pacific Northwestweather precludes the use of a plane. That’s
when Ecology’s R/V Skookum, a 26-ftAlmar, comes into play. Itgets the job done
when conditions are too foggy or windy for the floatplane.
Laura collectingwater
samplesfrom the CTD.c
Using the boat works well to sample Hood
Canal, Central Sound,and Coastal Bay stations.
Mya taking fieldnotes.

Natural Influencesleadingto 2-8-2016
Climate and naturalinfluences,includingweather,rivers,and the adjacent ocean,canaffect our
marine waters. Graphics are basedonprovisional data andare subject to change.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/mar_wat/weather.html,page 26.
Putting the puzzle piecesof influencing factorstogether…
lowerhigher expected No data
*UpwellingAnomalies(PFEL)
ENSO = El Niño SouthernOscillation
*
Summary for January 2016:
Air temperatures wereabove
normal in the Puget Sound
lowlands. The month began,
however, with strong
temperature inversions and
cold, sunny days.
Precipitationlevels wereabove
normal, except to the north.
Sunshine levels weregenerally
abovenormal.
River flows wereslightly above
normal.
Downwelling was strong and
ENSO remained in the warm
phase (El Niño).

We usea chartered
floatplane and boat to
access our monthly
monitoring stations.
We communicate data and
environmentalmarine
conditions using:
1. Marine Water
Condition Index
(MWCI)
2. Eyes OverPuget
Sound (EOPS)
3. Anomaliesand
sourcedata
Ourlong-termmarinemonitoringstationsinWashington
Starthere
Isl.
.

ArePugetSoundconditionsnormalizing?
Year 2015 was a recordbreaker for water temperature inPuget Sound andfor global temperatures. Prematuremelting
of the snowpack inearly summer causedinitially freshconditions. InJuly,unusually high salinities startedappearingin
response to drought and generally very low river flows. Fortunately,the winter brought a lot of rainand, as a result,
estuarine circulationhas increasedto renew the water withinPuget Sound. Yet, watertemperatures are still high!
The Fraser River is the largestfreshwater sourcefor the Salish Sea, significantly affecting estuarine circulation.
As of January
2016 (left),the
Blobbelow the
surface is still
alive!
Rivers are flowinghigher andincreasingwater exchange. This is
an opportunity to bring cooler oceanwater into Puget Sound.
Inwinter andspring 2015, the Fraser
River and other rivers dischargedprematurely. Very
low summer flows followedandinhibited the
renewal of water inPuget Sound. Rivers are now
normalizingor running higher. Estuarine circulation
is expectedto rebound.
Source: http://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/index_e.html
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Dec-13
Jan-14
Feb-14
Mar-14
Apr-14
May-14
Jun-14
Jul-14
Aug-14
Sep-14
Oct-14
Nov-14
Dec-14
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov-15
Discharge(m3s-1)
Higher than normal
Lower thannormal
Expected
Credit: Christopher Krembs
Readhere
Alaska“Blob”
Tracker

Physical conditionstracked in historicalcontext
Explore profiles
at all stations
Still higher temperature in P. Sound ExpectedOxygenSalinity now below normal
Winter showers bring change! Withrecent precipitation,salinity is remarkably lower thannormal. In
Puget Sound, temperatures are still at record-breakinghighs but not at the coast. Oxygenis mostly
expectedeverywhere. (Color observations fall outside 50% of our historical observations)
Region
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2015
Whidbey Basin
Hood Canal
Central Sound
South Sound
20142014
Grays Harbor
Willapa Bay
North Sound
San Juan
20142015 2015

a) PacificDecadalOscillationIndex(PDO,temperature) (explanation)
b) UpwellingIndex(anomalies)(Upwelling,low oxygen) (explanation)
c) NorthPacificGyreOscillationIndex(NPGO, productivity) (explanation)
Theoceanaffectswaterquality: OceanClimateIndices
NPGO(x10)
PDO/UpwellingIndex
Three-year running average of PDO, Upwelling, and NPGO indices scores
.
Ocean boundaryconditions are in transition: (a)water is warm (PDO), (b) upwellingoflow oxygen and
high nutrient ocean water are higher (UpwellingIndex anomaly),and (c) lower surface productivityalong
the coast (NPGO).
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Summary: Aerial photography2-8-2016
Jellyfish still aggregatein patches in finger inlets of South Sound. Firstsigns of increasing
phytoplankton in coastalbays thatmix with boggy waters.
Start here
Mixing and Fronts:
Tidal fronts nicely visible in Grays Harbor.
Debris:
Occasionalfloating organic debris near coastal beaches.
Visible blooms:
Murky water with tint of red in Grays Harbor and near Naselle
River estuary.
Jellyfish:
Patches persistin Budd, Eld, and Totten Inlets.
BloomDebrisFront
Suspendedsediment:
High sediment loads fromrivers, winds, high tide, and large
waves createa lot of suspended sediment near the coast.
Plume
Very warmair (72 °F ) flowedinlandat
an altitude of 2000 feet while near the
water surface,coldair flowedtoward
the coast at 20 kts. This warmair
reachedthe higher snow-covered
elevations inthe Puget Soundregion.
Reading72 °F onour outside cabin
thermometer at analtitude of 2500 feet
during our flight returning fromthe coast.

Grays Harbor
Willapa Bay
Good visibility,sunnywarm air,
layered system with opposite wind
directions (ground -cold air flowing
west; 2500 ft – warm air flowing east)
Flight Information:
Aerial photography
and navigation guide
7
Flight route
9
3
2
8
Tide data (Nahcotta, Willapa Bay):
Pred High/Low
01:30 AM 9.78 H
07:06 AM 2.6 L
01:00 PM 11.74 H
07:44 PM -1.08 L
6
10
11
12
14
15
13
4
5
16
17
18
19
20
1

Low hanging clouds flow into Eld Inlet,cold air near the ground flow to the west (see smoke).
Location: Eld Inlet (South Sound),9:43 AM.
1 Aerial photography 2-8-2016 Navigate
smoke
boat

2 NavigateAerial photography 2-8-2016
Jellyfishpatches are still present in Budd, Eld, and Totten Inlets.
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
boat

Jellyfishpatches are still present in Budd, Eld, and Totten Inlets.
jellyfish
fishpens
jellyfish

4 Navigate
Aerial photography 2-8-2016
Brown-colored Chehalis River plume with bright brown pockets; a bloom of phytoplankton?
Location: Rennie Island (Grays Harbor),10:14 AM.
Plume
Plume

Large number of seals hauled out on a sand bank in the middle of the bay.
Location: Grays Harbor,10:40 AM.
seals

Brown-colored water of Duck Lake stained by humus flow into coastal bays.
Location: Ocean Shores (Grays Harbor), 10:46 AM.

Brown-colored water of Duck Lake stained by humus flow into coastal bays.
Location: Ocean Shores (Grays Harbor), 10:46 AM.
Plume
seals
suspendedsediments

Large waves suspend sediment at entrance to Grays Harbor.
Location: Oyhut Recreation Wildlife Area (Ocean Shores), 10:47 AM.
suspendedsediments

Incoming tide at the entrance to Grays Harbor. Colors indicate three different water masses.
Location: Westhaven State Park(Westport),10:48 AM.
2
1
3

Incoming tide at the entrance to Grays Harbor. Colors indicate three different water masss.
2
1
3

NavigateAerial photography 2-8-2016
Large waves break on the high-energy beaches with a backwash all the way to the dunes.
11
2
1
3

Large waves break on the high-energy beaches. Brown-colored diatom blooms near beach.
Location: Near Grayland(Washington Coast),10:52 AM.
12
suspendedsediments
Bloom
Debris

A.
Challenging to tell apart! Plume of boggy water or diatom bloom?
Location: A.North Cove, B. Stackpole Slough,Leadbetter Point State Park(WashingtonCoast),10:54 AM.
13
Bloom
boggy water
boggy waterB.

Reddish sediment or beginning red-brown algal bloom.
Location: Long Island Slough,WillapaNational Wildlife Refuge (WillapaBay),11:59 AM.
14
Bloom

Sediment-richNaselle River water (1) meetingLong Island Slough (2).
Location: StanleyPoint,Naselle River (Willapa Bay),11:59 AM.
15
2
1

Sediment-richNaselle River water (1) meetingLong Island Slough water with red-brown bloom (2).
Location: Paradise Point,LongIsland (Willapa Bay),11:59 AM.
16
2
1

High tide is flooding mudflats.
Location: Near Bay Center (Willapa Bay),12:05 PM.
17

Niawiakum River banks flooded by high tide.
Location: NiawiakumRiver Natural Area Preserve (Willapa Bay),12:06 PM.
18

Dikes keeping high tide off the fields. WillapaRiver in the background.
Location: Range Point (WillapaBay), 12:09 PM.
19

Dikes keeping high tide off the fields. In the background, WillapaRiver and flooded mudflats.
Location: South Bend (WillapaBay),12:09 PM.
20

Continuousmonitoring 2-8-2016
Summary of Victoria Clipper IVferry data:
Near-surface water onthe ferry route remains cool andwell mixed. Turbidity was higher
in the Strait of Juande Fuca thanPuget Sound. Early February had an increase of colored
dissolvedorganic matter (CDOM)inWhidbey Basin.
The Victoria
Clipper IV carries
sensorsin its sea
chest. The
sensorsallow us
to plot overtime
transects of:
A. Temperature
B. Chlorophyll
C. Turbidity
D. CDOM
Over time,we
see the dynamic
of these
variablesin
surface water
betweenSeattle
and Victoria,BC.
A. B.
C. D.

Victoria
Olympic
Peninsula
Seattle
Victoria
Olympic
Peninsula
Seattle
Victoria
Olympic
Peninsula
Seattle
Victoria
Olympic
Peninsula
Seattle
A. B.
C. D.
Figures show daily sensor data
installedonthe ferry which
measure near-surface water at
5-sec intervals while the Victoria
Clipper IV transits between
Seattle andVictoria,BC.
A. Sea Surface Temperature:
Water was isothermal inPuget
Sound and the Strait of Juande
Fuca.
B. Chlorophyll: Concentrations
were low,particularly in the
Strait.
C. Turbidity: Turbidity was low
onentire route.
D. Colored Dissolved Organic
Matter(CDOM): Particulates in
the water were abundant in
Central Basinandnearly absent
in the Strait.

Check out our posters that we presentedat the Coastal and Estuarine Research
Federation conference in Portland, Oregon during November 2015.
Bos,J.,S. Albertson, C. Krembs,S. Pool,C. Falkenhayn
Maloy,andB. Sackmann. 2015. EcosystemThresholds
in Surface Waters of the SalishSea using Continuous
Measurements fromFerry Sensors. Poster presented
at Coastal Estuarine andResearchFederation2015
Conference,Portland,Oregon. WashingtonState
Department of Ecology PublicationNo. 15-03-041.
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1
503041.pdf
Pool,S.S.,C. Krembs,J. Bos,andB. Sackmann. 2015.
Physical,Chemical,andBiological Conditions during
Noctiluca Blooms inanUrbanFjord, Puget Sound.
Poster presentedat Coastal Estuarine andResearch
Federation2015 Conference,Portland,Oregon.
WashingtonState Department of Ecology Publication
No. 15-03-040.
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1
503040.pdf

Rivers respond to warm air temperatures
Warmtemperatures,clear skies,and abundant sunshine brought snowmelt runoff andincreased
flows to streams flowingoffof the foothills ofthe Cascade andOlympic Mountains onFebruary 8th
and 9th. Temperatures between2000 and4000 feet inelevationwarmedinto the 60s onMonday
and Tuesday,andremainedin the low to mid 50s Monday night.
A sharp increasein streamflow started Monday
afternoon on the NorthFork StillaguamishRiver atOso,
consistentwith warmair temperatures.
Don Watt,
Ecology
Rainfall in the area ended around mid-day on
Saturday, meaning that Monday’s spike instream
flow is a result of melting of recently fallensnow.
click for data click for data
Time (Day in Feb) Time (Day in Feb)
Riverflow(cfs)
Cumulativerainfall(in)

Rivers respond to warm air temperatures
A similar rise in stream flow on Monday afternoon can be seen on the
hydrograph fromtheUSGS streamgageon the NorthFork Skokomish
River near Hoodsport.
While we are losinga bit
of snowpackto this warm
weather, things are still in
decent shape for
February. But will El Niño
conditions continue?
Read NOAA’s El Niño
update:
January El Niño
Update: It’s got a lot
going on
Author: Emily Becker.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Read here
click for data

Jim Shedd,
Ecology
Snow and rivers state-wide conditions
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/wwdt/archive.php?folder=pon1
January 2016 monthly mean for rivers and
streams across Washington compared to
historic January flows.
In January, the south and western zones of the
Puget Sound basin experienced higher
streamflows than normalin responseto above
normal precipitation.
See link to January precipitation map:
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/wwdt/archive.php?folder=mdn1
Snow water equivalencies including the Olympic
Peninsula are normal or slightly above normal on
February 10.
In January, temperatures werenear normal
throughoutthe Puget Sound basin. We arein
much better condition than last year but
temperatures are warmer than normal.
Link to January temperaturemap:

Accessmooring
data:
ftp://www.ecy.wa.gov/ea
p/Mooring_Raw/Puget_S
ound/
Continuous monitoring :
Suzan.Pool@ecy.wa.gov
Get data from Ecology’sMarine MonitoringPrograms
Long–Term
MonitoringNetwork
Real–Time
Sensor Network
Accesscore
monitoringdata:
https://fortress.wa.gov/ec
y/eap/marinewq/mwdata
set.asp
christopher.krembs@ecy.w
a.gov
Ecology’s long-termmarine
monitoring stations
Continuous track
Riverand Stream WaterQuality
Monitoring
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/fw_riv
/rv_main.html
Discontinued (fundingcuts)

You may subscribe or unsubscribe to the Eyes Over Puget Sound email listservby going to:
http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=ECOLOGY-EYES-OVER-PUGET-SOUND
Many thanks to our business partners: Clipper Navigation,SwantownMarina,andKenmore Air.
We are looking forfeedbackto improve ourproducts.
Dr. ChristopherKrembs
christopher.krembs@ecy.wa.gov
Marine Monitoring Unit
EnvironmentalAssessment Program
WA Department of Ecology

Eops 2016 02_08

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