Eops 2014 11_17

November 17, 2014
Surface Conditions Report
Eyes Over Puget Sound
Fieldlog Climate Water column Aerial photos Ferry andSatellite Moorings
Publication No. 14-03-079
Start here
Up-to-date observations of visiblewater quality conditions in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Personalfieldlog p.3
Meet our BEACH program.
Climateconditions p.5
Arecent coldspell affects the Puget Soundlowlands, softening
an8-monthtrendof warmer temperatures. The oceanremains
warm.
Watercolumn p.6
Puget Sound is a lot warmer at the end of 2014 with new max
temps observedthroughout the Sound! Salinity and dissolved
oxygenare mostly expected. The higher DO andcold
temperature anomaly inHoodCanal is disappearing.
Moorings p.40
Water temperature is coolingandthis accompanies reduced
river flows of the past week.
Aerialphotography p.10
Abundant patches of jellyfishseenin finger inlets of South
Sound. Red-brownblooms remainstronginsmaller bays of
SouthSoundcoincidingwith jellyfish. Suspended sediment
increasingly visible as a result of increasedrain, wind, andwaves.
Ferryand satellite p.35
Coldwater fromWhidbey Basinmoves into Puget Sound at the
Triple Junction; associatedwithmoderate levels chlorophyll
fluorescence. Increasedturbidity seenthroughout the Strait of
Georgia.
LONG-TERMMARINEMONITORINGUNIT
Mya Keyzers
Laura Hermanson
Joe Leatherman
Skip Albertson
Dr. Christopher
Krembs
Guest:
Dr. Brandon
Sackmann,
Integral
Julia Bos
Suzan Pool
Editorial assistanceprovided by: Suzan Pool, CarolMaloy, Laura Hermanson
Marine conditionsfrom 11-17-2014 at a glance
Please give us feedback

The BEACHProgram helps to reduce the risk of disease for people who playin saltwater by:
What is the Washington BEACH Program?
Notifyingusers when
bacteria results are high.
Educatingthe public about risks
associatedwithpollutionandwhat
we cando to reduce the risks.
Contactwith fecal bacteria contaminated waters can result in gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper
respiratory infections, and other illnesses. The Washington BEACH Programis led jointly by the
Washington StateDepartment of Ecology and Department of Health. Our BEACH partners include
county and local health jurisdictions, Tribes, and volunteers.
Monitoringbacteria levels
at popular, high risk beaches.
The BEACH program 11-17-2014

Keeping Washington beaches healthy -- we're all in this together!
Stay updatedabout water quality at your beaches by keeping up withus on:
Fecal Matters Blog: http://ecologywa.blogspot.com/search/label/Fecal%20matters
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/WABEACH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ecologywa
Findpublic beaches and info onbeachclosures:
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/coastalatlas/
Personal Field Impression
Fieldlog Weather Water column Aerial photos Ferry andSatellite Moorings
The BEACH program11-17-2014

Climateand natural influencesbefore 11-17-2014
Summary:
Air temperatures continue an 8-
month trend, though a recent cold
period introduces cold dense air into
the Puget Sound lowlands.
Precipitation levels have been
above normal, but nil during the past
week as temperatures dropped.
Cloud Cover has been near normal.
River flows are beginning to climb
above normal across the region.
PDO remains in the warm phase,
and upwelling is below normal.
lowerhigher expected No data
New section! Climate and natural influences are conditions that influence our marine waters,
including weather, rivers, and the adjacent ocean (previously called Weather). For an explanation of
the figure, see: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/mar_wat/weather.html, page 26.

We usea chartered float
plane to access our
monthly monitoring
stations.
We communicate data and
environmentalmarine
conditions using:
1. MarineWater
ConditionIndex
(MWCI)
2. EyesOverPuget
Sound (EOPS)
3. Anomaliesand
sourcedata
Ourlong-termmarinemonitoringstationsinWashington
Starthere
Isl.
.

Physical conditionstracked in statistically historic context
Salinity lower at Coast Oxygen expectedOct. 2014: Temperature – New Max!
PugetSound is a lot warmer at the end of 2014 with new max temps observed throughoutthe Sound! Early 2014
started colder and saltier with lower oxygen, then became fresher and warmer. Salinity is within expected ranges
and dissolved oxygen arevariable throughoutthe regions. The higher DO anomaly in Hood Canal is disappearing.
Redboxesshow
thatthe water
measuredin
Octoberis warmer
thanany of our
measurements
since 1999
Explore profiles
atall stations

a) PacificDecadalOscillationIndex(PDO,temperature) (explanation)
b) UpwellingIndex(anomalies)(Upwelling,lowoxygen) (explanation)
c) NorthPacificGyreOscillationIndex(NPGO,productivity) (explanation)
NPGO(x10)
PDO/UpwellingIndex
Three-year running average of PDO, Upwelling, and NPGO indices scores
Ocean boundaryconditions have been favorable for water qualityin Puget Sound: (a)colder water (PDO),
(b)less upwelled lowoxygen and high nutrient ocean water reachingPuget Sound (UpwellingIndex),and
(c) higher surface productivityalongthe coast (NPGO). Where are we headingnext?
.
Theoceanaffectswaterquality: OceanClimateIndices
-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

Is the food web changing in Puget Sound?
Follow the experts
WebEx
Hypothesis!
Increasesin
nitrate
concentrations
couldbe caused
by a top-down
controlon
phytoplankton
biomass.
Noctiluca
a visible
harbingerof a
food web
change?
Hypothesis for combining a series of recent observations
affecting energy and material transfer to higher trophic levels
Arechangesin highertropic levelspart of a story of the low food web?

Summary: Aerial photography11-17-2014
Abundantpatches of jellyfish seen in finger inlets of South Sound. Red-brown blooms remain
strong in smaller bays of South Sound and coincide with jellyfish. A localized bloom seen off
Tokeland. Suspended sediment increasingly visible as a result of increased rain, wind, and
waves.
Start here
Mixing andFronts:
Developed tidal fronts and mixing visible by colored surface
water. Very pronounced in Grays Harbor.
Debris:
Organic debris and foamforming in patches near mudflats,
river plumes, and tidal fronts as a resultof stronger winds and
higher river flows.
Visible blooms:
Red-brown: Southern finger inlets of South Sound and very
localized near Kindred Island, Willapa Bay.
Jellyfish:
Jellyfish patches very numerous in southern inlets of South
Sound (Totten, Eld, and Budd Inlets).
BloomDebrisFront
Suspendedsediment:
As a result of recent precipitation, many river influenced areas
show largesediment plumes. Strong winds, tidal currents, and
dredging affectsediment re-suspension regionally and locally.
Plume
Beautiful NiaviakumRiver, Willapa Bay
Mudflats near SmithCreek, Willapa Bay
1 2 2019
5 7 8 9 10 12
4 5 6 8 9 10 13 14 15 17
1 2 12 17 2019
2 3 5 7 10 11 12 13 14 17 2018

GraysHarbor
Willapa Bay
Observation Maps:
Afternoonflight,photos 13-20:
Sunny,cold,winds increasing
Flight Information:
Morningflight,photos 1-12
Sunny,cold,high visibility
8
11
10
15
Aerial photography
and navigation guide20
6
Coast
SouthSound
SeattleTides:H.tide:1:15AM12:58PM,,L.tide:6:29AM,8:00PM
7
12
5
Flight route and fuelingstop
17
9
18
3
2
1
4
13
14
19
16

Numerous jellyfishsmacks with underlying red-brown bloom.
Location: OffLittle Tykle Cove, Budd Inlet (South Sound),9:25 AM.
1 Aerial photography 11-17-2014 Navigate
Bloom
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish

A.
B. C.
2 NavigateAerial photography 11-17-2014
Red-brown bloom, organic debris, jellyfishsmacks, and edge of river plume with internal waves.
Location: A.FlapjackPoint,B. Shell Point,C. Snyder Cove, Eld Inlet (South Sound).
Debris
Bloom
Bloom
boat
internal waves
9:27AM 9:27AM
1:31PM
jellyfish jellyfish
jellyfish
Debris
boat
Bloom

Long organic debris line in Chehalis River.
Location: Cosmopolis (Grays Harbor),9:51AM.
Debris

4 Navigate
Aerial photography 11-17-2014
Sediment-richriver plume hugging the southern shoreline of Grays Harbor and Chehalis River water.
Location: OffStafford Creek(Grays Harbor), 11:18 AM.
Dredging
barge
sediment
Plume
Plume

Fronts where Chehalis River and local sediment-richriver waters meet marine water.
Location: OffO’Leary Creek, south channel (Grays Harbor),9:55 AM.
sedimentfromdredging
Plume
Plume
Debris

Suspended sediments from dredging.
Location: Between North and South Channel,(Grays Harbor),9:56 AM.
sediment
Dredging
barge

Front where Chehalis River water meets Grays Harbor water.
Location: North Channel,offairport (Grays Harbor),11:33 AM.
Plume
Debris

Dark humic-rich water enteringbay and locally mixingwith sediment-richwater.
Location: ArmstrongBay(Grays Harbor),10:28 AM.
sediment
sediment
Plume
rescue helicopter

Suspended sediment from wave, tidal currents, and water from Armstrong Bay mix around the point.
Location: Damon Point (Grays Harbor),10:30 AM.
Plume
mixing sediment

Surface water of different origins (South and North Bay) meetingat the entrance to Grays Harbor.
Location:Damon Point (Grays Harbor), 10:30 AM.
large ship
mixing
Debris

Large patch of organic debris near tidally exposed sandbars at the entrance to Willapa Bay.
Location: Entrance to WillapaBay(Willapa Bay),10:39PM.
Debris

A. B.
Red-brown bloom mixedwith local humic-rich, dark freshwater and organic debris along tide lines.
Location: A.On the water,B. Above Tokeland (Willapa Bay),10:44 AM.
12 Navigate
Bloom
Debris

A. B.
Suspended sediment and debris line along Naselle River plume blown by strong wind.
Location: A.Long Island Slough,B. Chetlo Harbor, Naselle River (Willapa Bay),12:20 PM.
sediment
Plume
Plume
Debris

Water with increasing suspended sediment content towards Ocean Park as a result of southeasterly winds.
Location: Nahcotta Channel(Willapa Bay),12:25 PM.
14 Navigate
Plume
Debris

15 Navigate
Sediment-richwater meetingdark humic-rich water of the Espy Slough.
Location: Off Port of Peninsula,Ocean Park(Willapa Bay),12:26 PM.
Plume
Plume

16 Navigate
Exposedmudflats where Palix and Niawiakum rivers meet.
Location: BayCenter (Willapa Bay),12:31 PM.
boat

17 Navigate
Red-brown bloom and water with suspended sediment meet at head of bay.
Location: Oyster Bay,Totten Inlet (South Sound),1:25 PM.
boat
Debris
Plume
Bloom
Plume

18 Navigate
Long organic debris line in tidally flooded head of bay.
Location: Little Skookum Inlet,Eld Inlet (South Sound),1:26 PM.
Debris

19 Navigate
Red-brown bloom being stirredby motorboat. Jellyfishand suspended sediment from shellfishoperations.
Location: Off Deepwater Point,Totten Inlet (South Sound),1:25 PM.
Bloom
suspended
sediment
boatwake
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
boatboat
boat

20 Navigate
Large smacks of jellyfish,red-brown bloom, and turquoise water.
Location: OffBaron Point,Totten Inlet (South Sound),1:29 PM.
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
jellyfish
boat
Bloom
Debris
Bloom
jellyfish

Numbers on map refer to picture
numbers for spatial reference
Date: 11-17-2014
Coast
Aerial photography observations in Central SoundObservations in Central and North Sound Navigate
5
6
10
9
11
12
4
3
7
8
13
14
15
16

Date: 11-17-2014
Observations in Hood Canal and South Sound
Numbers on map refer to picture numbers for spatial reference
Navigate
SouthSound
17
18 19
20
1
2

Legendto map annotations
Comments:
Maps are producedby observers during and
after flights. They are intendedto give an
approximate reconstructionofthe surface
conditions onscales that connect to and
overlapwithsatellite images inthe sectionthat
follows.
Debris:
Debris canbe distinguished into natural and
anthropogenic debris floatingat the surface
sensu Moore andAllen(2000). The majority of
organic debris inPuget Sound is natural and
mixedwithdiscardedman-made pieces of
plastic, wood,etc. Fromthe plane, we cannot
differentiatethe quality of debris at the surface
andtherefore, call it for reasons of practicality
just “debris”.
S.L. Moore,M. J. Allen. 2000. Distribution of
Anthropogenicand Natural Debris on the
Mainland Shelf of the Southern California Bight.
Marine Pollution Bulletin,40(1): 83–88.
Navigate

Current Conditions:
Cold water from WhidbeyBasin moves into Puget
Sound at the Triple Junction;associated with
moderate levels of chlorophyll fluorescence.
Increased turbidityseen throughout the Strait of
Georgia.
Brandon Sackmann
Contact: bsackmann@integral-corp.com
Ferry and satelliteobservations11-17-2014
Starthere
16 November 201416 November 2014

Ferry and satellite observations11-17-2014
A. Colder water in Whidbey Basin enters Main Basin near Triple Junction (Edmonds , B.); associated with
moderatelevels of chlorophyllfluorescenceA.
B. Coolsea surfacetemperatures (SST) throughoutPugetSound in November; falling below 11°C.
C. Warmtemperatureanomaly detected in the Strait of Juan de Fuca during the last half of October.
TheVictoria Clipper IV carries sensors in its sea chest. The sensors allow us to get
surfacetransects of temperature, chlorophyll, salinity, and other bio-optical
measurements between Seattle and Victoria, BC twice per day.
B.A.
C.

16 November 2014
Data fromalternate route through Whidbey Basin in
early November results in: A. lower salinity and B. high
colored dissolved organic material (CDOM).
Increased river
flows since15
October are
bringing in
cold/fresh and
highly colored
water into
Main Basin
fromWhidbey
Basin.
Note inreferencetofigure above:
A.
B.

Thermal
Thermalimagery from
Landsat8 shows warmer
waters in South Puget
Sound, LakeWashington,
and Lake Sammamish.
Cooler waters in Whidbey
Basin and southern end of
Hood Canal.
True Color
11 November 2014

MODIS-Aqua imagery from15 November show sedimenttransportoff the coast of Washington and turbid
waters throughouttheStraitof Georgia.
True Color Turbidity 11152014
ImageryobtainedfromNASA’s OceanColor WEB, http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Mooring observationsand trends
11-04-2014 to 11-17-2014
AtMukilteo, water temperature is decreasing for the winter and this accompanies reduced river flows
of the pastweek. In the upper mooring, water mixing appears reduced to tidal influences. The deeper
mooring detected more than one water mass. During the past month, an early November shift from
SW storms to cold and dry weather influenced variability in salinity (see next slide).
2-6 m depth
Dissolvedoxygennot
measured
12-16 m depth
Theseplots show the
probability of
observations over the
pasttwo-week period.
High probability shown in
warmcolors.
Left Panels: Density is
defined by salinity and
temperature.
Right Panel: Dissolved
oxygen concentration in
relation to salinity.

10-18-2014 to 11-17-2014
Click on icon to view real-
time data of the moorings
Our mooring station in Mukilteo is located in
Whidbey Basin near Everett. It is also
located at the transition between Possession
and Central Sounds at a depth that is
influenced by the Skagitand Snohomish river
discharges, prevailing winds, and tidal
mixing.
As the largestregional contributor of
freshwater to PugetSound, understanding
the timing and magnitude of the Skagit river
flow is important.
We presentdata of daily means for the past
31 days. Data areplotted in Pacific Standard
Time. Wind data arefrom Paine Field in
Everett. River flow data arefrom USGS.

Mukilteo2010 to 2014
Atthe Mukilteo mooring, weuse the near-bottom
sensor (12-16 mdeep) to measuresignificant inter-
annualvariability in temperature, salinity, and dissolved
oxygen. This is typically near the pycnocline and the
water with a high residence time in Whidbey Basin.
Inter-annualvariability is shown over a 5-year period.
All three variables show strong seasonality.
SinceAugust, water temperature has been warmer
than pastyears. In October and November, salinity is
similar to or lower than pastyears and dissolved oxygen
is higher than or similar to pastyears.
September 2014 data for salinity and oxygen are invalid
after we found the sensor sitting on sediment; data
wereremoved. A sensor performanceverification
indicated the dissolved oxygen sensor failed in early
July and thus, dissolved oxygen data for July 2014 are
fromlatter half of the month.
Pleasenote that data are provisional. Data are in GMT.

Accessmooring
data:
ftp://www.ecy.wa.gov/ea
p/Mooring_Raw/Puget_S
ound/
Ferryand satellite :
Suzan.Pool@ecy.wa.gov
Get data from Ecology’sMarine MonitoringPrograms
Long–Term
MonitoringNetwork
Real–Time
SensorNetwork
Accesscore
monitoringdata:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/a
pps/eap/marinewq/mwda
taset.asp
christopher.krembs@ecy.w
a.gov
Ecology’s long-termmarine
monitoring stations
Ferrytrack
Riverand Stream WaterQuality
Monitoring
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/fw_riv
/rv_main.html
Discontinued (fundingcuts)

You maysubscribe 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 Navigations, 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

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Eops 2014 11_17