A Model Study of the Salish Sea Estuarine Circulation*

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1125-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Sutherland ◽  
Parker MacCready ◽  
Neil S. Banas ◽  
Lucy F. Smedstad
Keyword(s):  
Puget Sound ◽  
Exchange Flow ◽  
Salish Sea ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Model Study ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
Residence Time Distributions ◽  
The Difference ◽  
First Time ◽  
Volume Transports

Abstract A realistic hindcast simulation of the Salish Sea, which encompasses the estuarine systems of Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia, is described for the year 2006. The model shows moderate skill when compared against hydrographic, velocity, and sea surface height observations over tidal and subtidal time scales. Analysis of the velocity and salinity fields allows the structure and variability of the exchange flow to be estimated for the first time from the shelf into the farthest reaches of Puget Sound. This study utilizes the total exchange flow formalism that calculates volume transports and salt fluxes in an isohaline framework, which is then compared to previous estimates of exchange flow in the region. From this analysis, residence time distributions are estimated for Puget Sound and its major basins and are found to be markedly shorter than previous estimates. The difference arises from the ability of the model and the isohaline method for flux calculations to more accurately estimate the exchange flow. In addition, evidence is found to support the previously observed spring–neap modulation of stratification at the Admiralty Inlet sill. However, the exchange flow calculated increases at spring tides, exactly opposite to the conclusion reached from an Eulerian average of observations.

scholarly journals Has primary production declined in the Salish Sea?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia C. Johannessen ◽  
Robie W. Macdonald ◽  
Jonathan E. Strivens
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Salish Sea ◽  
Overlying Water ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Terrigenous Organic Matter ◽  
Continuous Record

Declining primary production has been proposed as an explanation for the declines in coho and chinook salmon in the Salish Sea since the 1970s. Marine sediments maintain a continuous record of conditions in the overlying water. We used stable isotopes of organic carbon and nitrogen measured in twenty-one sediment cores to determine the contributions and fluxes of marine-derived and terrigenous organic matter over time. The flux of marine-derived organic matter shows no trend for at least the last 100 years. An apparent increase in the marine flux in recent years is due to remineralization of organic matter as it passes through surface sediments. In contrast, the flux of terrigenous organic matter has increased over the last century in the Strait of Georgia, while in Puget Sound, terrigenous flux peaked in the mid-twentieth century. Total primary production has neither increased nor decreased in the Salish Sea over the last century. Consequently, a decline in primary production cannot explain recent declines in fish populations.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of the regional ocean acidification and carbonate system in Puget Sound to ocean and freshwater inputs

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bianucci ◽  
Wen Long ◽  
Tarang Khangaonkar ◽  
Gregory Pelletier ◽  
Anise Ahmed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Salish Sea ◽  
Carbonate System ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
Freshwater Inputs

While ocean acidification was first investigated as a global phenomenon, coastal acidification has received significant attention in recent years, as its impacts have been felt by different socio-economic sectors (e.g., high mortality of shellfish larvae in aquaculture farms). As a region that connects land and ocean, the Salish Sea (consisting of Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia) receives inputs from many different sources (rivers, wastewater treatment plants, industrial waste treatment facilities, etc.), making these coastal waters vulnerable to acidification. Moreover, the lowering of pH in the Northeast Pacific Ocean also affects the Salish Sea, as more acidic waters get transported into the bottom waters of the straits and estuaries. Here, we use a numerical ocean model of the Salish Sea to improve our understanding of the carbonate system in Puget Sound; in particular, we studied the sensitivity of carbonate variables (e.g., dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, saturation state of aragonite) to ocean and freshwater inputs. The model is an updated version of our FVCOM-ICM framework, with new carbonate-system and sediment modules. Sensitivity experiments altering concentrations at the open boundaries and freshwater sources indicate that not only ocean conditions entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but also the dilution of carbonate variables by freshwater sources, are key drivers of the carbonate system in Puget Sound.

scholarly journals Tidal Resonance in Juan de Fuca Strait and the Strait of Georgia

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1279-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graig Sutherland ◽  
Chris Garrett ◽  
Mike Foreman
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Dissipative System ◽  
Tidal Elevation ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
Resonant Period ◽  
Quality Factor Q ◽  
Juan De Fuca Strait

Abstract The resonant period and quality factor Q are determined for the semienclosed sea comprising Juan de Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Georgia. The observed tidal elevation gain and phase change, from the Pacific Ocean to this inland sea, are fitted to the predictions of simple analytic models, which give a resonant period of 17–21 h and a Q of about 2. The low Q value, indicative of a highly dissipative system, is consistent with the need for numerical models for the area to employ large bottom friction coefficients. These include the effects of form drag.

A Wealth of Beads: Evidence for Material Wealth-Based Inequality in the Salish Sea Region, 4000–3500 Cal B.P.

2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Coupland ◽  
David Bilton ◽  
Terence Clark ◽  
Jerome S. Cybulski ◽  
Gay Frederick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Salish Sea ◽  
Material Wealth ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Human Burials ◽  
Important Form ◽  
Puget Sound Region

AbstractArchaeologists working in the Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound) region of the Pacific Northwest have unearthed human burials and non-mortuary features dated to 4000–3500 cal B.P. containing tens and even hundreds of thousands of stone and shell disc beads. Several sites are reported here, including burials recently excavated from site DjRw–14 located in the territory of the shíshálh Nation. We argue that the disc beads constituted an important form of material wealth at this time, based on the amount of labor that would have been required to produce them and the capacity for beads to accrue in value after their production. A model of material wealth-based inequality is developed for a period much older than many archaeologists working in the region have previously thought.

Tidal Currents in Juan de Fuca Strait

1954 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 799-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Herlinveaux
Keyword(s):  
Surface Current ◽  
Geodetic Survey ◽  
Tidal Currents ◽  
Bottom Surface ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
Northern Shore ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Flood Current ◽  
Juan De Fuca Strait

Three series of direct current observations taken in Juan de Fuca Strait in 1952 have been analysed. A linear relationship between the difference in sea level on the ocean coast and the Strait of Georgia and tidal currents has been shown. This relation holds from the surface to the lower depths. The current velocities in a cross-section can be predicted at any time. These sections show that the ocean water tends to intrude along the bottom on the flood, expanding upward and favouring the southern shore. The ebbing water is first noticed in the middle of the strait, then it expands down and across favouring the northern shore. The ebb current is stronger at the surface, and the flood current stronger near the bottom. Surface current predictions are shown to be comparable to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey tidal predictions. From this it is reasonable to believe that the predicted tidal currents at the lower depths should also be valid.

Surface Tidal Currents in Juan de Fuca Strait

1954 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Herlinveaux
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Surface Current ◽  
Linear Functions ◽  
Strait Of Georgia ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Juan De Fuca ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Juan De Fuca Strait

Surface-current measurements were made at half-hour intervals throughout thirty-hour periods at three positions in Juan de Fuca Strait. These were repeated during spring and neap ranges of the tide in spring, summer and late autumn during 1952. The currents are linear functions of the difference of sea level between the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Georgia. A rule is given for predicting the currents from data in the Tide Tables.

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