Will there be a Hood Canal fish kill this year?

Lingcod from the 2006 Hood Canal fish kill event. Photo credit: Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program

Fish kills in Hood Canal occur when hypoxic waters are rapidly upwelled to the surface, usually when seasonal southerly wind storms push surface waters aside to be replaced with less oxygenated water from below. The rapid upward movement of low oxygen water to the surface traps fish, suffocating them.

The abnormal weather and oceanic conditions which we've seen this year (the 'blob,' drought, etc.) have resulted in extreme hypoxia in Hood Canal. But these anomalies have also set up Hood Canal for early seasonal flushing from oceanic intrusions, which could replenish oxygen levels.

Fish kill risk depends on whether seasonal storms or complete flushing occur first, which is especially relevant at the moment with southerly winds expected in Hood Canal over the weekend. Which will win? Hopefully the fish!

Find out more from the Oceanic Remote Chemical Analyzer (ORCA) Fish Kill Advisory and follow real-time oxygen levels monitored in Hood Canal on NVS.

Dead ratfish from the 2010 Hood Canal fish kill event. Photo credit: Ron Figlar-Barnes

ESP Test Deployment

Last week, a joint team led by NOAA NWFSC's Stephanie Moore and UW-APL's John Mickett went out on the R/V Robertson to test deploy a new Environmental Sampling Processor (ESP). This inconspicuously named robot both samples and analyzes water in situ to remotely determine if harmful algal species are present and if so, how toxic the bloom is. It then transmits this data in near real time to scientists on shore. 

This robot is part of a monitoring strategy that will help health authorities and shellfish growers be proactive in their response to harmful algal blooms (HABs). For more info, check out the NANOOS HABs info page.

Check out NWFSC's video for more information:

Last minute preparations aboard the R/V Robertson. The ESP is housed in the large orange cylinder under the A-frame.

First the surface buoy is deployed where an intake tube will sample water near the surface and bring it down to the ESP, around 20m below.

To prime the sampling tube, a small group goes out in the Zodiak to collect the surface buoy and pump water through the line, getting rid of all air bubbles.

One of the team's divers checks that the ESP is sampling in it's new home for the next two weeks. Photo credit: Eric Boget

The ESP will be deployed for real next year on UW-APL’s Cha’Ba mooring off the coast of La Push and data will be available on NVS. Stay tuned!

Tracking the "Blob"

Sea surface temperature anomalies in July, 2015 from the NVS Climatology App.

Love it or hate it, you've probably noticed the record breaking warm, dry summer we've been experiencing in the Pacific Northwest.  One of the contributing factors is a large mass of warmer than average water off the coast in the NE Pacific, nicknamed the "blob" by UW meteorologist and State Climatologist Nick Bond.  The region's weather is closely tied to the NE Pacific, where wind is typically cooled as it travels over the ocean's surface before reaching our shores. The sea surface temperatures of the "blob" are up to 7°F warmer than what is typically seen, which results in warmer air temperatures throughout the region.

Last week, NANOOS Executive Director Jan Newton joined other scientists from five NANOOS member institutions UW, WA Dept. of Ecology, WA Dept. of Health, King County, and NOAA (NWFSC & PMEL), and others for a multi-agency media day at Shilshole Marina in Seattle to discuss the anomalous conditions in the Pacific Northwest, known as the "blob," and its effects on Puget Sound.  Using a variety of presentation aids, from the NVS Climatology App to tours aboard UW's R/V Barnes and Ecology's R/V Skookum, the group explained to reporters the abnormal conditions including high temperatures, salinity, low dissolved oxygen, and HABs in historically unaffected areas.

Check out the King 5 video, the KOMO radio clip, and article from the Seattle Times and UW Today.

You can also track the extent and patterns of the "blob" using the NANOOS Visualization System (NVS) Climatology App, which compares current water temperature with previous years using data from satellites and buoys offshore, along the coast and in Puget Sound.

Sea surface temperature anomalies and buoys off Washington and Oregon coasts.

Water temperature (°C) at the NDBC Cape Elizabeth buoy off the Washington coast. The dark blue line is the mean, magenta is +/-1σ, red is 2σ, black is this year's QC'd data and cyan is current raw data.