Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Citizens Monitoring Program
  

Many of us take the health and well-being of Hood Canal for granted when we look across the serene waters.  The calm surface of any water can be deceptive to the things which are happening below the surface.  Local newspaper chronicles, a published national report, an emergency fisheries closure, and legislative focus have all featured Hood Canal and the occurrence of low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels which have affected marine life.

The HCSEG, with 20+ other stakeholders have formed a science and corrective action program (Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program) to address the needs to better understand the dynamics of Hood Canal and ways in which to move towards action in finding ways to lessen the problem.

Current and past data indicates that it has taken a long time for the processes in Hood Canal to become altered enough to reach the current state of concern.  March 2005 marks the beginning stages of a 3 year program termed Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program (HCDOP).   The HCDOP brings together local, regional, and state groups to collectively contribute to the understanding.  See www.hoodcanal.washington.edu

The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group is directly contributing to the freshwater and marine water sampling tasks of the HCDOP.  In the summer of 2003, the staff of the HCSEG had the opportunity to spend time on a University of Washington R/V Thomas G. Thompson . The goal of the voyage was to train staff in the collection of water samples at established locations in Puget Sound and Hood Canal .  The analysis included testing for dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and nutrients. 

University of Washington R/V Thomas G. Thompson lowering the rosette to take low DO samples  (photo courtesy of www.thesunlink.com)

Since August 2003, the HCSEG has coordinated a weekly sampling effort in the marine waters of the canal with the contribution of trained volunteers (red dots on map below indicate sampling locations).  This sampling effort has provided a tremendous increase in the understanding of the marine water dynamics.  The Department of Fish and Wildlife has also used the weekly sampling results to help assess the status of fisheries.

Understanding the causes and processes leading to the low dissolved oxygen events in Hood Canal will require detailed hydrodynamic and biogeochemical analysis models.  These models are being developed by the U.W.  The sampling efforts within the HCDOP will provide actual measured parameters for running the models.  Variations in the atmosphere, climate and ocean inputs can be evaluated as well.  When the models have been verified, changes in specific nutrient loadings, freshwater inflow and other factors can be studied to develop potential corrective actions and their impact on the dissolved oxygen levels over time.      

The HCSEG has plans to continue its effort in supporting the research and sampling to help find some of the answers to the questions regarding the complexities of the DO issue.  If you are interested in getting involved or just want to learn more, please contact the HCSEG office. 

•       Partners:
  

• Hood Canal Coordinating Council                                                                       Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group                                                   Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason conservation districts                                 Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason counties                                                           Kitsap County Health District                                                                          Lower Hood Canal Watershed Implementation Committee                             National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration                              NANOOS (Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems) Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission                                                         Pacific Northwest National Laboratory                                                         Pacific Shellfish Institute                                                                            Paladin Data Systems                                                                                        Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe                                                                            Puget Sound Action Team                                                                              PSMEM (Puget Sound Marine Environmental Modeling)                                    PRISM (Puget Sound Regional Synthesis Model)                                        Skokomish Tribe                                                                                                U.S. Environmental Protection Agency                                                                   U.S. Army Corps of Engineers                                                                            U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service                                                                               U.S. Geological Survey                                                                                      U.S. Navy                                                                                                 University of Washington-Applied Physics Laboratory                                University of Washington-School of Oceanography                                 Washington Department of Ecology                                                         Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife                                             Washington Department of Health                                                          Washington Department of Natural Resources                                         Washington Sea Grant Program- University of Washington                             Western Washington University   As part of the science contingency studying this phenomenon, there are currently 4 ORCA moorings deployed in Hood Canal, Washington. Surfers can click the markers on the map (by following below link) to view data from that location. The ORCA moorings are also equipped with weather stations; surfers can also view the current weather conditions at each buoy ( updated approximately every 10 minutes ). Those intersted in checking out data follow the following link by clicking here