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The goal of the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program (HCDOP) is to determine the sources of low dissolved oxygen in Hood Canal and its interaction with marine life. HCDOP will work with local, state, federal, and tribal government policy makers to evaluate potential corrective actions that will restore and maintain a level of dissolved oxygen that will reduce stress on marine life.
The HCDOP Integrated Assessment and Modeling Study is a three-year study to use marine, freshwater and biota monitoring data and a computer model to quantify the role the various natural processes and human actions are playing to control the concentrations of dissolved oxygen in Hood Canal and test corrective action scenarios.
Outlined below for the HCDOP-IAM study are the: 1) study tasks; 2) study status; 3) study timeline; and 4) activities of the entire HCDOP to date (primarily leveraged from existing funds) that will aid the HCDOP-IAM study.
1. HCDOP-IAM Study Tasks
Program Management:
Provide resources to support program oversight and administration, coordination of science activities among various partner organizations, and interaction of HCDOP-IAM with other efforts regarding Hood Canal. To be co-managed by UW and HCSEG.
Marine Water Measurements:
Establish permanent mooring buoys to obtain continuous marine water measurements at 5 locations in Hood Canal, to document oxygen and other water properties with appropriate temporal (including nighttime) and spatial resolution to allow for model operation and for assessing mechanisms of variability
Fresh Water Flow and Loadings:
Establish the source, quantity, and timing of nutrient inputs and freshwater flow into Hood Canal including rivers, streams, groundwater, storm drains, septic systems, lawns, and agriculture. Data to be collected by participating groups using Ecology supported protocols and analysis (QAPP development) so that data will support use in potential TMDL integration.
Marine Life Studies:
Establish how various fish, shellfish, and other sea life respond to low oxygen concentrations, for both chronic and episodic exposure. Evaluate the historic and future marine life balance, evaluate differences with current marine life and recommend whether these changes may be partially responsible for low oxygen.
Analytical Modeling:
Develop and verify detailed analytical models that represent the hydrodynamic and bio-chemical processes of the marine and watershed, including nutrient inputs in sufficient detail to identify the processes that define the dissolved oxygen concentrations throughout Hood Canal. Conduct studies with the verified model to establish future levels of dissolved oxygen with various corrective action concepts, as well as climate change, and land development changes. Review the analytical model information and the results of marine life studies and develop potential corrective actions. Study the effect of these actions using the analytical model and verify efficacy.
Corrective Action Concepts:
Review the monitoring and analytical model information, the marine life studies, and results of demonstration projects developed under the HCDOP-CAE and in order to evaluate potential corrective actions. Study the effect of these actions using the analytical model and verify efficacy.
Resident and Recreational Diver Program:
Expand the diver observation plan and provide for rapid response to fish kills and other events, with the intent of developing it into a permanent watershed-wide stewardship program.
2. HCDOP-IAM Study Status
Funds for the HCDOP-IAM study were requested from Congressman Norm Dicks in 2003, following briefings on the Hood Canal dissolved oxygen status. Congressman Dicks secured $350K directly to USGS in each of 2004 and 2005 for HCDOP-IAM study activities, as well as $1.4M channeled through the U.S. Navy to the University of Washington Applied Physics Lab for the study’s first year, which officially began in February 2005. Additional requests will be made to Congressman Dicks for years two and three of the study. Under the project plan, funds will be distributed to 17 organizations. The HCDOP-IAM study includes the work of USGS, as well as other collaborators not funded via HCDOP, such as the US Army Corps of Engineers and potentially contributions by the U.S. EPA, Navy, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The plan for the HCDOP-IAM study is to constantly funnel any information suggesting dominant causes to the CAE portion of the HCDOP for dissemination to local planning groups and the public. Some results from the model will be available after the first field year of data collection and will be verified in the following year. The plan is to attain the ability to make defensible recommendations for corrective actions within three years, but it is planned that preliminary channeling of this information as soon as it is obtained will occur.
3. HCDOP-IAM Study Timeline
The timeline for the HCDOP-IAM study is three years, with an initial ramp-up, then data collection, biota studies, and model development and application for two years, with an emphasis on comprehensive testing and analysis of the model in the final year.
4. HCDOP 2003-2004 Activities
Many existing and grass-roots efforts were completed before the HCDOP-IAM funds were received by UW and USGS. The following section describes these.
Marine Water Monitoring:
In addition to the semi-annual PRISM surveys, and the monthly Ecology-PSAMP monitoring, we are utilizing citizen volunteers organized by the HCSEG and trained by Ecology and UW to make weekly measurements of dissolved oxygen at seven cross canal transects. The samples are being analyzed at a lab at HCSEG established by UW-PRISM funds. HCSEG initialized this Citizen Monitoring effort, with partial funds contributed by PSAT and a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The HCDOP Citizen Monitoring data are at finer temporal and spatial resolution than state-funded Ecology-PSAMP monitoring and provide essential data for assessing biota conditions and for model input. The weekly monitoring started in August 2003.
Preliminary Analysis:
PSAT led an effort to summarize existing knowledge regarding the relative contributions of nitrogen to Hood Canal from the various human sources. This report, the Preliminary Assessment and Corrective Actions (PACA) was published and appears on PSAT’s website (see below). USGS received federal funds to conduct a review of existing data for nutrient inputs to Hood Canal from all sources. USGS also conducted some ancillary focus studies on freshwater and marine water measurements. Their results and information can be found on the USGS website (http://wa.water.usgs.gov/projects/hoodcanal/).
Preliminary Modeling:
Part of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant was used to begin work on the computer model UW-PRISM will be using in the HCDOP-IAM study. The grid is being scaled to Hood Canal and other initialization is underway.
Website Outreach:
During 2003, UW PRISM created a website for data and information dissemination from the HCDOP, primarily from the scientific side. This current website has evolved from that early site.
PSAT also established a webpage for HCDOP information primarily from the policy side including the PACA report and other HCDOP-CAE activities and results (http://www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/hood_canal.htm).
Local Event Response and Observations:
Ecology’s Oil Spill Response number was established for citizens to report abnormalities such as fish kills and algae blooms. Reports from local divers and shore-based citizen monitors re the status of biota and documentation of the incidence of fish and other biota kills are being compiled through HCSEG in concert with WDFW.
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