Welcome to my Research Blog
Blooms and Plumes:
Transforming Aerial Photography into a Tool for Eutrophication Indexing in Hood Canal, Washington.
This page is intended to document the research and progress of my GIS certificate research project conducted at the University of Washington Tacoma. I will be continually updating the information displayed here, and I hope that you are looking forward to seeing my progress.
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The purpose of this project is to identify eutrophication zones using the spatial distribution of algal blooms and additional eutrophication index factors within Hood Canal, in Washington State’s Puget Sound. In Phase I, Eyes Over Puget Sound monthly aerial images (2011-present), will be orthorectified using ArcGIS and classified at the pixel level into a color-scale grid to assess the extent and duration of algal blooms, which contribute to eutrophication. Once orthorectified, images will be converted into rasters for multi-dimensional grid analysis based on color scale or at minimum presence and absence of algal blooms and river plumes. The occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) from the Department of Health (DOH) and other sources will be included to determine if eutrophication and HAB blooms can be predicted using the same index. This project may also confirm the low-resolution accuracy of remotely sensed optical characteristics of HABs and their distribution with color characteristics derived from Eyes Over Puget Sound (EOP) photos. Phase II will include static and continuous eutrophication data including water temperatures, DO, freshwater inputs, Secchi disk depth, chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total suspended solids, as well as other factors that contribute to eutrophication. Once the entire dataset has been merged, Kriging will be utilized to generate eutrophication zones in an attempt to spatially quantify the risk potential throughout Hood Canal.
2017 Hood Canal coccolitophore bloom.
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Shellfish closures due to HABs have the potential to devastate economies and drastically alter ecosystem dynamics (Dyson & Huppert, 2010; Jin & Hoagland, 2008; Shumway, 1990). HAB blooms have been increasing in frequency and duration in recent years due to numerous factors including warming temperatures and increased nutrient loading (Newton et al., 2007). Further, the warm water anomaly known as the “blob” coincided with numerous unprecedented jellyfish and HAB blooms, thus prediction and monitoring of future events in Puget Sound would benefit by the transformation of EOP aerial photos into usable spatial data (Kintisch, 2015). As an environmental scientist with phytoplankton expertise, my skillset lends itself to the analysis of HAB blooms. As a Puget Sound resident and member of the fishing community, I am motivated to improve the understanding of HAB events and aid in the mitigation of their impacts.
Alexandrium spp. (Lyndsey Claassen)
Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) toxin producing HAB species, from Clayoquot Sound, BC.
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Four research questions will be addressed in this project.
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Can bloom scales and harmful bloom durations be determined from EOP generated raster grids?
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Can river or upwelling sediment plumes be differentiated from algal blooms?
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Will the generated grid system visualize the onset of the 2015 “blob” warm water anomaly?
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Are HABs more frequent in the northern portion of Hood Canal, Quilcene and Dabob Bays?
Throughout this project, priority data needs will be identified and documented.
Hood Canal has been identified by the Department of Ecology as having high eutrophic conditions, as well as at high risk of worsening conditions (Encyclopedia of Puget Sound, 2018). Hood Canal is a relatively isolated area, having only one exchange connection to the greater Puget Sound, simplifying the process of environmental modeling. A eutrophication Index is available for Puget Sound, however limited studies have focused on Hood Canal, making this a novel analysis. This range was also chosen to pare down the large amount of data and create a model that may be extended to all of the basins of Puget Sound, as well as similar estuaries along the west coasts of the US and Canada. Hood Canal experiences frequent hypoxia and in 2015, an unprecedented harmful algal bloom was documented by University of Washington Tacoma oceanographers. Large coccolithophore blooms are visible by satellites on a consistent annual basis, which will aid in validating this analysis.
More information can be found by clicking these buttons
References:
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Dyson, K., & Huppert, D. D. (2010). Regional economic impacts of razor clam beach closures due to harmful algal blooms (HABs) on the Pacific coast of Washington. Harmful Algae, 9(3), 264–271.
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. (2018). Eutrophication of Marine Waters. Retrieved February 18, 2019, from https://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/section-5-eutrophication-marine-waters
Jin, D., & Hoagland, P. (2008). The value of harmful algal bloom predictions to the nearshore commercial shellfish fishery in the Gulf of Maine. Harmful Algae, 7(6), 772–781.
Kintisch, E. (2015). ‘The Blob’ invades Pacific, flummoxing climate experts. Science, 348(6230), 17–18. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.348.6230.17
Newton, J., Bassin, C., Devol, A., Kawase, M., Ruef, W., Warner, M., … Rose, R. (2007). Hypoxia in Hood Canal: An overview of status and contributing factors. In Proceedings of the 2007 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Research Conference. Puget Sound Action Team, Olympia, Washington. Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/2007psgb/2007proceedings/papers/9a_newton_comp.pdf
Shumway, S. E. (1990). A review of the effects of algal blooms on shellfish and aquaculture. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 21(2), 65–104.