Puget Sound: Warm Water Mass to Put at Risk Marine Life

According to the scientific community, abnormally warm conditions were encountered in Puget Sound this summer because of its drought (deficiency in its water supply), and a large blob of warm ocean water.

Puget Sound is a seaway in the US state of Washington, an inlet (i.e. “entrance”) of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea.

The above-mentioned abnormal occurrences are particularly pertinent in Puget Sound, as it was expected that it would be warm and dry, but the conditions were very different.

As a result of this week’s hot weather, oceanographers from the State Department of Ecology are evaluating the climate conditions involving Puget Sound and thus, they discovered that its tributaries inclusively are warming up.

Scientists also reported record-breaking heat waves. The fault of this drastic climate interference is the so-called “Blob”, which is an enormous mass of unusually warm water, having its origins in the West Coast.

The blob has extended itself to the south, reaching as far as Mexico. This huge amount of warm water is increasing the water temperatures by 4 degrees higher than usual at this time of year in some regions.

Hood Canal is running low on its oxygen content, whereas scientists believe marine life is at risk, as of high water temperatures and low levels of oxygen.

Jan Newton, UW oceanographer, said that in extremely severe conditions, we ought to be worried about fish kills. He will, nevertheless, continue to monitor the situation.

Moreover, many segments of Hood Canal were shut down due to increased toxic waste present there. Awareness has been raised by esteemed scientific circles concerning the ecological consequences that have been brought upon Puget Sound.

Whereas the lives of marine organisms are at stake, the oceanographers said that warm water could be seen everywhere, from Olympia to Bellingham. Researchers are in shock, as their scientific expectations have been exceeded dramatically.

Nick Bond, climate scientist at University of Washington, reported that he had expected the conditions to be drastic, but not this extreme.Unfortunate consequences, such as a multitude of dead fish and toxic algae, have been spotted.

Jerry Borchert, representative of the Washington State Department of Health’s Shellfish-Safety Program, said that marine organisms have already started to face the inevitable burdening heat. In the month of April a shellfish harvest was closed.

As a conclusion, the water blob has caused immense environmental damage, in its movement between Alaska and Mexico.

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