June 17, 2020
Kelp absorbs carbon dioxide and other nutrients from seawater as it grows, potentially improving conditions for shellfish and other species. Can we harness this power of kelp by farming kelp and oysters together? In partnership with Washington Sea Grant, a team of leading researchers set out to find the answer to that question. Watch the video below to learn more about the project.
Learn more about Washington Sea Grant’s work in kelp aquaculture Read More
March 4, 2020
Ian Miller, coastal hazards specialist at WSG, is serving as the guest editor for the journal Water’s special issue on Coastal Hazards Management. In his guest editor message, Miller highlights the ongoing struggle of combating coastal hazards and the need for international collaboration and preparation.
Manuscript submissions are open for this special issue until November 30, 2020. Miller is especially looking for submissions focused on the link between climate change and extreme coastal hazard events, case studies exploring low-cost or traditional-knowledge-based ...
Read MoreFebruary 20, 2020
There has been a lot of recent interest in kickstarting a seaweed industry in Washington. But is it currently possible? If you want to become a kelp farmer, where do you even start?
Earlier this month, Washington Sea Grant (WSG) hosted a Seaweed Farming Intensive Training to help aspiring seaweed farmers and entrepreneurs answer these and other questions. The first event of its kind in the state, the three-day training covered everything from local seaweed ecology, how to ...
Read MoreJanuary 15, 2020
It is hard to comprehend the scale of damage that resulted from the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Entire forests, neighborhoods and even towns were washed away. It caused the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Overall, almost 20,000 people were proclaimed dead or missing.
More than eight years after the tragedy, the city of Sendai, in Japan’s Tohoku Region, is still in recovery. As the city continues to rebuild, however, local scientists and planners aim to share the knowledge they have ...
Read MoreDecember 23, 2019
Seaweed has been receiving a lot of attention recently as the next sustainable superfood. Not only is it packed with micronutrients, but seaweed also absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows. This means cultivating seaweed alongside other marine species could help buffer vulnerable organisms, such as oysters, from the corrosive effects of ocean acidification.
But getting a seaweed farm ...
Read MoreDecember 20, 2019
A new report details the effects of a changing climate on Puget Sound in 2018, and describes how these changes trickled down through the ecosystem to affect marine life and seafood consumers.
Scientists observed unusually warm water temperatures, though not as hot as during the years of “the Blob,” the marine heatwave of 2014-2016. Salinity went up everywhere in the Puget ...
Read MoreFrom the autumn 2019 Sea Star print newsletter
By Andrew Chin, WSG Science Communications Fellow
On a quiet day in Oak Harbor last January, the surface of Puget Sound was as smooth as glass. The water gently reflected the winter sun as 45 pairs of eyes watched the tide slowly overtake the shoreline, reaching the line of driftwood that had been thrown ashore in storms past and the grass lawn of Flinstone Park. This encroachment was a king tide: the edge ...
Read MoreMay 8, 2019
The joint team from Washington Sea Grant (WSG), Climate Impacts Group (CIG) and Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) that released a report containing the best sea level rise projections yet for Washington’s coasts last summer received the UW College of the Environment Award for Outstanding Community Impact. The report is part of the Washington Coastal Resilience Project, a three-year effort funded in 2016 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The team has been instrumental in helping ...
Read MoreMarch 26, 2019
Washington Sea Grant held viewing parties in Oak Harbor and Raymond in January to help local residents understand the effects of sea level rise
Sea level rise has major implications for coastal Washington. The recent projections released by Washington Sea Grant, WA Department of Ecology, UW Climate Impacts Group, The Nature Conservancy, and other partners predict approximately one foot of sea level rise by 2050, and up to two feet by 2100.
Bridget Trosin, Coastal Policy Specialist at ...
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