January 22, 2016

The Seattle Aquarium recently recognized UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences research scientist Jeffrey Cordell for his innovative work on restoring marine habitat along Seattle’s Elliott Bay seawall at their annual Chairman’s Award dinner.

Jeff led the long-term research, funded by Washington Sea Grant and the City of Seattle to design, install, and monitor large-scale test panels at three locations along the Seattle waterfront as part of the Elliott Bay Seawall Project. Jeff and his team tested the potential benefits of slopes and crevices along the seawall and explored how complex, engineered structures can increase species diversity and abundance.

As a result of this work, Seattle will be the first city in the world to incorporate habitat panels into a large expanse of seawall. The city plans to monitor for several years after construction, generating the data needed to design future ecologically beneficial seawalls, both in Puget Sound and around the world.