TITLE:

Estuary-enhanced upwelling of marine nutrients fuels coastal productivity in the US Pacific Northwest

DATE:

Friday, October 2nd, 2015

TIME:

3:30 PM

LOCATION:

GMCS 214

SPEAKER:

Dr. Kristen Davis. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Irvine

ABSTRACT:

In the Pacific Northwest, the coastal waters are strongly influenced by outflow from the Strait of Juan de Fuca fed by the Fraser River and the rivers of Puget Sound. These rivers act as a conduit for land-derived nutrients and the estuarine exchange driven by the freshwater flow entrains ocean-derived nutrients into the coastal euphotic zone and can influence the development of harmful algal blooms. Here, we examine the role of outflow from the Strait of Juan de Fuca in shaping regional patterns of phytoplankton biomass and productivity using an ecosystem model coupled to a high-resolution circulation model of the Washington and Oregon coasts developed as part of the PNWTOX (Pacific Northwest Toxins) Project. We present hindcasts of years 2005, 2006, and 2007 to examine the origin (river vs. upwelling) and fate of nitrogen flux from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Results from this study highlight the important role of estuarine circulation at the mouth of the Strait in the biological productivity of the Washington shelf.

HOST:

Dr. Jose Castillo

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