Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluation Salish Sea Marine Bird Indicators With Insights From Recent Research By Professional And Citizen Scientists, Scott F. Pearson, Martin G. (Martin George) Raphael

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Marine birds are often viewed as good ecological indicators because they are relatively well studied and time-series data are often available, our understanding of their population biology is often extremely high, some species are tightly linked to their prey resources and, as upper trophic predators, they offer an integrative view of the dynamics at lower levels of the food web. In 2014, at-sea abundance and trends of the rhinoceros auklet, pigeon guillemot, marbled murrelet and scoters were collectively selected by the Puget Sound Partnership as indicators of the health of the Puget Sound marine food web. Long-term trends for these …

Strait Of Georgia Data Centre, Terry Curran, Isobel Pearsall, Benjamin Skinner

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

No abstract provided.

Harmful Phytoplankton In The Salish Sea: Part I, Teri King

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

No abstract provided.

Cumulative Effects On Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca), Sharlene Shaikh, Cecilia Wong, Michael Rylko, Todd Hass

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

No abstract provided.

Supporting Diverse Pacific Nw Marine Data Access Needs Via The Nanoos Visualization System (Nvs) And Data Services, Emilio Mayorga, Troy Tanner, Jonathan Allan, J. A. (Jan A.) Newton, Rachel Wold

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Serving PNW users via the ANANOOS Visualization System: Data integration and management.

Sea Lice Infection Rates On Juvenile Chum Salmon In A Salish Sea Fjord With No Atlantic Salmon Net Pens, Micah Wait, James Fletcher, Adrian Tuohy

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In 2017, Wild Fish Conservancy documented sea louse (Lepeoptheirus salmonis) infection rates on juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) in the nearshore waters of Hood Canal, WA. Transmission of sea lice from the adult fish captive in salmon farms to wild outmigrating juvenile salmon has been posited as a primary impact of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) open net pen farming in the Salish Sea. Hood Canal is an isolated fjord that makes up the westernmost arm of Puget Sound. There are no open net pen Atlantic salmon farms in Hood Canal, sampling here should establish rates of sea lice infection on …

An Overview Of The Salish Sea Model: Existence Of Reflux Mixing And Recurring Hypoxia, Tarang Khangaonkar, Adi Nugraha, Wenwei Xu, Wen Long, Laura Bianucci, Anise Ahmed, Teizeen Mohamedali, G. J. Pelletier, Cristiana Figueroa-Kaminsky

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

An improved version of a diagnostic hydrodynamic and biogeochemical model (nutrients, phytoplankton, carbon, dissolved oxygen, pH) of the Salish Sea has been developed with the ability to simulate characteristic circulation and water quality features. Notable improvements include expansion of the model domain beyond the Salish Sea, encompassing Vancouver Island and out to the continental shelf boundary. In this talk we present an overview of the model setup describing the model domain coverage, modeling framework, development of boundary conditions, and tidal, riverine, wastewater, and meteorological inputs. Ability of the model to reproduce known circulation features within the Salish Sea is highlighted. …

Using Collaborative Multi-Sector Partnerships To Address Sea Level Rise In Washington State, Bobbak Talebi

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Challenges And Solutions For Shoreline Armor Removal And Design Of Soft Shore Protection, Jessica Cote, Kathryn E. Ketteridge

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Along coastlines all over the world, land use development has created a need for holding the shoreline in a static position or at least minimizing the dynamic movement of the shoreline. Intense development along the shorelines of the Salish Sea from the 1950s to the 1970s was conducted with limited regulatory oversight or understanding of the cumulative impacts that housing, transportation corridors and other infrastructure would have on the marine environment. Over the last couple of decades it has become widely understood that the practice of using hard armor (timber walls, concrete walls and rockeries) to stabilize shorelines has degraded …

Comprehensive Data Management For An Ocean Observatory: Onc's Oceans 2.0, Richard Dewey, Benoit Pirenne, Reyna Jenkyns

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Ocean Networks Canada operates several comprehensive cabled ocean networks and a suite of single-point marine observing systems across Canada. Data flow in real-time from hundreds of sensors, installed beneath the ocean bottom, though the water column, and at the ocean surface. ONC has built a complimentary data management system, Oceans 2.0 that allows for real-time acquisition, secure storage, data exploration, and data product delivery. Key elements of the Oceans 2.0 data management system will be high-lighted, with a focus on best practices and lessons learned.

Uptake And Trophic Changes Of Pbdes In The Benthic Marine Food Chain, Brenda Burd, Chris Lowe, Carmen Morales, Peter Ross

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

We examine the influence of sediment factors on uptake of PBDEs into marine deposit and filter feeders, and transfer to higher trophic levels. Sediment PBDEs increase with %toc, AVS, organic flux, and fines. As a result, coarser, less organic sediments in JdF have lower [PBDEs] than the southern SoG. Sediment feeder [PBDE] variance was best explained by AVS>[PBDEs]>%TOC>OC flux. Therefore, increasing organic input and burn-down, and sediment PBDEs enhance tissue PBDEs. Dry weight PBDE accumulation (tissue/sediment) in sediment feeders decreased with increasing sediment PBDEs, resulting in tissue dilution at sediment concentrations >10,000pg/g in urban harbours. PBDE accumulation …

The Planet, 2018, Spring, Keiko Betcher, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

This Is Not A Brain, Allison Wusterbarth

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An exploration of machine learning and its ethical consequences.

(Slides for the discussion are at the end of the file.)

Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project 2016/2017 Report, Robin A. Matthews, Michael Hilles, Joan Pickens, Robert J. Mitchell, Geoffrey B. Matthews

Lake Whatcom Annual Reports

This report describes the results from the 2016/2017 Lake Whatcom monitoring program conducted by the Institute for Watershed Studies at Western Washington University (www.wwu.edu/iws). The major objectives in 2016/2017 were to continue long-term baseline water quality monitoring in Lake Whatcom and its major tributaries; collect storm runoff water quality data from representative streams in the watershed; and continue collection of hydrologic data from Austin and Smith Creeks.

Moses Lake Algae Monitoring Project 2017 Final Report, Robin A. Matthews, Joan Pickens, Eric J. Lawrence

Moses Lake

Moses Lake is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in Grant County, Washington (Carroll and Cusimano, 2001), with a surface area of 6,800 acres (27.5 km2 ), total volume of 130,000 acre-ft (160.4 × 106 m3), average depth of 19 ft. (5.8 m), and maximum depth of 38 ft. (11.6 m; Dion, et al., 1976). The lake is situated adjacent to the city of Moses Lake and drains into Crab Creek, a tributary of Columbia River. The lake is a popular recreational destination for fishing, boating, swimming, and camping.

Moses Lake develops nuisance blooms of cyanobacteria during the summer and fall. The …

Why Georeferencing Matters: Introducing A Practical Protocol To Prepare Species Occurrence Records For Spatial Analysis, Trevor D.S. Bloom, Aquila Flower, Eric G. Dechaine

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are widely used to understand environmental controls on species’ ranges and to forecast species range shifts in response to climatic changes. The quality of input data is crucial determinant of the model’s accuracy. While museum records can be useful sources of presence data for many species, they do not always include accurate geographic coordinates. Therefore, actual locations must be verified through the process of georeferencing. We present a practical, standardized manual georeferencing method (the Spatial Analysis Georeferencing Accuracy (SAGA) protocol) to classify the spatial resolution of museum records specifically for building improved SDMs. We used the …

The Planet, 2018, Winter, Keiko Betcher, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Boulevard Park Pedestrian Overpass Removal, Alexandra Frederick, Sean Hecker, Taylor Pearson, Erin Rush, Louisa Talmage

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The proposed action for the Boulevard Park Pedestrian Overpass is to remove the wooden structure and reroute the utilities underground. The utilities would be routed underneath the train tracks at the park entrance, connecting to Woods Coffee and up Bayview Drive. Irrigation and sewer will still be routed into the park but electricity, telecommunications and water will be routed out of the park. The utility conduits will be in separate trenches under the tracks. The park restrooms at the north end of the park will be abandoned to reduce utilities demands (especially water, electricity and sewer). Restrooms are still available …

Environmental Impact Assessment: Cordata Community Park Bellingham, Wa, Christian Berres, Andy Basabe, Katherine Weir, Andrew Graminski

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The City of Bellingham (COB) is in phase I of the Cordata Community Park project. The community park will the newest park located within city limits. Phase I development will include amenities such as age separated playgrounds, picnic areas including a large picnic shelter, parkour, bike pump track, restrooms, parking and trails. Wetland mitigation efforts will be implemented for this project. Landscape planting, extension of utilities, security lighting, and irrigation will be included.

Environmental Impact Statement For West Horton Road Extension Phase 1, Sarah Anderson, Lucas Dubois, Madeleine Jones, David Simpson, Corey Stever

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

West Horton Road currently dead-ends into a roundabout. The proposed action is to build an extension of road to connect the west terminus of West Horton Road to Aldrich Road to its west. The road extension would feature one traffic lane in each direction, one bike lane in each direction, and sidewalks on both sides.

Environmental Impact Assessment Whatcom Waterway Aeration Stabilization Basin, Candice Trusty, Katie Kissinger, Micah Litowitz, Natasha Motley, Shelby Owens

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

The Port of Bellingham (POB) has a court order with the Washington State Department of Ecology to address several cleanup sites within the Bellingham Waterfront District. The Aeration Stabilization Basin (ASB) is included in the Whatcom Waterway cleanup site due to contaminated sediments within the basin. The POB has plans to remediate the sediments and transform the entire ASB into a marina, but since that original proposal, demand for more boat slips has decreased. The POB is exploring alternative uses for the ASB site and what the environmental impacts of those uses would be.

Skagit County Centennial Trail Extension Environmental Impact Statement, Avery Barbera, Kelley Crider, Vance Frenzel, Sam Kaiser, Jennifer Shore

College of the Environment Graduate and Undergraduate Publications

Skagit County Parks and Recreation Department has acquired 255 acres of land with the help of Skagit Land Trust and private donors for the purpose of extending the Centennial Trail system, which is currently located throughout Snohomish County. The purpose of the acquisition of these land parcels is to 1) install a new water transmission pipeline from Judy Reservoir (a project done by Skagit Public Utility District) and 2) install a 2.5 mile walking trail on top of the pipeline extending from Clear Lake to Big Rock. This document serves as an analysis of the environmental impacts of the trail …

U-Pb And Hf Isotopic Evidence For An Arctic Origin Of Terranes In Northwestern Washington, Elizabeth R. Schermer, Eric A. Hoffnagle, Edwin H. Brown, George E. Gehrels, William C. Mcclelland

Geology Faculty Publications

New field, U-Pb, and Lu-Hf zircon data constrain the geologic history, age, and origin of the Yellow Aster Complex (YAC) in northwestern Washington, providing insight into the tectonic history of this and related Paleozoic arc terranes of the western North American Cordillera. Mapping shows that the oldest YAC rocks consist of quartzofeldspathic paragneiss (meta-arkose) and quartzose calc-silicate paragneiss (metacalcareous siltstone) in gradational contact. Paragneisses are cut by syn-tectonic and post-tectonic intrusions and faulted against granitic orthogneiss. U-Pb zircon results show that (1) maximum depositional ages of paragneisses are Silurian to Early Devonian (432– 390 Ma); (2) detrital zircons from quartzose …

Early Onset Of Franciscan Subduction, Sean R. Mulcahy, Jesslyn K. Starnes, Howard W. Day, Matthew A. Coble, Jeffrey D. Vervoort

Geology Faculty Publications

The Franciscan subduction complex of California is considered a type example of a subduction-accretion system, yet the age of subduction initiation and relationship to the tectonic history of western North America remain controversial. Estimates for the timing of Franciscan subduction initiation are largely based either indirectly on regional tectonic arguments or from the ages of high-grade blocks within mélange. Many of the high-grade blocks record counterclockwise pressure-temperature paths with early amphibolite overprinted by later eclogite and blueschist; however, their origin and significance with respect to subduction initiation have been debated. In contrast, some high-grade blocks show evidence for clockwise pressure-temperature …

Paleomagnetism And Rotation History Of The Blue Mountains, Oregon, Usa, Bernard A. Housen

Geology Faculty Publications

An important element in reconstructions of the Cordilleran margin of North America includes longstanding debate regarding the timing and amount of rotation of the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon, and the origin of geometric features such as the Columbia Embayment, which was a subject of some of Bill Dickinson’s early research. Suppositions of significant clockwise rotation of the Blue Mountains derived from Dickinson’s work were confirmed in the 1980s by paleomagnetic results from Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous plutonic rocks, and secondary directions from Permian–Triassic units of the Wallowa–Seven Devils arc that indicate ~60° clockwise rotation of the Blue Mountains.

This study …

Biogenic Weathering: Solubilization Of Iron From Minerals By Epilithic Freshwater Algae And Cyanobacteria, George E. Mustoe

Geology Faculty Publications

A sandstone outcrop exposed to freshwater seepage supports a diverse assemblage of photosynthetic microbes. Dominant taxa are two cyanophytes (Oscillatoria sp., Rivularia sp.) and a unicellular green alga (Palmellococcus sp.). Less abundant taxa include a filamentous green alga, Microspora, and the desmid Cosmarium. Biologic activity is evidenced by measured levels of chlorophyll and lipids. Bioassay methods confirm the ability of these microbes to dissolve and metabolize Fe from ferruginous minerals. Chromatographic analysis reveals citric acid as the likely chelating agent; this low molecular weight organic acid is detectable in interstitial fluid in the sandstone, measured as …

The Recent Volcanic History Of Axial Seamount: Geophysical Insights Into Past Eruption Dynamics With An Eye Toward Enhanced Observations Of Future Eruptions, William Wilcock, Robert Dziak, Maya Tolstoy, William Chadwick, Scott Nooner, Delwayne Bohnenstiel, Jacqueline Caplan-Auerbach, Felix Waldhauser, Adrien Amulf, Christian Ballard, Tai-Kwan Lau, Joseph Haxel, Yen Joe Tan, Charles Garcia, Samuel Levy, M. Everett Mann

Geology Faculty Publications

To understand the processes that form oceanic crust as well as the role of submarine volcanoes in exchanging heat and chemicals with the ocean and in supporting chemosynthetic biological communities, it is essential to study underwater eruptions. The world’s most advanced underwater volcano observatory—the Ocean Observatories Initiative Cabled Array at Axial Seamount—builds upon ~30 years of sustained geophysical monitoring at this site with autonomous and remote systems. In April 2015, only months after the Cabled Array’s installation, it recorded an eruption at Axial Seamount, adding to the records of two prior eruptions in 1998 and 2011. Between eruptions, magma recharge …

Structural Characterization Of A Human/Porcine Chimeric Fviii Construct And An Improved Human Factor Viii Model And Progress Towards Determination Of The Fviii C1 Domain In Complex With Inhibitory Antibodies, Ian Smith

WWU Graduate School Collection

Blood coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) is a non-enzymatic protein cofactor, which plays a crucial role in the formation of a stable blood clot. Absence or deficiency of FVIII results in the blood disorder hemophilia A, with symptoms including internal hemorrhaging and the inability to stop bleeding from open wounds. Treatment of hemophilia A relies on replacement of FVIII with blood, plasma, or protein concentrate infusions. Unfortunately, approximately 30% of patients receiving replacement FVIII generate pathologic anti-FVIII inhibitory antibodies, which both reduce the effectiveness of the FVIII therapeutic and increase the severity of hemophilia A symptoms.

This thesis reports the determination …

Assessing The Effects Of Chemical Mixtures Using A Bayesian Network-Relative Risk Model (Bn- Rrm) Integrating Adverse Outcome Pathways (Aops) In Four Watersheds, Valerie R. Chu

WWU Graduate School Collection

Chemical mixtures are difficult to assess at the individual scale and are more challenging at the population scale. I have conducted a regional-scale ecological risk assessment by evaluating the effects of chemical mixtures on populations with a Bayesian Network- Relative Risk Model (BN-RRM) in four Washington state watersheds (Skagit, Nooksack, Cedar and Yakima). Organophosphate pesticides (diazinon, malathion and chlorpyrifos) were chosen as the chemical stressors and the Puget Sound Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) were chosen as the population endpoint. Laboratory tests found that organophosphate pesticide mixtures act synergistically and impair acetylcholinesterase activity. Exposure-response equations for …

Interactive Effects Of Ocean Acidification And Ocean Warming On Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasi) Early Life Stages, Cristina Villalobos

WWU Graduate School Collection

The synergy of ocean acidification and ocean warming may lead to negative effects in marine organism responses that would be absent under single stressors. While adult fish are effective acid-base regulators, early life stages may be more susceptible to environmental stressors. Pacific herring are ecologically and economically important forage fish native to the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW), and several herring populations in the PNW have experienced reductions in stock abundance. Studies to date have focused on Atlantic herring, and little is known about the response of Pacific herring to ocean acidification and warming. Therefore, this study focused on the combined …