Posted on August 2, 2013 by Al Bergstein
NOAA throws out the claims by the Pacific Legal Foundation (a conservative legal action organization that fights against environmental laws, among other issues), that that the Puget Sound Southern Resident pod was not unique. The people that funded this ought to replace their lawyers, who might have warned them that the argument was absurd and a waste of time and money.
SEATTLE (AP) — Killer whales that spend their summers in Puget Sound are a distinct population group and will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday.
Read the whole story at:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/noaa-puget-sound-killer-whales-stay-protected
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: NOAA, orca, Puget Sound | 3 Comments »
Posted on July 9, 2013 by Al Bergstein
We like these drones.
They’re the tools of modern-day warfare: unmanned aircraft systems better known as drones. They’re also being tested to help carry our important scientific missions, including surveys of wildlife and marine debris in the National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula. In the marina at La Push aboard the research vessel Tatoosh, two pilots dressed in dark blue uniforms run a pre-flight check on a Puma unmanned aircraft system. They’re with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, the federal science agency that studies changes in our environment.
Bellamy Pailthorp reports. Feds testing drones for scientific and environmental missions
http://kplu.org/post/feds-testing-drones-scientific-and-environmental-missions
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: drones, La Push, National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA, Olympic Peninsula, Puget Sound | Comments Off on The Good Drones – Scientific and Environmental Missions
Posted on June 11, 2013 by Al Bergstein
“Ocean acidification in WA State: An exploration of its chemical, biological, and societal impacts”
PTMSC presents this lecture by NOAA Research Ecologist Shallin Busch. Busch helped develop NOAA’s Northwest Center state-of-the-art lab for studying the impacts of ocean acidification, hypoxia, and temperature change on coastal marine organisms. She conducts experiments on economically and ecologically important species and uses this research to explore potential impacts of ocean acidification on entire food webs and fisheries. In 2012, Busch served as a member of the WA State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification. The lecture is this Saturday, June 15th at 4pm in the Fort Worden State Park JFK Building. No park pass necessary (note: PTMSC is paying in advance so audience doesn’t have to buy a pass, but if you already have one, please bring and display it on your dash). Admission is $7 adults/$5 adult members/$3 youth/$2 youth members
Filed under: Jefferson County | Tagged: environment, marine organisms, NOAA, ocean acidification, science | Comments Off on Event:”Ocean acidification in WA State” June 15th in Port Townsend
Posted on September 7, 2012 by Al Bergstein
A new report (http://www.scribd.com/doc/105128303/PSEMP-Marine-Waters-2011-Overviewweb-FINAL-1) brings together data collected from all around the Sound in 2011. It’s got information on river inputs, seawater temperature, salinity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, ocean acidification, phytoplankton, biotoxins, bacteria, pathogens, shellfish….
Ashley Ahearn talks to Stephanie Moore, a biological oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the lead editor of the report.
http://earthfix.opb.org/water/article/earthfix-conversation-so-hows-puget-sound/
Filed under: Around the Sound | Tagged: NOAA, science | Comments Off on EarthFix Conversations: So, How’s Puget Sound?
