Embedded Files
Introduction
Canada Water Agency. 2025. Fraser River overview. Canada Water Agency; [accessed 2026 June 6]. Link.
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. 2015 Oct 2. Geographic boundaries of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. Encyclopedia of Puget Sound; [accessed 2026 June 1]. Link.
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. [date unknown]. Puget Sound: a uniquely diverse and productive estuary. Encyclopedia of Puget Sound; [accessed 2026 June 1]. Link.
Hedgpeth J. 1983. Foreword. In: Strickland R. The fertile fjord. Seattle (WA): Puget Sound Books. p. xi–xii.
Howard GC, Kaser MR. 2022. Making and unmaking of Puget Sound. 1st ed. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; [accessed 2026 May 28].
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2024. Classifying estuaries: by water circulation. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; [accessed 2026 June 5]. Link.
O’Hara D, Karlstrom L, Ramsey DW. 2020. Time-evolving surface and subsurface signatures of Quaternary volcanism in the Cascades arc. Geology. 48(11):1099–1103. doi:10.1130/G47706.1
Stanley D, Villasenor A, Benz H. 1999. Subduction zone and crustal dynamics of western Washington: a tectonic model for earthquake hazards evaluation. Olympia (WA): US Geological Survey (USGS). Open-File Report 99-311; [accessed 2026 May 29]. doi:10.3133/ofr99311
Strickland R. 1983. The fertile fjord. Seattle (WA): Puget Sound Books.
Washington Geological Survey. 2008. Map of Puget Lobe [image]. Olympia (WA): Washington State Department of Natural Resources; [accessed 2026 May 29]. Published in: Encyclopedia of Puget Sound.
Wollast R, Duinker J. 1982. General methodology and sampling strategy for studies on behaviour of chemicals in estuaries. Basic circulation and salinity distribution in salt wedge, partially-mixed, well-mixed and fjord-type estuaries as defined by Wollast and Duinker [image]. Thalassia Jugoslavica. 18(1-4):471–491. Published in: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program.
Methods
Beckman Coulter. 2011. LS 13 320 Laser Diffraction Particle Size Analyzer Instructions For Use. First revision. Brea (CA). 246 p.
Carpenter JH. 1965. The accuracy of the Winkler method for dissolved oxygen. Limnology and Oceanography 10: 135-140.
Huber N. 2012. Estuaries Phytoplankton Protocol. Tacoma (WA): University of Washington Tacoma. [accessed 2026 Apr 16].
Huber N. 2012. Oxygen Titrations. Tacoma (WA): University of Washington Tacoma. [accessed 2026 May 29].
Huber N. 2015. UWT Chlorophyll Procedure. Tacoma (WA): University of Washington Tacoma. [accessed 2026 Apr 20].
Strickland JDH, Parsons TR. 1972. A Practical Hand Book of Seawater Analysis. Fisheries Research Board of Canada Bulletin 157. 2nd Edition. 310 p.
Commencement Bay
Cannon G, Grigsby M. 1982. Observations of currents and water properties in Commencement Bay. Boulder (CO): National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA Technical Memorandum OMPA-22.
Phytoplankton Encyclopedia Project. 2023a. Actinoptychus senarius. Vancouver (BC): University of British Columbia; [accessed 2026 Jun 11]. Link.
Phytoplankton Encyclopedia Project. 2023b. Chaetoceros debilis. Vancouver (BC): University of British Columbia; [accessed 2026 Jun 11]. Link..
McShane D. 2023. Phytoplankton, Puyallup River and Mount Rainier. Reading the Washington Landscape [blog]; [accessed 2026 Jun 11]. Link..
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2026. Station photos: Tacoma, Commencement Bay, WA - Station ID: 9446484. NOAA Tides & Currents; [accessed 2026 Jun 11]. Link.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commencement Bay Hazardous waste amage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program; [accessed 2026 Jun 10]. Link.
Takesue RK, Conn KE, Dinicola RS. 2017. Tracking riverborne sediment and contaminants in Commencement Bay, Washington, using geochemical signatures. Reston (VA): US Geological Survey. Open-File Report 2017-1124. doi:10.3133/ofr20171124.
US Environmental Protection Agency. 2017. Restoring and revitalizing waterfront resources: Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway. Seattle (WA): US Environmental Protection Agency; [accessed 2026 Apr 16]. Link.
US Environmental Protection Agency. [date unknown]. Commencement Bay, Near Shore/Tide Flats site profile. Superfund Product and Data System (SPADS); [accessed 2026 Jun 11]. Link.
Washington State Department of Ecology. 1995. Sediment Management Standards, Chapter 173-204 WAC. Olympia (WA): Washington State Department of Ecology. Publication No. 96-252.
Quartermaster Harbor
Albertson S. 2013. Hydrodynamic model report: Quartermaster Harbor nitrogen management study. Olympia (WA): Washington State Department of Ecology. Publication No. 13-03-026. Link.
Amo YD, Brzezinski MA. 1999. The Chemical Form of Dissolved Si Taken up by Marine Diatoms. Journal of Phycology 35 (6): 1162–70. doi:10.1046/j.1529-8817.1999.3561162.x.
DeGasperi C. 2010. Initial assessment of nutrient loading to Quartermaster Harbor. Seattle (WA): King County Water and Land Resources Division. Link.
DeGasperi C, Ferguson E. 2012. Quartermaster Harbor nearshore freshwater inflows assessment. Seattle (WA): King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Link.
King County. 2018. Mooring home. King County (WA); [accessed 2026 May 29]. Link.
Tobin ED, Horner RA. 2011. Germination characteristics of Alexandrium catenella cysts from surface sediments in Quartermaster Harbor, Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Harmful Algae. 10(2):216–223. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2010.10.002.
Study Confirms Concerns about Poor Health of Harbor, Sheds Light on Causes. 2014 Mar 4. Vashon Island (WA): Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber [2026 May 27]. Link.
Kramer S, Roesler C. 2014. The Relationship between Nitrate Concentration and Phytoplankton Blooms in Harpswell Sound. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2552.7925.
San Juan Islands
Alford MH, MacCready P. 2014. Flow and mixing in Juan de Fuca Canyon, Washington. Geophysical Research Letters. 41(5):1608–1615. doi:10.1002/2013GL058967.
Barcelos e Ramos J et al. 2017. Nutrient-specific responses of a phytoplankton community: a case study of the North Atlantic Gyre, Azores. J Plankton Res. 39(4):744–761. doi:10.1093/plankt/fbx025.
Douglas DJ et al. 1997. Accumulation of domoic acid by the sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fed cultured cells of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries. Can J Fish Aquat Sci. 54(4):907–913. doi:10.1139/f96-333.
Drever MC et al. 2023. Water diversion structures and river discharge dictate salinity dynamics on tidal flats of the Fraser River delta, British Columbia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 291:108436. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108436.
Haney JF. 1988. Diel Patterns of Zooplankton Behavior. Bulletin of Marine Science. 43(3):583–603
Johannessen S. 2024. Oceanography of the Salish Sea. In: Salish Archipelago: Environment and Society in the Islands Within and Adjacent to the Salish Sea. Canberra, ACT, Australia: ANU Press. [accessed 2026 June 8]. doi:10.22459/SA.2024.
Lefebvre KA et al. 2025. Saxitoxin Linked to Deaths of Northern Fur Seals in the Southeast Bering Sea. Marine Mammal Science. 41(4):e70028. doi:10.1111/mms.70028.
Lewitus AJ et al. 2012. Harmful algal blooms along the North American west coast region: History, trends, causes, and impacts. Harmful Algae. 19:133–59. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2012.06.009
Marion GM et al. 2011. pH of seawater. Marine Chemistry. 126(1):89–96. doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2011.04.002.
Moreno AR, Anderson C, Kudela RM, Sutula M, Edwards C, Bianchi D. 2022. Development, Calibration, and Evaluation of a Model of Pseudo-Nitzschia and Domoic Acid Production for Regional Ocean Modeling Studies. Harmful Algae 118(10). Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2022.102296.
NOAA Office of Coast Survey. 1991. Strait of Juan de Fuca to Strait of Georgia; Drayton Harbor (Chart No. 18421). Washington (DC): National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [accessed 2026 May 12]. Link.
Puget Sound Marine Monitoring: Diatoms. 2026. King County. [accessed 2026 May 29]. Link.
Thomson RE, Mihály SF, Kulikov EA. 2007. Estuarine versus transient flow regimes in Juan de Fuca Strait. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 112(C9) [accessed 2026 May 12]. doi:10.1029/2006JC003925.
Walter TC, Boxshall G. 2026. World of Copepods Database. [accessed 2026 June 8] Link. doi:10.14284/356
Colvos & East Passages
King County. [date unknown]. King County marine monitoring: CTD profiles [graph]. King County (WA); [accessed 2026 June 10]. Link.
Mickett JB, Gregg MC, Seim HE. 2004. Direct measurements of diapycnal mixing in a fjord reach - Puget Sound’s Main Basin. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science. 59(4):539–558. doi:10.1016 j.ecss.2003.10.009.
Oval B. 2019. Density structure in the outflow region of Colvos Passage: observational analysis and model comparison [bachelor’s thesis]. [Seattle (WA)]: University of Washington. Link.
Paulson AJ, Feely RA. 1985. Dissolved trace metals in the surface waters of Puget Sound. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 16(7):285–291. doi:10.1016/0025- 326X(85)90568-5.
Puget Sound Institute. 2025. Major river deltas of Puget Sound. Encyclopedia of Puget Sound. Tacoma (WA): University of Washington; link.
Seim H, Gregg MC. 1997. The importance of aspiration and channel curvature in producing strong vertical mixing over a sill. Journal of Geophysical Research. 102(C2):3451–3472. doi:10.1029/96jc03415.
Meteorological data was accessed on the Weather Underground's Historical weather page.
Tide data was accessed through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.
Page Developed by Kendall Burch and Ronnie Sullivan
Page updated
Report abuse