Abstract
The Salish Sea Modeling Center was established at the Puget Sound Institute in June 2020 to advance the use of hydrodynamic models for understanding the Salish Sea ecosystem. The center will initially focus on expanding the capabilities of the Salish Sea Model, an advanced computer simulator developed over the past decade. The Salish Sea Model accurately describes how water, sediments, and nutrients enter and cycle through the Salish Sea, and is widely used by resource and regulatory agencies in the region. The model was developed by Dr. Tarang Khangaonkar and his team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The center is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and other regional water quality partners.
This model schema has been applied to potential MHK applications within the Salish Sea. The model can help (1) characterize practically available energy resources in marine environments, (2) provide guidance information on device design and siting, and (3) understand and predict potential physical and ecological impacts resulting from energy removal.
Example Model Animations:
- Surface currents at Admiralty Inlet (1 animation)
- Surface currents for the San Juan Islands (1 animation)
- Surface currents at Tacoma Narrows (1 animation)
- Depth averaged currents at Sequim Bay (1 animation)
- Depth averaged currents for Puget Sound (1 animation)
- Depth averaged water levels for Puget Sound (1 animation)