Ebb And Flow: What We Learn From Visible Circulation Patterns in the Salish

Presentation Abstract

We present here a set of visualizations of particle motion in the turbulent and complex environment of Puget Sound. We are interested in superposition of flow patterns particularly related to nutrient flux including: Estuarine input, exchange with the continental shelf and deep ocean through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, tidal circulation and other components of ocean dynamics. We begin with a computational fluid dynamics model and choose initial conditions (particle locations) based on motivating questions: Where does the water go that has been measured by instruments emplaced at NANOOS moorings? Where does fresh water from the Skagit River go, in relation to river stage? How does deep ocean water make its way into the Strait of Juan de Fuca? Does the prevalent Puget Sound circulation pattern resemble a conveyor belt? What is the half-life of the water in Hood Canal? The visualization is generated using the Layerscape research toolkit provided by Microsoft Research. Layerscape combines the Worldwide Telescope visualization engine (large data and time capacity) with a supportive 'learn/collaborate' website (http://layerscape.org) and data manipulation and ingest tools and software.

Session Title

Session S-09F: Emerging Tools for Synthesizing and Communicating Ecosystem Information II

Conference Track

Planning Assessment & Communication

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2-5-2014 10:30 AM

End Date

2-5-2014 12:00 PM

Location

Room 602-603

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Ocean circulation--Research--Washington (State)--Puget Sound

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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May 2nd, 10:30 AM May 2nd, 12:00 PM

Ebb And Flow: What We Learn From Visible Circulation Patterns in the Salish

Room 602-603

We present here a set of visualizations of particle motion in the turbulent and complex environment of Puget Sound. We are interested in superposition of flow patterns particularly related to nutrient flux including: Estuarine input, exchange with the continental shelf and deep ocean through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, tidal circulation and other components of ocean dynamics. We begin with a computational fluid dynamics model and choose initial conditions (particle locations) based on motivating questions: Where does the water go that has been measured by instruments emplaced at NANOOS moorings? Where does fresh water from the Skagit River go, in relation to river stage? How does deep ocean water make its way into the Strait of Juan de Fuca? Does the prevalent Puget Sound circulation pattern resemble a conveyor belt? What is the half-life of the water in Hood Canal? The visualization is generated using the Layerscape research toolkit provided by Microsoft Research. Layerscape combines the Worldwide Telescope visualization engine (large data and time capacity) with a supportive 'learn/collaborate' website (http://layerscape.org) and data manipulation and ingest tools and software.