High resolution bathymetric and topographic survey to inform restoration efforts in Port Gamble Bay, WA.
Presentation Abstract
Port Gamble Bay has a richly diverse and valuable set of natural resources, including shellfish, herring, and eelgrass. Its commercial history, namely the sawmill in Port Gamble which closed down in 1995, left the bay with a variety of environmental impacts, including contaminated sediments and numerous derelict vessels and structures. It was targeted by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program for cleanup and restoration efforts due to its potential for significant environmental return.
In March 2014, the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Coastal Monitoring & Analysis Program (CMAP) conducted a high-resolution bathymetric and topographic survey of Port Gamble Bay to inform WDNR and Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program in their restoration efforts. The survey was conducted onboard the R/V George Davidson, utilizing an R2Sonic 2022 multibeam echosounder, an Optech ILRIS-HD-ER mobile laser scanner, and an Applanix POS MV 320 v5 receiving real-time kinematic positioning corrections.
This survey provided the first high-resolution contiguous bathymetric and topographic dataset of Port Gamble Bay. Aside from its morphological, research, and navigational applications, the dataset was used to accurately determine the location and scope of debris for removal during restoration, down to a half-meter scale. The survey identified over 300 pilings, logs, wrecks, and other environmental and navigational hazards, and was merged with a contractor’s neighboring dataset to assist with removal of contaminated sediments. Precisely locating these hazards greatly increased the efficiency of restoration by freeing resources to focus on natural resource studies, including eelgrass restoration and Olympia oyster enhancement by state and tribal entities.
High-resolution bathymetric surveys such as this provide the essential baseline for large cleanup and restoration projects throughout Puget Sound. The capability to now reliably survey across the land-sea interface is particularly valuable for performing nearshore assessments and restoration projects.
Session Title
Remediation
Conference Track
Protection, Remediation, and Restoration
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Ecological surveys--Washington (State)--Port Gamble; Restoration ecology--Washington (State)--Port Gamble; Marine debris--Cleanup--Washington (State)--Port Gamble
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Washington (State). Department of Ecology; Washington (State). Toxics Cleanup Program
Geographic Coverage
Gamble, Port (Wash. : Bay); Salish Sea (B.C. and 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
High resolution bathymetric and topographic survey to inform restoration efforts in Port Gamble Bay, WA.
2016SSEC
Port Gamble Bay has a richly diverse and valuable set of natural resources, including shellfish, herring, and eelgrass. Its commercial history, namely the sawmill in Port Gamble which closed down in 1995, left the bay with a variety of environmental impacts, including contaminated sediments and numerous derelict vessels and structures. It was targeted by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program for cleanup and restoration efforts due to its potential for significant environmental return.
In March 2014, the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Coastal Monitoring & Analysis Program (CMAP) conducted a high-resolution bathymetric and topographic survey of Port Gamble Bay to inform WDNR and Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program in their restoration efforts. The survey was conducted onboard the R/V George Davidson, utilizing an R2Sonic 2022 multibeam echosounder, an Optech ILRIS-HD-ER mobile laser scanner, and an Applanix POS MV 320 v5 receiving real-time kinematic positioning corrections.
This survey provided the first high-resolution contiguous bathymetric and topographic dataset of Port Gamble Bay. Aside from its morphological, research, and navigational applications, the dataset was used to accurately determine the location and scope of debris for removal during restoration, down to a half-meter scale. The survey identified over 300 pilings, logs, wrecks, and other environmental and navigational hazards, and was merged with a contractor’s neighboring dataset to assist with removal of contaminated sediments. Precisely locating these hazards greatly increased the efficiency of restoration by freeing resources to focus on natural resource studies, including eelgrass restoration and Olympia oyster enhancement by state and tribal entities.
High-resolution bathymetric surveys such as this provide the essential baseline for large cleanup and restoration projects throughout Puget Sound. The capability to now reliably survey across the land-sea interface is particularly valuable for performing nearshore assessments and restoration projects.
