KPLU Local News
(2010-01-25)
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Our ability to heal Puget Sound depends a lot on knowing what's wrong in the first place - and why. A group of students in Everett is part of a project that's getting that information in new and better ways.
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For several decades, the state has been monitoring Puget Sound for key water quality indicators such as salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen levels. Most of this sampling has been done from float planes on a monthly basis. But Ardi Kveven, head of the Ocean Research College Academy at Everett Community College, says that's changing.
"Once-a-month monitoring isn't enough to look at trends and look at the overall health and issues of this pretty dynamic body of water."
Now, students at the academy are maintaining and collecting data from an underwater probe that uploads real-time information to the web every 15 minutes. By gathering data round the clock, scientists are able to piece together a more accurate picture of how various Puget Sound ecosystems work, and whether they're changing for the better - or the worse.
Right now, there are three of these stations in operation in Puget Sound. Researchers hope that technological improvements -- and partnerships like the one with Everett Community College - will bring down the cost and allow more probes in more locations.
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