{"id":12286,"date":"2013-06-18T11:17:42","date_gmt":"2013-06-18T15:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=12286"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:45:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:45:12","slug":"puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm","title":{"rendered":"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet’s data gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sediment in Washington State\u2019s Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t entirely sure why. Water quality specialists from the U.S. Geological Survey aim to change that.<\/p>\n

The Washington State Department of Ecology recently reported that some aspects sediment health in the sound have gotten worse over the last decade. Poor sediment quality has adversely impacted macroinvertebrates and water quality. A new USGS study is tracing Puget Sound sediment upstream to its tributary rivers to evaluate sediment volumes and quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne area that we know where there is a known gap in our understanding is in the type and levels of contaminants that are transported from large rivers to the Puget Sound,\u201d said Kathy Conn, a USGS water quality specialist working on the study.<\/p>\n

The USGS uses a combination of monitoring and precise sampling to obtain sediment samples during times of high sediment loading. Sampling sediment may sound like a simple task, but obtaining a representative sample of a river\u2019s sediment loading takes some calculation and planning.<\/p>\n

Stream gauges and real-time turbidity monitoring help Conn choose sampling days. She tries to sample when sediment is highly suspended in rivers. \u201cWe are trying to strategically sample at high turbidity events with the hypothesis that these high turbidity events carry more loads of contaminants than a baseline flow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Conn uses a special sampling process takes a representative sample of an entire cross section of a river. She and her colleagues sample from bridges above the rivers to gain access to the entire surface. They sample based on tested USGS protocols to ensure standardized methods to gain a representative sample of the river.<\/p>\n

The researchers also analyze suspended sediment particles with\u00a0 Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer. That information is paired with acoustic Doppler current profilers, which give water velocity data.<\/p>\n

Conn said she often sees distinct sediment signals depending on the season and likely cause of the sediment loading.<\/p>\n

The Puyallup River, for instance, is glacier-fed and runs down Mt. Rainier. Conn said sediment from ice and snow melt often brings fine glacial flour into the river. Sediment loading from heavy rains is much more varied, on the other hand.<\/p>\n

Once researchers collect a few thousand liters of water for their cross section samples, they take it back to their lab and sort the water from the sediment.<\/p>\n

Conn is attempting a new method for filtering that large volume of water. She has a special flow-through centrifuge that deposits sediment into a bowl as water continually passes through.<\/p>\n

\"Conn's

Conn’s flow-through centrifuge setup includes a Geotech Geopump (Credit: USGS)<\/p><\/div>\n

She said the unique approach gives her flexibility in sediment extraction. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re using it to concentrate suspended sediment that may be 100 milligrams per liter or even 10 milligrams per liter in water,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Once water passes through the centrifuge, a slurry of sediment is left behind that Conn can send to a lab for testing.<\/p>\n

Laboratory analysis focuses mainly on legacy compounds, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and newly emerging contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n

Conn said the centrifugal method was the best way she could find to extract sediment from large volumes of water. Filters would not work well, as they can get clogged or too full. Removing sediment from the filters for analysis is also difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no easy way to sample suspended sediment,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why there\u2019s a data gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top image:\u00a0A Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer ready for deployment on a Puget Sound tributary as part of the USGS sediment survey (Credit: USGS)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sediment in Washington State\u2019s Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t entirely sure why. A USGS study aims to change that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":12289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[60,210],"class_list":["post-12286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rivers-streams","tag-featured","tag-puget-sound"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nPuget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet's data gap<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sediment in Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t sure why. Water quality specialists from the USGS aim to change that.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet's data gap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sediment in Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t sure why. Water quality specialists from the USGS aim to change that.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-18T15:17:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-10T20:45:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Austen Verrilli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Austen Verrilli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Austen Verrilli\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d5fdedb7511d9d4d4aaab819798d1630\"},\"headline\":\"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet’s data gap\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-18T15:17:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:45:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\"},\"wordCount\":613,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"featured\",\"Puget Sound\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Rivers & Streams\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\",\"name\":\"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet's data gap\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-18T15:17:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:45:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d5fdedb7511d9d4d4aaab819798d1630\"},\"description\":\"Sediment in Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t sure why. Water quality specialists from the USGS aim to change that.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg\",\"width\":420,\"height\":470,\"caption\":\"A Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer ready for deployment on a Puget Sound tributary as part of the USGS sediment survey (Credit: USGS)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Monitor\",\"description\":\"Application and technology news for environmental professionals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d5fdedb7511d9d4d4aaab819798d1630\",\"name\":\"Austen Verrilli\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/58d918f41356b5c94ec944c15691b573e408661f5bdce381e6ec4b1c262b8e2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/58d918f41356b5c94ec944c15691b573e408661f5bdce381e6ec4b1c262b8e2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/58d918f41356b5c94ec944c15691b573e408661f5bdce381e6ec4b1c262b8e2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Austen Verrilli\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/austenv\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet's data gap","description":"Sediment in Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t sure why. Water quality specialists from the USGS aim to change that.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet's data gap","og_description":"Sediment in Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t sure why. Water quality specialists from the USGS aim to change that.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm","og_site_name":"Environmental Monitor","article_published_time":"2013-06-18T15:17:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-10T20:45:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":420,"height":470,"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Austen Verrilli","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Austen Verrilli","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm"},"author":{"name":"Austen Verrilli","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d5fdedb7511d9d4d4aaab819798d1630"},"headline":"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet’s data gap","datePublished":"2013-06-18T15:17:42+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:45:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm"},"wordCount":613,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg","keywords":["featured","Puget Sound"],"articleSection":["Rivers & Streams"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm","name":"Puget Sound sediment study looks to fill degraded inlet's data gap","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg","datePublished":"2013-06-18T15:17:42+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:45:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d5fdedb7511d9d4d4aaab819798d1630"},"description":"Sediment in Puget Sound is growing more polluted, and scientists aren\u2019t sure why. Water quality specialists from the USGS aim to change that.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/puget-sound-sediment-study-looks-to-fill-degraded-inlets-data-gap.htm#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/PugetSedimentFeatured.jpg","width":420,"height":470,"caption":"A Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer ready for deployment on a Puget Sound tributary as part of the USGS sediment survey (Credit: USGS)"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/","name":"Environmental Monitor","description":"Application and technology news for environmental professionals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d5fdedb7511d9d4d4aaab819798d1630","name":"Austen Verrilli","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/58d918f41356b5c94ec944c15691b573e408661f5bdce381e6ec4b1c262b8e2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/58d918f41356b5c94ec944c15691b573e408661f5bdce381e6ec4b1c262b8e2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/58d918f41356b5c94ec944c15691b573e408661f5bdce381e6ec4b1c262b8e2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Austen Verrilli"},"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/author\/austenv"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12286"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35255,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12286\/revisions\/35255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}