[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-565573-105":59,"doc-detail-565573-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","puget-sound-salinity-why-it-matters","Puget Sound salinity: why it matters","","Puget Sound salinity was higher than normal in 2019, affecting water density, circulation, and biological processes. The document explains how distinctive basins, sills, and tidal currents influence where salt and fresh water mix and how phytoplankton remain near the surface. Measurements by the King County Marine Monitoring Program show elevated salinity across the Central Basin since February 2019, and dry weather reduced freshwater inflow. Changes in mixing can reshape nutrient, dissolved oxygen, and pollutant patterns, impacting the food web.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/puget-sound-salinity-why-it-matters/565573/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/puget-sound-salinity-why-it-matters/565573.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Theodore","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-19","2026-10-13",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":14},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does salinity mean in Puget Sound, and why does it matter?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Salinity is the amount of dissolved salt in water. It matters because it controls water density, which influences circulation and mixing between the surface and deeper layers, affecting marine organisms.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How is Puget Sound salinity monitored by King County?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The King County Marine Monitoring Program measures salinity twice a month at 14 locations within the Central Basin. Since February 2019, salinity has been higher than normal compared with the last 10 years.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What caused the higher-than-normal salinity in 2019?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Unusually dry weather in 2019 reduced rainfall and freshwater runoff from rivers. With less freshwater inflow, surface salinity increased and mixing patterns changed across the water column.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},565573,1792397581,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":14,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":81,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":39},7971461740886,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","February 2020  \nPuget Sound salinity: why it matters  \nby Kimberle Stark  \nPuget Sound salinity has been higher in 2019 than normal. Salinity refers to the amount of dissolved salt in the water. Why is it important to know the salinity of Puget Sound waters? Before answering this question, we first need to understand the features that make Puget Sound unique and their influences on how water moves in, out, and within the Sound.  \nridges, or sills that can block water movement and mix waters across depths. King County marine waters are located within the Central Basin, the area from Admiralty Inlet to Commencement Bay in Tacoma.  \nWater continually circulates in and out of Puget Sound and is influenced by tidal currents. Because of the Ad-  \n miralty Inlet and Tacoma Narrows sills, only a portion of  \nPuget Sound is a fjord estuary, meaning it  the water flows out at any one time (Figure 1). Dense and was formed by glaciers. At the end of the  salty Pacific Ocean water enters Puget Sound at depth last ice age, about 13,000 years ago, as the  through Admiralty Inlet, while the less dense, fresher glaciers advanced and retreated, they carved   water flows out of Puget Sound near the surface. So out narrow, deep valleys that filled with water.  why is salinity important? Salinity has a strong inAll estuaries, including Puget Sound, are par-  fluence on water density, which affects how water tially closed-off waterbodies where freshwater Phytoplankton circulates and mixes between the top and bottom from rivers and streams mixes with salt water  of the water column and it affects how marine  \nfrom the ocean.  organisms move in the water column. For  \n example, microscopic marine algae, or phyto  \nPuget Sound consists of four separate but interconnected plankton, are the base of the food web. Phyto-  \nbasins named the Main Basin (subdivided into Admiralty Inlet and the Central Basin), Whidbey Basin, Hood Canal, and South Sound. These basins are separated by underwater  \nplankton need to remain near the surface to get the light they need to grow and reproduce. When density is  \n(continued)  \nFigure 1. General illustration of circulation and movement of salt and fresh water in Puget Sound.  \n\n| \u003Cbr>ADMIRALTY INLET SILL | \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>FRESHWATER INPUT\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Duwamish/ Cedar R.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Nisqually R.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>UPPER FRESHWATER LAYER\u003Cbr>PUGET SOUND SALTWATER\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Sill reflux\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Tidal mixing\u003Cbr>TACOMA NARROWS SILL\u003Cbr>SOUTH PUGET SOUND\u003Cbr>SECTION |\n| --- | --- |\n\nScience & Technical Support Section’s SciFYI • February 2020 1  \nsimilar throughout the water column, phytoplankton have a hard time remaining near the surface.Differences in the density of the water column can also affect the location and dispersal of other organisms, like zooplankton and fish larvae. In addition to affecting living creatures, salinity is also important because it indicates how much freshwater is coming from rivers and rainfall as well as the influence of the Pacific Ocean.  \nThe King County Marine Monitoring Program measures salinity twice a month at 14 locations within the Central Basin. Since February 2019, salinities throughout the Central Basin and most of the enire water column have been higher than normal when compared to the last 10 years. Figure 2 shows this situation in an example from Pt. Jefferson, located in the northern portion of the county. Figure 3 shows salinity at Pt. Jefferson from January through August compared to the difference (anomaly) from the historical average. As you can see, salinity has been higher than normal.  \nWhy is the Sound so salty?  \nOne key reason is the unusually dry weather we had in 2019. January 2019 rainfall was almost two inches below normal, while March was the second driest on record and the driest in the last five decades. This was followed up by less than normal rainfall in May and June. Less rainfall means less freshwater runoff and lower river flows, which means higher salinity at the surface of Puget Sound. It","cbCaisbOoIJdFe0f","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisbOoIJdFe0f","pdf",2934551,"English","# Puget Sound salinity: why it matters\n## Salinity importance and Puget Sound circulation\n## Basins and freshwater–saltwater mixing\n## Monitoring results since February 2019\n## Why the Sound so salty\n## Ecological impacts of higher salinity","[{\"question\":\"What does salinity mean in Puget Sound, and why does it matter?\",\"answer\":\"Salinity is the amount of dissolved salt in water. It matters because it controls water density, which influences circulation and mixing between the surface and deeper layers, affecting marine organisms.\"},{\"question\":\"How is Puget Sound salinity monitored by King County?\",\"answer\":\"The King County Marine Monitoring Program measures salinity twice a month at 14 locations within the Central Basin. Since February 2019, salinity has been higher than normal compared with the last 10 years.\"},{\"question\":\"What caused the higher-than-normal salinity in 2019?\",\"answer\":\"Unusually dry weather in 2019 reduced rainfall and freshwater runoff from rivers. With less freshwater inflow, surface salinity increased and mixing patterns changed across the water column.\"}]","Puget Sound salinity: why it matters | PDF",1791856237]