Transcript NearPRISM - University of Washington

NEARSHORE:
the critical, concentrated estuarine
and shoreline interface between
watersheds and
Puget Sound
Nearshore PRISM Working
Group (“NearPRISM”)
Mission: develop information on estuarine
environments that can be integrated
into the emerging PRISM synthesis of
the Puget Sound Basin
– Spatially-explicit data and knowledge on the
structure of Puget Sound shoreline
ecosystems…how does the nearshore “work”
– process information that will provide the
interface between hydrology and other
watershed processes and the Sound.
NearPRISM Working Group
• Chair:
Charles (“Si”) Simenstad
Wetland Ecosystem Team, School of Aquatic
and Fishery Sciences
• Primary Working Group Members:
– UW:
Jeff Cordell, Alan Devol, Miles Logsdon,
Linda Maxson, Chuck Nittrouer, Jan Newton
– WDOE: Hugh Shipman, Cinde Donoghue
– WDNR: Tom Mumford
– WDFW: Kurt Fresh
– PBNERR: Doug Bulthuis
– METROKC: Randy Shuman, Jim Brennan
– Battelle MSL: Ron Thom
(red indicates PSNERP-NST involvement)
NearPRISM Goal
Comprehensive:
to develop a functionally discrete nearshore
“module” to PRISM that represents the
unique attributes and processes that
constitute the dynamic land-margin interface
between Puget Sound and it’s watersheds.
Short-term:
Design scientifically-sound management
tools to assess cumulative impact of
anthropogenic actions on integrity of
nearshore, that are based on predictive
understanding of nearshore dynamics
NearPRISM Objectives
• formulate an estuarine/nearshore conceptual model for PRISM
– geochemical processing of nutrients and organic matter, primary
production, fish and wildlife habitat, etc. at the Puget Sound land
margin
• explore an ecosystem-based assessment methodology for
nearshore processes
– takes into account physical (e.g., geomorphological, sedimentological
and hydrological controls on nearshore ecological and geochemical
processes that occur on landscape scales rather than property line or
other artificial/jurisdictional scales
• promote acquisition of high-resolution nearshore spatial data
– needed for PRISM nearshore model, the nearshore functional
assessment, and evaluation of critical habitat for Puget Sound
resources
• provide coordination focus for UW research projects that are
at the moment independently addressing many of these issues
NearPRISM Research Initiatives
and External Funding
• 2001-2003 Sea Grant support of general numerical
model development
– Ph.D. student to develop general numerical model of
shoreline dynamics
– Dedicated on-campus time involvement of state resource
managers
• 2001-2002 USGS Puget Sound study planning
– Initiate dialogue from science/research perspective
– Assist conceptualizing problem and approach
– Plan NearPRISM involvement for calibration and
validation of numerical model
• Direct involvement in Puget Sound Nearshore
Ecosystem Restoration Program (PSNERP)—Nearshore
Science Team (NST)
PUGET SOUND NEARSHORE
ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROGRAM
(PSNERP)
Goal
A process-based, scientifically-driven
restoration program that could result
in substantial improvement without
return to pre-European settlement
conditions
Objectives
Provide guidance for a process-based,
scientifically driven restoration,
preservation, and conservation
strategy
PSNERP-NST
Tasks
1) Evaluate significant nearshore
ecosystem degradation of Puget Sound
2) Formulate, evaluate, and screen
potential solutions to these problems
3) Recommend a series of actions and
projects
PSNERP-NST
1)
Emergent Properties of Estuarine-Nearshore Ecosystems
– Physicochemical processes play a very strong roll in organizing and
regulating estuarine-nearshore ecosystems.
– Natural disturbance regimes sustain the structure and functions of
regional estuarine-nearshore ecosystems.
2) Importance of Landscape Setting and Structure
– Ecosystem function and performance is contingent upon landscape
setting.
– Estuarine/nearshore ecosystem functions are explainable in landscape
ecology concepts.
3)
Role of Population Ecology and Life History Diversity
– Spatial and temporal dynamics of animal and plant metapopulations are
dependent upon the integrity of estuarine/nearshore landscapes.
– Landscape structure is an important factor sustaining life history
diversity within and between populations that are vulnerable to
stochastic ecosystem change.
PSNERP
Conceptual Model Development
OVERARCHING
HYPOTHESIS
Alterations of natural hydrologic and
sediment patterns, inputs, and
transport linkages alter important
nearshore ecosystem structure and
processes.
PSNERP
Conceptual Model Development
Operating strategy
• model
is intended to capture important
nearshore processes, rather than structure:
– primary objective is not to simply characterize fish habitat, but to
identify the processes that form and sustain that habitat
– model will not describe ecosystem state or health; rather it will model
processes and interactions that explain structure, e.g., “how the
nearshore works”
– we will not model historic, existing, restored ecosystems per se, but
develop a model that should with appropriate shifts in processes be able
to capture any condition
– we are not going to generate a model that discretely represents the
total range of nearshore conditions found in Puget Sound; rather, it will
represent in sufficient detail to capture the variability in all the natural
and anthropogenic processes that create the range of nearshore
ecosystems
PSNERP
Conceptual Model Development
Operating strategy (cont.)
• incorporates two very important aspects of nearshore
ecosystems--(1) landscape context and (2) temporal
variation—that are seldom incorporated into such models
• while inherently a conceptual model, the model is
designed to be transferable to a functional (e.g., simple
numeric) model in the future
• most important application is to understand the relative
importance of the various ecosystem processes and
external forcing, and how the resulting ecosystem
responses change with natural and anthropogenic
change
PSNERP
Conceptual Model Development
Hierarchical strategy:
Design model that incorporates increasing complexity and
accommodates variability in spatial, temporal and
natural/anthropogenic change
– Level 1: Generic process  structure relationships
– Level 2: Expanded detail of all processes linking
ecosystem elements to encompass stressors
– Level 3: Expanded detail to encompass different
landscape scales and cases
– Level 4:Expanded detail to encompass different temporal
scales, including seasonal, interannual, long-term
processes and frequencies; stochastic, catastrophic events;
different time steps; persistence
PSNERP Conceptual Model-Level 1
social, economic setting
ATMOSPHERIC FORCING,
INPUTS
WATERSHED FORCING,
INPUTS
AIR
Nearshore
Domain
LATERAL AND
OFFSHORE
EXCHANGES
UPLAND
INPUTS
BIOLOGY
WATER
SEDIMENT
“wet” Physiographic Setting
•structure, process & energy
PSNERP Conceptual Model-Level 1 with stressors
WATERSHED FORCING,
INPUTS
ATMOSPHERIC FORCING,
INPUTS
AIR
LATERAL AND
OFFSHORE
EXCHANGES
UPLAND
INPUTS
Prominent Stressors:
BIOLOGY
• Shoreline armoring
• Nutrient loading /
eutrophication
• Wetland diking
SEDIMENT
WATER
• Fish migration (barriers)
• Exotic species
• Water regulation (dams)
• Extraction/Harvest
• Contaminants
structure, process &
energy
Internal
stressors
• Sea level rise
• Dredging
• Boat wakes
anthropogenic stressors &
extraction
•Tectonic events
•Sediment loading
Nearshore
Puget
Sound
PSNERP Conceptual Model - Level 2.0
ATMOSPHERE
(FORCING, INPUTS)
WATERSHED
(FORCING, INPUTS)
H2O
Animals
Sediments
Chemistry
Biota
Sediment
Chemistry
H 2O
Shade
Heat
Wind
Flow
Particles
H2O
AIR
LATERAL
(Within Nearshore)
UPLAND
O2
E.T.
Particles
Heat
Heat
Wind
Evaporation
Nutrients
BIOLOGY
O2
O.M.
Nutrients
Sediments
Chemistry
O.M.
Biota
Chemistry
Sediment
Biota
Heat
O2
O.M.
Nutrients
Sediments
Chemistry
Biota
Currents, Turbulence
State Conditions
STRUCTURE
Composition, Spatial Distribution,
Concentration
Structure
Processes
Flux
Transformation (examples)
Energy (Impact-dissipation)
SEDIMENT
WATER
Chemistry
Biota
Tides
Currents
OFFSHORE
PSNERP Conceptual Model - Level 3.0 (Landscape/Spatial)
1. Within ecological units: m’s to 100’s m
cross beach, short lateral beach, tidal slough
2. Within domains: 100’s m to km’s
along-beach within geomorphic units/salinity regimes
e.g. Montgomery’s “process domains”?
3. Between domains: km’s-10’s km
estuarine gradient, head of tide – PS boundary
emphasis on interactions among “domains”
Nearshore
Estuarine
WATERSHED
Tidal
Freshwater
BrackishOligohaline
macro-scale
Estuarine
Delta
meso-scale
micro-scale
Exposed
Marine
(rocky)
OCEANIC
Mixed Sediment Beaches
•
•
•
•
•
Multiple Grain Sizes
Morphologically distinct
Similar to nourished beaches
Common only in paraglacial environments
Pervasive in Puget Sound
Ecological Importance of
Mixed Sediment Beaches
• Interface between Puget Sound and
non-riverine influence from land
• Highly diverse and productive;
important to key species
• Potentially significant influence on
Puget Sound water quality and biota
Open Questions:
• How sensitive are beach profiles to
variations in sediment distributions?
• How do we predict long- and offshore
losses of recharge material over time?
• What are the responses to coastal
structures?
• What is the importance of seepage
through barrier beaches?
Modeling Sediment Transport
• No existing model has been designed or
validated specifically for mixed sediment
beaches
• Steep beaches change critical
components of standard models
• Course beaches introduce new
components
Revised Nearshore Goals
• What Processes most influence
sediment transport on mixed sediment
beaches?
• Can existing models be adapted for this
environment?
• What direct role does biology play in
sediment transport
Year 2001 Objectives
• Review of Existing Work in Puget
Sound
• Selection of Field Study Sites
• Collect Baseline Environmental Data
Study Sites
• South Beach and
West Point
(Discovery Park)
• Camano Island State
Park to Cama Beach
• Crescent Harbor
NAS Whidbey?
Stone Soup Research
PRISM Integration
• Wave model needs environmental data!
– wind & precipitation
– tides & currents
• We are producing site specific data (Do you
want it?)
– Topography
– Air Photos
– Weather station data
• Can’t go real-time ($$$)
?
Year 2002 Objectives
• Deployment of weather station
• Establish survey-grade benchmarks
• SWAN wave model for Saratoga
Passage
• Continue collection of environmental
data (current measurements, storm
events)
• Begin work on Sediment Model
Implications and Future
Directions?
• Link to PRISM, e.g., MM5 wind data, PS wave
predictions, POM extension into shallow water
• Links to PSNERP, e.g., use of nearshore
restoration as experiments to test model(s)
• Site-specific biology, both effects on beach
processes and influence on biology
• Beach (subsurface) hydrology
• Long-term changes, e.g., climatic, event,
anthropomorphic