Effects of Exposed Tidal Flats on Water Temperature in the Snohomish Estuary
This study aims to evaluate the short and long-term impacts of estuary restoration to support development recommendations for restoration and resilience planning. This study will be completed in several phases. As part of Phase 1, water temperature, depth, and salinity data collected since 2012 were used to generate a post-restoration analysis of water conditions within the estuary, and the effects of the Qwuloolt and Smith Island restoration projects on water quality conditions. This included updating the existing Snohomish Estuary Model from the year 2007 effort to reflect current conditions circa 2014 and 2021 using water temperature, depth, and salinity data along with updated bathymetry. The model was used to simulate pre- and post-Qwuloolt and Smith Island restoration and set the stage for subsequent phases of model and scenario development. Phase 2 & 3 of the project will build on Phase 1 by taking the information learned from the Phase 1 modeling effort and developing model runs of the Snohomish estuary including integration of a three-dimensional hydro-heat flux numerical model to capture the effects of exposed tidal flats on water temperature (Phase 2), and modeling full restoration buildout (Phase 3). The final phase (Phase 4) of the project will look at water temperature, salinity, and tidal conditions utilizing the previously developed modeling components under future climate conditions in 2095. This page reports the ongoing effort of Phase 2.
This study is the result of a combined effort by Tulalip Tribes, Salish Sea Modeling Center, Cramer Fish Sciences, NOAA NWFSC, and Snohomish County Surface Water Management Division.
Relationships
- broader: floodplain management
- broader: river delta;hydrodynamics;channel structure;salmon
- involves organization: tribal
- located in: snohomish
- related to: cramer fish sciences
- related to: national oceanic and atmospheric administration
- related to: qwuloolt restoration
- related to: snohomish conservation district
- related to: tulalip tribes
Source: Effects of Exposed Tidal Flats on Water Temperature in the Snohomish Estuary on Salish Sea Wiki