TRACING BIOGEOCHEMICAL CHANGES WITHIN INTENSE DEEP-WATER INTRUSIONS IN
PUGET SOUND, WA.
Abstract
Bottom water intrusions are one of the major circulation features of
Puget Sound, Washington. These intrusions supply oxygen and chlorophyll
rich surface waters to the depth of Puget Sound providing a pathway for
oceanic phytoplankton species into the Sound. In this paper we analyze
observation on the formation of a deep-water intrusion at Admiralty
Inlet, and characterize it for its hydrographical and bio-chemical
properties. Subsequent observations, performed a week later within Puget
Sound, provide information on bio-chemical transformation within the
intrusive water. Most of the Chlorophyll and cyanobacteria-like cells
are observed to decrease significantly in the intrusion. Phytoplankton
respiration, however, explains only 30% of the reduction in oxygen
within the intrusion, suggesting that respiration of additional organic
material takes place within the deep water. Flow-cytometric analysis
reveals three dominating groups of particles. One of these has optical
characteristics similar to a coastal cyanobacteria and has a half-life
in the dark of about 6 days. This characteristic makes it a good
temporal tracer for the intruding waters. The predictability the
sub-tidal circulation features in Puget Sound exhibited here as well as
in other studies, suggests that it may be possible to maximize the flux
of anthropogenic contaminant out of Puget Sound by timing their release
and by modifying their density.