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Full Region Surface Salinity and Drifters
Full Region Bottom Oxygen
Washington Shelf Bottom Oxygen (5 days)
Puget Sound Surface Temperature
Puget Sound Surface Currents

High-Resolution Submodels

Willapa & Grays Surface Ocean Acidification
Willapa & Grays Bottom Ocean Acidification
Willapa & Grays Surface Temperature
Willapa & Grays Surface Salinity
Willapa & Grays Surface Currents
South Puget Sound Surface Temperature
South Puget Sound Surface Salinity

Interactive Tools

Drifters: Puget Sound
Drifters: Willapa & Grays
Drifters: Willapa 2025 Custom
Observation Viewer

Background

How Tides Work in Puget Sound
Observed Long-term Trends in Puget Sound Water Properties
The Estuarine Exchange Flow

About the Model

Data Access
How the Model Works
How We Test the Model
References

Gallery

A Year of Modeled Salinity
A Year of Modeled Oxygen
A Year of Modeled Phytoplankton
    3. Forecast movies
    4. Full Region Surface Salinity and Drifters

Full Region Surface Salinity and Drifters

This is a movie made from the most recent LiveOcean three-day forecast.

The movie has a panel at the bottom that shows time. The tide is evident in the twice-a-day variation of the sea surface height. Daytimes are shown as the thick yellow lines on the horizontal axis. Winds are shown by an arrow in the middle of the map, with the scale given by the circle. The black line off the coast on the map is the 200 m depth line, which marks the "shelf break" separating the coastal region from the deeper ocean beyond.

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Last edited 07/04/2025 14:13:04
  3. About the Model
  5. References

References

Please email Parker MacCready pmacc@uw.edu if you would like a pdf of any paper.

Bednarsek, N., Pelletier, G., Kimoto, K., MacCready, P., Klinger, T., & Newton, J. (2025). 
Sensitivity of pteropod calcification to multi stressor variability in coastal habitats. 
Mar Environ Res, 204, 106868. doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106868

Brasseale, E., & MacCready, P. (2025). Seasonal Wind Stress Direction Influences Source and 
    Properties of Inflow to the Salish Sea and Columbia River Estuary. _Journal of Geophysical 
    Research: Oceans, 130_(2). doi:10.1029/2024jc022024

Jones, T., Parrish, J. K., MacCready, P., Ballance, L. T., Bradley, D. W., Burgess, H. K., 
    Dolliver, J. E., Harvey, J. T., Joyce, T., Lindquist, K., Lindsey, J., Nevins, H. M., Roletto, 
    J., Wilson, L., & Wright, C. (2025). Assessing total mortality following seabird wrecks given 
    variable data quantity and quality: the Cassin’s auklet die-off. _Canadian Journal of Fisheries 
    and Aquatic Sciences, 82_, 1–22. doi:10.1139/cjfas-2023-0382

MacCready, P., Xiong, J., Carini, R., & Newton, J. (2025). LiveOcean. _Benefits of Ocean 
    Observing Catalog (BOOC), 3_(1). doi:10.15351/3068-2320.1117

Ward, N. D., Hinson, K. E., Pagès, R., Cross, J. N., Friedrichs, M. A. M., Hauri, C., 
    MacCready, P., Subban, C. V., Xiong, J., St-Laurent, P., & Yang, Z. (2025). Regional ocean 
    biogeochemical modeling challenges for predicting the effectiveness of marine carbon dioxide 
    removal. _Frontiers in Climate, 7_. doi:10.3389/fclim.2025.1640617

Xiong, J., MacCready, P., Brasseale, E., Andruszkiewicz Allan, E., Ramon-Laca, A., Parsons, K. M.,
    Shaffer, M., & Kelly, R. P. (2025). Advective Transport Drives Environmental DNA Dispersal in an
    Estuary. _Environ Sci Technol, 59_(15), 7506–7516. doi:10.1021/acs.est.5c01286

Xiong, J., MacCready, P., & Leeson, A. (2025). Impact of Estuarine Exchange Flow on Multiple 
    Tracer Budgets in the Salish Sea. _Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130_(11). 
    doi:10.1029/2024jc021645

MacCready, P., & Geyer, W. R. (2024). Estuarine Exchange Flow in the Salish Sea. _Journal of 
    Geophysical Research: Oceans, 129_(1). doi:10.1029/2023jc020369

Spicer, P., MacCready, P., & Yang, Z. (2024). Localized Tidal Energy Extraction in Puget Sound 
    Can Adjust Estuary Reflection and Friction, Modifying Barotropic Tides System‐Wide. _Journal 
    of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 129_(5). doi:10.1029/2023jc020401

Xiong, J., & MacCready, P. (2024). Intercomparisons of Tracker v1.1 and four other ocean 
    particle-tracking software packages in the Regional Ocean Modeling System. _Geoscientific 
    Model Development, 17_(8), 3341–3356. doi:10.5194/gmd-17-3341-2024

Broatch, E. M., & MacCready, P. (2022). Mixing in a Salinity Variance Budget of the Salish Sea 
    is Controlled by River Flow. _Journal of Physical Oceanography, 52_(10), 2305-2323. 
    doi:10.1175/jpo-d-21-0227.1

Stone, H. B., Banas, N. S., MacCready, P., Trainer, V. L., Ayres, D. L., & Hunter, M. V. (2022). 
    Assessing a model of Pacific Northwest harmful algal bloom transport as a decision-support tool. 
    _Harmful Algae, 119_. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2022.102334

MacCready, P., McCabe, R. M., Siedlecki, S. A., Lorenz, M., Giddings, S. N., Bos, J., Albertson, 
    S., Banas, N. S., & Garnier, S. (2021). Estuarine Circulation, Mixing, and Residence Times in the
    Salish Sea. _Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126_(2). doi:10.1029/2020jc016738

Siedlecki, S. A., Pilcher, D., Howard, E. M., Deutsch, C., MacCready, P., Norton, E. L., Frenzel, 
    H., Newton, J., Feely, R. A., Alin, S. R., & Klinger, T. (2021). Coastal processes modify 
    projections of some climate-driven stressors in the California Current System. _Biogeosciences,
    18_(9), 2871-2890. doi:10.5194/bg-18-2871-2021

Stone, H. B., Banas, N. S., MacCready, P., Kudela, R. M., & Ovall, B. (2020). Linking Chlorophyll 
    Concentration and Wind Patterns Using Satellite Data in the Central and Northern California 
    Current System. _Frontiers in Marine Science, 7_. doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.551562

Stone, H. B., Banas, N. S., & MacCready, P. (2018). The Effect of Alongcoast Advection on 
    Pacific Northwest Shelf and Slope Water Properties in Relation to Upwelling Variability.
    _Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 123_, 265-286. doi:10.1002/2017JC013174

Giddings, S. N., & MacCready, P. (2017). Reverse Estuarine Circulation Due to Local and Remote
    Wind Forcing, Enhanced by the Presence of Along-Coast Estuaries. _Journal of Geophysical 
    Research: Oceans, 122_, 10184-10205. doi:10.1002/2016JC012479

MacCready, P., & Giddings, S. N. (2016). The Mechanical Energy Budget of a Regional Ocean Model.
    _Journal of Physical Oceanography, 46_, 2719-2733. doi:10.1175/JPO-D-16-0086.1

Siedlecki, S. A., Banas, N. S., Davis, K. A., Giddings, S. N., Hickey, B. M., MacCready, P., 
    Connolly, T. P., & Geier, S. (2015). Seasonal and interannual oxygen variability on the 
    Washington and Oregon continental shelves. _Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120_(2), 
    608-633. doi:10.1002/2014jc010254

Alford, M. H., & MacCready, P. (2014). Flow and mixing in Juan de Fuca Canyon, Washington.
    _Geophysical Research Letters, 41_(5), 1608-1615. doi:10.1002/2013gl058967

Banas, N. S., Conway-Cranos, L., Sutherland, D. A., MacCready, P., Kiffney, P., & Plummer, 
    M. (2014). Patterns of River Influence and Connectivity Among Subbasins of Puget Sound, 
    with Application to Bacterial and Nutrient Loading. _Estuaries and Coasts, 38_(3), 735-753. 
    doi:10.1007/s12237-014-9853-y

Davis, K. A., Banas, N. S., Giddings, S. N., Siedlecki, S. A., MacCready, P., Lessard, 
    E. J., Kudela, R. M., & Hickey, B. M. (2014). Estuary-enhanced upwelling of marine 
    nutrients fuels coastal productivity in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. _Journal of Geophysical 
    Research: Oceans, 119_(12), 8778-8799. doi:10.1002/2014jc010248

Giddings, S. N., MacCready, P., Hickey, B. M., Banas, N. S., Davis, K. A., Siedlecki, S. A., 
    Trainer, V. L., Kudela, R. M., Pelland, N. A., & Connolly, T. P. (2014). Hindcasts of potential 
    harmful algal bloom transport pathways on the Pacific Northwest coast. _Journal of Geophysical 
    Research: Oceans, 119_, 2439-2461. doi:10.1002/2013JC009622

Warner, S. J., & MacCready, P. (2014). The dynamics of pressure and form drag on a sloping 
    headland: Internal waves versus eddies. _Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 119_, 
    1554-1571. doi:10.1002/2013JC009757

Sutherland, D. A., MacCready, P., Banas, N. S., & Smedstad, L. F. (2011). A Model Study of the 
    Salish Sea Estuarine Circulation. _Journal of Physical Oceanography, 41_(6), 1125-1143. 
    doi:10.1175/2011jpo4540.1

Banas, N. S., Lessard, E. J., Kudela, R. M., MacCready, P., Peterson, T. D., Hickey, B. M., & 
    Frame, E. (2009). Planktonic growth and grazing in the Columbia River plume region: A 
    biophysical model study. _Journal of Geophysical Research, 114_, C00B06. doi:10.1029/2008JC004993

Banas, N. S., MacCready, P., & Hickey, B. M. (2009). The Columbia River plume as cross-shelf 
    exporter and along-coast barrier. _Continental Shelf Research, 29_(1), 
    292-301. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2008.03.011

Babson, A. L., Kawase, M., & MacCready, P. (2006). Seasonal and Interannual Variability in the 
    Circulation of Puget Sound, Washington: A Box Model Study. _Atmosphere-Ocean, 44_, 29-45.
    doi:10.3137/ao.440103
How We Test the ModelA Year of Modeled Salinity

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