Hood Canal Hypoxia

NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory describes Hood Canal as a long, narrow estuary on the western side of Puget Sound. It receives river and groundwater, connects to the Sound only at the northern end, and flushes relatively slowly. Chemical properties vary from hours to years.

NOAA says Hood Canal has had problems with low dissolved oxygen and fish kills that have occurred with increased frequency. It is the site of the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Program study. Twanoh sits in Lower Hood Canal, where oxygen is characteristically the lowest. NOAA notes that hypoxia and ocean acidification may have synergies that are especially stressful to organisms. A MAPCO2 system went on an ORCA buoy near Twanoh on August 22, 2009.

This pin is Skokomish Flats at the southern canal, the Lower Hood Canal reach NOAA flags for the lowest oxygen. The photograph shows public tidelands on Hood Canal at Brinnon. The sources below are NOAA and U.S. Geological Survey pages.