VELMA Watershed Modeling for PSIMF.
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Research Ecologist Bob McKane with ORD-CPHEA-PESD will present an invited webinar January 29th to the Tulalip Tribe and partners on “VELMA Watershed Modeling for the Puget Sound Integrated Terrestrial-Marine Modeling (PSIMF) project.” In collaboration with University of Washington and NOAA marine ecosystem modelers participating in the new Puget Sound Integrated Modeling Framework (PSIMF) project, ORD’s VELMA watershed modeling team is estimating environmental impacts of alternative future land use and climate change scenarios out to year 2100 for Puget Sound’s major river basins. This talk will focus on the collaborative use of VELMA for identifying practical watershed restoration strategies to reduce climate and land use impacts on salmon habitat, freshwater flow and temperature, and pollutant loads to the Puget Sound National Estuary. VELMA’s terrestrial outputs serve as inputs for PSIMF’s marine ecosystem models – the Salish Sea Model and Atlantis – being used to estimate impacts of pollutants on Puget Sound marine water quality and food web biota, including endangered salmonids and orca. Key collaborating partners include Puget Sound Tribes, communities, and state and federal agencies in determining how much, where, and what kinds of terrestrial and marine ecosystem best management practices are required to achieve target pollutant load reductions and habitat improvements supportive of environmental and human health across the region, now and in the future.