The overarching goal of the Puget Sound scoping and pilot project is to lay the foundation for pivotal research of complex coastal systems interactions for the Puget Sound region. This project is supported by all three program areas within BER’s Earth and Environmental Systems Modeling program—Earth System Model Development (ESMD), Regional and Global Modeling Analysis (RGMA), and MultiSector Dynamics (MSD)—bringing together modeling capabilities in understanding and simulating coastal systems and their vulnerability to climate change as well as other stresses to and from natural and human systems and their interactions. The scoping part of the study includes an investigation of capabilities, research gaps, and key players in the regional science community with respect to the scientific context and overarching science questions important to DOE. The pilot component of the study includes modeling experiments and data analysis of the coupled natural-human system.

The pilot component of the study focuses on improving our understanding of the modeling capability and predictability of hydroclimate and hydrological extremes in the Puget Sound region by designing novel modeling experiments and analyses, such as machine learning.