Officials are monitoring water flow and water levels in Seattle's Puget Sound to better understand the Sound's water management and observe how it functions day to day.

They've placed a water monitoring sensor on the 64-car Salish ferry that crosses the Puget Sound to gauge water levels in real time.

The University of Washington, in partnership with the Washington Department of Ecology, will measure water flow at the Admiralty Inlet, a small patch of water that acts as the gateway between the Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean.

The sensor, an acoustic doppler current profiler, is expected to be able to measure water direction as well as speed from the bottom of the seafloor all the way up to the surface, which should help researchers determine if actions are needed.

It could also be a great way to determine the effects of climate change on the Sound, where they will be able to discern oxygen levels in the water as a precursor to learning why fish and other marine life have been dying off in recent years. It should also give them the ability to fight against the problem and deliver solutions that deal with the effects of climate change.

"Under certain conditions, deep water from the ocean will come up and sneak into Puget Sound and possibly contribute to low oxygen levels. Right now there is limited data, so it's hard to say when or how much this happens," Jim Thomson, an oceanographer with the UW Applied Physics Laboratory, said.

"We really are an urban water system, but there's also this very natural process connected to the ocean that changes our water quality."

The new sensor being established on the ferry will send sound waves through the water in order to give information about the ocean and what is currently happening to the water, fish and other environmental consequences that must be addressed.

The goal is to help researchers predict how the Puget Sound will function, as well as giving information about oxygen levels, acidity and other nutrient levels that effect fish populations.

"This is an example of a creative and cost-effective collaboration helping us better understand the complex marine ecosystem of Puget Sound," said Ken Dzinbal of the Puget Sound Partnership, which is a partner in the project.