Washington State's Puget Sound is perhaps the Pacific Northwest's most precious resource, a resource likely to be seriously damaged should a major spill event occur. For response planners to protect Puget Sound from oil spills it is important to know: 1) Where spills will likely go; 2) How much time will there be to respond; 3) How large will impacts likely be; 4) How much sensitive shoreline will likely be impacted; 5) How many response resources will likely be needed to protect sensitive areas; and 6) Where will spills likely come from that threaten particular sensitive areas? As discussed in previous papers, NOAA's Trajectory Analysis Planner (TAP) can be used to help answer these questions (Hall et al, 2001). In 2000–2002 the Washington State Department of Ecology in conjunction with NOAA developed a Trajectory Analysis Planner for Puget Sound Washington, the most comprehensive TAP produced to date. The Puget Sound TAP shows that with sufficient effort this approach can be used over sizable geographic areas. This paper briefly reviews the concept of TAP, what is behind the Puget Sound TAP, and how the Puget Sound TAP can help answer important planning questions.

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Author notes

1 Views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Washington State Department of Ecology.