Week of October 23-29, 2022
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at seven locations in the Providence and Seekonk River estuaries using a Seabird instrument on October 27th, 2022. In the three days leading up to the sampling event, 1.92 inches of rainfall was recorded at T.F. Green. Evidence of density stratification was observed at most sites this week, with Phillipsdale Landing and Edgewood Yacht Club showing signs of being well-mixed.
Surface salinities among all sites ranged from 28.2 psu at Bullock Reach Buoy down to 20.6 psu at Point St. Bridge. Bottom salinities ranged from 30.5 psu at Conimicut Point down to 22.8 psu at Phillipsdale Landing. The warmest surface water temperature (20.9°C) was observed at Point St. Bridge, while the warmest bottom temperature (16.7°C) was observed at Edgewood Yacht Club. The coolest water temperatures ranged from 16.6°C at the surface of the Bullock Reach Buoy and Phillipsdale Landing to 16.1°C at bottom of Pomham Rocks.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remained above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites this week; the lowest DO observed was 4.6 mg/L mid-depth at Phillipsdale Landing. Overall, fluorescence was similar to the previous survey, with the highest values (3.42 mg/m3) observed the sub-surface (<2.00 m) at Pomham Rocks. Please note numerical fluorescence data were not posted from 2020 to 2021 due to a QC issue. This issue has been resolved and fluorescence data from 2020 and 2021 will be backfilled.
Week of October 16-22, 2022
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at seven locations in the Providence and Seekonk River estuaries using a Seabird instrument on October 19th, 2022. In the three days leading up to the sampling event, 0.35 inches of rainfall was recorded at T.F. Green. Evidence of moderate density stratification was observed at most sites this week, with Conimicut Point, India Point Park, and Phillipsdale Landing showing signs of being strongly stratified.
Surface salinities among all sites ranged from 26.6 psu at Bullock Reach Buoy down to 3.5 psu at Phillipsdale Landing. Bottom salinities ranged from 30.9 psu at Conimicut Point West down to 24.4 psu at Phillipsdale Landing. The warmest surface water temperature (17.1°C) was observed at Bullock Reach Buoy, while the warmest bottom temperature (17.1°C) was observed at Pawtuxet Cove. The coolest water temperatures ranged from 16.7°C at the bottom of India Point Park to 14.4°C at surface of Phillipsdale Landing.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remained above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites this week; the lowest DO observed was approximately 3.3 mg/L in the bottom waters at Phillipsdale Landing. Overall, fluorescence was similar to the previous survey, with the highest values (3.099 mg/m3) observed at the surface (<1.75 m) at Conimicut Point West. Please note numerical fluorescence data were not posted from 2020 to 2021 due to a QC issue. This issue has been resolved and fluorescence data from 2020 and 2021 will be backfilled.
Week of October 9-15, 2022
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at five locations in the Providence and Seekonk River estuaries using a Seabird instrument on Oct. 12th, 2022. In the three days leading up to the sampling event, 0.00 inches of rainfall was recorded at T.F. Green. Evidence of weak density stratification was observed at all sites this week.
Surface salinities among all sites ranged from 29.4 psu at Conimicut Point West down to 25.1 psu at Point St. Bridge and Phillipsdale Landing. Bottom salinities ranged from 31.0 psu at Conimicut Point down to 27.6 psu at Point St. Bridge and Phillipsdale Landing. The warmest surface and bottom water temperature (19.7°C) was observed at Point St. Bridge. The coolest water temperatures at the surface and bottom were both at Bullock Reach Buoy, with 15.9°C at the surface and 16.3°C at bottom.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remained above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites this week; the lowest DO observed was approximately 6.75 mg/L in the bottom waters at India Point Park. Overall, fluorescence decreased from the previous survey with the highest values (2.73 mg/m3) observed at ~2.00 m at Bullock Reach Buoy. Please note numerical fluorescence data were not posted from 2020 to 2021 due to a QC issue. This issue has been resolved and fluorescence data from 2020 and 2021 will be backfilled.
Week of January 15 - 21, 2023
R/V Monitor's Blog
On Wednesday, January 18th, the crew of the R/V Monitor was out on the upper Bay collecting bacteria samples, taking Secchi Disk water clarity measurements, and conducting real-time surface mapping of water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, water temperature, salinity, and pH, all in an effort to document water quality improvements associated with NBC construction projects. Jeff captained the boat while monitoring professionals Amanda and Daryll collected the samples and data. It was mostly cloudy but relatively warm with calm waters. The featured photo taken was of the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
Week of January 15 - 21, 2023
Water Column Clarity
Water clarity was measured at six locations in the Providence River and Seekonk River estuaries on January 18. Rainfall totaling 0.52 inches was recorded at TF Green in the five days prior to the survey. Secchi depth averaged 2.7 meters, compared to 3.3 meters on the previous survey (January 10). The lowest clarity this week (2.6 meters) was measured at India Point Park, Phillipsdale Landing, and Pomham Rocks, while the greatest clarity (2.9 meters) was measured at Bullock Reach and Conimicut Point. There was a general north-to-south gradient of increasing water clarity among the sites this week.
