Historical News
R/V Monitor's Blog
The R/V Monitor was out on the upper Bay twice this week. First, on Tuesday, October 3rd, the crew was out at Bullock's Reach servicing the NBC's buoy. After servicing the YSI sondes back at the NBC, they were all reinstalled on the buoy this day. Jeff captained the boat while monitoring professionals Bekki and Heather performed work on the buoy. It was a warm and sunny day with no breeze and very calm waters. On Wednesday, October 4th, the crew of the R/V Monitor was out on the upper Bay collecting bacteria samples, Secchi Disk and Par sensor water clarity measurements, conducting water column profiles using the Seabird instrument, 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. In addition, the hydrocat sondes which had been removed from the Bullock's Reach buoy the prior week for servicing, were redeployed at the buoy in the morning. There was an issue with the mid-depth sonde and it therefore was not redeployed. Jeff captained the boat in the morning while monitoring professionals Sara and Heather collected the samples and data, and redeployed the sondes. Jeff and Sara swapped duties in the afternoon. It was sunny and brisk in the morning, but soon warmed up nicely by the afternoon. There was minimal wind and calm waters all day. There was an issue with the mid-depth sonde and it therefore was not redeployed. It was sunny and brisk in the morning, but soon warmed up nicely by the afternoon. There was minimal wind and calm waters all day. The photo below was taken on October 4th and shows some fishermen enjoying the early fall weather on the upper Bay.
Water Column Clarity
Water clarity was measured at eight locations in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers on September 27, 2017. Less than 0.1 inches of rain fell during the 5 days prior to sampling. Secchi depth ranged from 1.2 meters at Pomham Rocks to 2.0 meters at Bullock Reach, with an overall average of 1.5 meters. The average water clarity was 0.1 meters lower than the previous sampling date. The largest decrease (0.7 meters) was observed at Pomham Rocks. Overall, there was no evidence of a north to south gradient in water clarity.
Water Column Clarity
Water clarity was measured at six locations in the Providence River on September 13, 2017. There was no precipitation during the 5 days prior to sampling. Secchi depth ranged from 1.2 meters at both Conimicut Point and Edgewood Yacht Club to 2.0 meters at both Pawtuxet Cove and India Point Park. Overall, Secchi depth averaged 1.6 meters, an increase of 0.3 meters from the previous sampling. Overall, there was no evidence of a north to south gradient in water clarity.
Water Column Clarity
NBC monitoring staff measured water clarity at eight locations in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers on September 7, 2017. A total of 1.61 inches of rain fell during the 5 days prior to sampling, including 0.67 inches on the morning of sampling. Secchi depth ranged from 0.3 meters at Point Street Bridge to 1.9 meters at Bullock Reach and Conimicut Point. Overall, the average Secchi depth decreased by 0.6 meters to 1.3 meters in comparison to the previous survey. The largest decrease (0.8 meters) in water clarity was at the Pawtuxet Cove and India Point Park stations.
Water Column Clarity
Water clarity was measured at eight locations in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers on August 30, 2017. There was 0.26 inches of rainfall recorded on the day of sampling, in the Providence area. Overall, clarity showed an increase compared to the previous survey, with Secchi depth averaging 1.9 meters versus 1.2 m the week before. The maximum water clarity (2.2 m) was observed at India Point; the minimum water clarity (1.4 m) was observed at Pawtuxet Cove. All sites sampled both weeks had an increase in water clarity with the largest increase measured at India Point by 1.3 m compared to the previous survey.
