Historical News
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at eight locations in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers using a Seabird profiling instrument on May 25, 2022. Conditions leading up to the survey were dry, with no recorded precipitation at T.F. Green in the three days leading up to the survey event. Evidence of density stratification was observed at most sites.
Surface salinities among all sites ranged from 22 psu at three locations (India Point Park, Phillipsdale Landing, and Point Street Bridge) to 25 psu at Bullock Reach Buoy and Conimicut Point. Bottom salinities ranged from 26 psu at Pawtuxet Cove and Phillipsdale Landing to 31 psu at Conimicut Point. The warmest water temperatures were observed at Pawtuxet Cove, ranging from 18.7°C at the surface to 18.1°C at the bottom. The lowest surface water temperature (17.2°C) was observed at Point Street Bridge and Pomham Rocks, while the lowest bottom temperature (14.2°C) was observed at Conimicut Point. The deepest site observed this week was at Conimicut Point (8.5 meters).
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remain well above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites. The minimum DO observed was 5.7 mg/L in the bottom waters of Edgewood Yacht Club. Fluorescence was moderately high this week, the highest values (12.8 mg/m3) were observed near the surface (~1.75 m) at Phillipsdale Landing. 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 back-filled.
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at six locations in the Providence River using a Seabird profiling instrument on May 18, 2022. Conditions leading up to the survey were mostly dry, with only 0.09 inches of precipitation recorded at T.F. Green in the three days leading up to the survey event. Evidence of density stratification was observed at Bullock Reach Buoy, India Point Park, and Pawtuxet Cove.
Salinities were lowest this week at Pawtuxet Cove, where the freshwater Pawtuxet River joins the estuarine Providence River. Salinities at this site ranged from 10 psu at the surface to 25 psu at the bottom. In contrast, the highest surface salinity (28 psu) was observed at Edgewood Yacht Club, while the highest bottom salinity (31 psu) was observed at Conimicut Point. The warmest water temperatures were also observed at Pawtuxet Cove, ranging from 17.8°C at the surface to 16.3°C at the bottom. The lowest surface water temperatures (15.6°C) were observed at both Bullock Reach Buoy and Pomham Rocks, while the lowest bottom water temperatures (13.0°C) were observed at Conimicut Point. The deepest site observed this week was at Pomham Rocks (11.5 meters).
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remain well above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites. The minimum DO observed was 8.6 mg/L at Pawtuxet Cove. Fluorescence was moderately low this week, the highest values (5.10 mg/m3) were observed near the surface (~2.50 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 back-filled.
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at eight locations in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers using a Seabird profiling instrument on May 12, 2022. Conditions leading up to the survey were dry, with no recorded precipitation at T.F. Green in the three days leading up to the survey event. Evidence of density stratification was observed at most sites.
Surface salinities among all sites ranged from 17 psu at Phillipsdale Landing to 28 psu at Bullock Reach Buoy. Bottom salinities ranged from 27 psu at Pawtuxet Cove and Point Street Bridge to 31 psu at Bullock Reach Buoy. The warmest surface water temperature (13.3°C) was observed at Phillipsdale Landing, while the warmest bottom temperature (12.5°C) was observed at Pawtuxet Cove. The lowest surface water temperature (11.6°C) was observed at Bullock Reach Buoy, while the lowest bottom temperature (10.0°C) was observed at Pomham Rocks. The
deepest site observed this week was at Conimicut Point (9.0 meters).
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remain well above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites. The minimum DO observed was 9.0 mg/L in the bottom waters of Conimicut Point. Fluorescence was moderately high this week, the highest values (14.9 mg/m3) were observed near the surface (~1.75 m) at Phillipsdale Landing. 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 back-filled.
Water Column Profiles
Water column profiles were conducted at seven locations in the Providence River using a Seabird profiling instrument on May 04, 2022. Conditions leading up to the survey were moderately dry, with 0.65 inches of precipitation recorded at T.F. Green in the three days leading up to the survey day. Evidence of density stratification was observed at most sites.
Salinities were lowest this week at Pawtuxet Cove, where the freshwater Pawtuxet River joins the estuarine Providence River. Salinities at this site ranged from 17 psu at the surface to 25 psu at the bottom. In contrast, the highest salinities were observed at Conimicut Point, where the Providence River joins the upper Bay. At this site, surface salinity measured 25 psu, while bottom salinity measured 30 psu. India Point Park had the warmest surface waters, measuring 12.1°C, while Pawtuxet Cove had the warmest bottom waters, measuring 11.6°C. The coolest water temperatures were observed at Conimicut Point, measuring 11.5°C at the surface and 9.1°C at the bottom. The deepest site observed this week was at Conimicut Point (10.25 meters).
Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions remain well above the hypoxia threshold (2.9 mg/L) at all sites. The minimum DO observed was 8.4 mg/L in the bottom waters of Edgewood Shoals. Fluorescence was moderately high this week, the highest values (12.2 mg/m3) were observed near the surface (~1.5 m) at Pawtuxet Cove. 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 back-filled.
Benthic Video Blog
The boat crew conducted benthic video surveys along the Bullock Reach and Edgewood transects on May 26th. Scale lasers were used in the footage, separated by 29 cm. Visibility through the water column ranged from poor to good.
Both transects were characterized by extensive mud flats, with Bullock Reach also having sparse to dense shell rubble and sporadic boulders. Algal coverage ranged from sparse to dense, Edgewood being categorized by filamentous algae, and Bullock dominated by rafting Ulva; sparse to dense areas of diatom felt were also present. Edgewood's central observations were large assemblages of egg masses produced by the lugworm Arenicola. Bullock Reach exhibited high biodiversity, featuring rare observations of striped bass, sea robins (photo below), small fish, Arenicola egg masses, and a horseshoe crab. Both transects demonstrated high infaunal activity; large, freshly excavated burrows (most likely mantis shrimp, Squilla) as well as smaller burrows, tubes, and fecal mounds were frequent sights. Additionally, both sites housed sponges, whelks, and boring sponges. Amphipod tube mats were not observed.
