A turbidity survey of Narragansett Bay |
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| Authors: | Hilbert Schenck Jr Albert Davis |
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| Institution: | Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | A turbidity survey of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, was made during the summer months of 1971 and included measurements of the attenuation function for scalar irradiance for daylight and the volume attenuation function for white tungsten light at various depths. One hundred and three stations were made at 17 different locations. Variations in the optical parameters were large, one standard deviation at any given location ranging from 7 to 23 per cent of the mean value. This variation was only slightly dependent on the state of the tidal currents, depth of the location, or weather factors. The magnitude of turbidity variations was almost 4-fold over a north-south range of 31 km within the estuary, with clearest water at the southern mouths of the Bay. A good correlation exists between turbidity parameters and Autumn values of suspended-material concentration found by Morton (1967), with both data sets showing highest turbidity and suspended concentrations in the West Passage of the Bay. “Wedges” and “bulges” of clear water were detected throughout the Bay but were most evident at the southern (Atlantic Ocean) end.Although it was not possible to fully define the parameters producing these temporal and geographic variations in estuarine turbidity, it is suggested that knowledge of these parameters can assist those concerned with the physical and biological state of an estuary, as well as divers and photographers plying their trades within its boundaries. |
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