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Weekly Bay Sample

Water samples are collected on a weekly basis, on either Wednesday or Thursday. Samples are taken from the surface waters adjacent to the GSO dock between 9 and 10 am. Chlorophyll concentrations, fluorescence, nutrient (SiO4, NO3, NO2, NH4, and PO4) concentrations, temperature, and salinity are measured for each sample.

The data has been collected since 1976, originally from the MERL headtank and is referred to as "Tank-98" data.

Please note that there are some differences in the types of measurements taken throughout the dataset.

Download MERL T-98 data here. (Data as of 12/19/17; Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, 271 KB).

(Fluorescence, chlorophyll, temperature, and salinity data to 12/19/17, nutrients data to 12/13/17.)

CHRP Nutrient Dataset

Water samples are collected at 13 stations throughout Narragansett Bay as part of the Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP). Water samples are analyzed for dissolved inorganic nutrients.

Download the CHRP Nutrient Dataset here. (Updated through 2015; Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, 740 KB).

Upper Narragansett Bay Benthic Study

Samples of benthic macrofauna are collected at four sites in Narragansett Bay, RI during June of each year.  The sites are located at the north end of Conanicut Island (North Jamestown), at the mouth of Greenwich Bay, off Conimicut Point, and in Mt. Hope Bay.  Location data for each of the four stations can be downloaded here (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, 15 KB).

Sampling:  At each site15 replicate cores were hand collected by scuba divers.  The core tubes were made of acrylic and measured 30 cm in length and 3.4 cm in diameter.  The cores were inserted approximately 15 cm into the sediment and closed at each end with a rubber stopper. 

Processing:  The top 2 cm of sediment were removed along with any trapped overlying water to analyze separate from the remaining 8 cm.  A sub-sample of the 0-2 cm portion was also taken using a 1.2 cm core for enumeration of meiofaunal populations.  The samples were preserved in 10% buffered formalin and stained with Rose Bengal dye.

Counting:  Each macrofaunal sample was rinsed through stacked 500 and 300 μm sieves. The meifaunal samples were rinsed through a 37 μm sieve.  Organisms retained on the sieves were identified to species level and enumerated. Reference information for the identification of common benthic fauna found in Narragansett Bay may be downloaded here (PDF, 111 kb). Abundances were converted to numbers per square meter by taking the mean abundance of the 15 replicates and multiplying by 1 m2/core area.  Data, organized by the year that samples were collected, are available to download below. Please note: there is no data available for 2003 and during 2005, only the North Jamestown station was sampled.  Analysis of the samples collected in June of 2006 is currently underway.

The following data are in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet format. Right click and "save target as."

2000

2001

2002

North Jamestown (94 kb)

North Jamestown (90 kb)

North Jamestown (144 kb)

Greenwich Bay (70 kb)

Greenwich Bay (88 kb)

Greenwich Bay (109 kb)

Mt Hope Bay (84 kb)

Mt Hope Bay (75 kb)

Mt Hope Bay (84 kb)

Conimicut Point (75 kb)

Conimicut Point (273 kb)

Conimicut Point (109 kb)

 

 

 

2004

2005

2006

North Jamestown (195 kb)

North Jamestown (217 kb)

North Jamestown (228 kb)

Greenwich Bay (203 kb)

Greenwich Bay (not sampled)

Greenwich Bay (analysis in progress)

Mt Hope Bay (195 kb)

Mt Hope Bay (not sampled)

Mt Hope Bay (analysis in progress)

Conimicut Point (198 kb)

Conimicut Point (not sampled)

Conimicut Point (analysis in progress)

 

2007

North Jamestown (192 kb)

2008

North Jamestown (124 kb)

2010

North Jamestown (82 kb)

Page Updated: December 31, 2017