PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHIC STUDIES OF 



NARRAGANSETT BAY 

 1957 and 1958 



by 



Steacy D. Hicks 



Assistant Professor 



Graduate School of Oceanography 



University of Rhode Island 



Kingston, Rhode Island 



ABSTRACT 



Narrangansett Bay seasonal distribution patterns of temperature, salinity, 

 dissolved oxygen, and total phosphorus for 1957 are presented in sectional diagrams 

 and summarized in tables. In addition, weekly observations of these parameters 

 are graphed for a pier station near the Bay entrance. 



INTRODUCTION 



This paper presents the physical oceano- 

 graphic data obtained onfour quarterly cruises 

 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service vessel 

 Phalarope 11 in greater Narragansett Bay, 

 Rhode Island. These cruises were made as 

 part of an overall study of the Bay and its 

 resources for the prupose of evaluating the 

 potential effects of proposed hurricane bar- 

 riers. The area covers Narragansett Bay 

 proper, Mt. Hope Bay, Greenwich Bay, and 

 the Providence and Sakonnet Rivers. 



COLLECTION OF DATA 



The cruises, together with their inclusive 

 dates and number of stations, were as follows: 

 cruise 1, January 22-February 8, 1957 (18 

 stations); cruise 2, April 15-22, 1957 (19 

 stations); cruise 3, July 15-19, 1957 (19 

 stations); cruise 4, November 11-16, 1957 (19 

 stations). The station locations are shown in 



Note.- -Steacy D. Hicksnow with the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 



figure 1. The data collected are listed in 

 appendix tables 1-4. Station 19, intheSakonnet 

 River, was not occupied on cruise 1. 



All stations were occupied at "slack before 

 ebb" 1 1 hour. Water samples were obtained 

 with a Nansen bottle at four depths, approxi- 

 mately equal in spacing, from the surface to 

 the bottom. On cruise 1, temperature meas- 

 urements were made with a protected revers- 

 ing thermometer attached to the Nansen bottle. 

 A thermistor thermometer was used at every 

 1- or 2-meter interval (depending on depth) 

 on cruises 2, 3, and 4. 



Materials and Methods 



All water samples were analyzed for their 

 dissolved oxygen content after each days col- 

 lecting by the standard Winkler method. Total 

 phosphorus and chlorinity determinations were 

 made on each water sample by the Woods 

 Hole Oceanographic Institution; the former, 

 by the modified Harvey method (Ketchum, 

 Corwin, and Keen, 1955) and the latter, by the 

 standard Mohr-Knudsen titration. 



