3-13 



occur during periods of winter thaw {February, March) and spring runoff 

 (April and May) ; and 3) dissolved oxygen levels are inversely related to 

 seasonal temperature fluctuations. Transparency and pH show little 

 evidence of seasonal variation. 



Description of the hydrography of New Haven Harbor necessi- 

 tates the detailed presentation of data which characterize spatial and 

 temporal differences and similarities in the parameters measured. To 

 facilitate these comparisons, actual data, rather than statistical 

 constructs (means, standard deviations, etc.) are presented. The final 

 year of data collection, November 1976-October 1977, was arbitrarily 

 selected as a "sample year" for detailed examination of spatial and 

 seasonal trends. This sample year description was then utilized as a 

 basis for multi-year comparisons. This approach reduces the redundancy 

 attendant with presentation of all data years in detail and avoids the 

 artificiality of combinative statistics. Means of observations dis- 

 tributed among many years may not represent either characteristic or 

 actual occurrences, and thus require more critical review than actual 

 values. 



Our characterization of the hydrography of New Haven Harbor 

 consists of a general description of circulation patterns and the estu- 

 arine nature of the harbor, a detailed description of a sample year by 

 month, a discussion of characteristic spatial variability within the 

 harbor, a description of similarities and differences between the sample 

 year and other years studied, and a summary of the hydrography of New 

 Haven Harbor. 



Estuarine Classification and Harbor-W-ide Circulation Patterns 



The major estuaries in the Long Island Sound region are the 

 Connecticut, Thames, Housatonic and Quinnipiac (NERBC, 1973) . In gen- 

 eral, there is a two-layer transport system at the heads of these estu- 

 aries. Fresh water flows seaward near the surface while the tides move 



