3-27 



crease over flood (about 1 ppt overall) and strong stratification at 

 Station 1 (8.7 ppt at the surface and 11.2 ppt at the bottom). The 

 salinity contour maps for May showed more saline conditions along the 

 main channel and the eastern portion of the harbor, with less saline 

 waters in the western portion of the harbor. In June, salinities 

 started to increase again. Long Island Sound waters at the harbor mouth 

 were vertically homogeneous, averaging around 26.6 ppt. Flood-tidal 

 stratification was fairly weak (down to 17.9 ppt on the surface at 

 Station 3) . During ebb tide, the mid-channel waters showed very little 

 change, whereas, near the head of the harbor, surface salinities were 

 down to 11.9 ppt and some stratification was apparent. July salinities 

 rose slightly, to 27.7 ppt at Station 1. Both flood and ebb waters near 

 the head of the estuary showed patterns identical to those of June, but 

 with salinities 1 to 2 ppt higher. 



During August, when runoff typically reaches its yearly min- 

 imum. Long Island Sound waters ranged from 24.8 to 27.0 ppt. The outer 

 harbor was quite homogeneous, whereas the inner harbor and the head of 

 the estuary were considerably more saline than earlier in the year (18.9 

 to 26.3 ppt) with no pronounced stratification. It is also noteworthy 

 that overall ebb-tidal salinity values were lower than flood-tidal 

 values. The contour maps for August again showed a tendency for less 

 saline waters on the west side of the harbor and more saline waters on 

 the east side. By September, Sound waters had higher salinities, aver- 

 aging around 25 ppt at the harbor mouth on both phases of the tide. 

 More stratification than during the summer was apparent near the head of 

 the estuary (down to 15 ppt on the ebbing tide) as a consequence of 

 increased runoff. By October, the salinities of Sound waters were 

 dropping again (down to 26-27 ppt) , strong stratification was again 

 apparent in the inner harbor on flood and ebb tides, and runoff was 

 increasing to typical seasonal levels. 



