The R/V Monitor has been retired since the last blog update for the week of February 19-25, 2023. However, the Narragansett Bay Commission is excited to announce its new monitoring vessel, Data Stream. The Data Stream is a brand new 2023 Parker 23290 SL: Sport cabin boat. The Data Stream is equipped with state-of-the-art electronics, including the latest Garmin GPS with Radar overlay capability, a remote-control spotlight, and salt and freshwater wash down. Data Stream’s Yamaha engine is a 300hp electronic shift engine which is an upgrade from the 250 HP Mercury on the Monitor.
The Data Stream picked up where the Monitor left off monitoring water quality in the upper Narragansett Bay. Throughout the Spring and Summer, the crew of the Data Stream was out on the upper Bay collecting bacteria, nutrients and plankton samples, taking Secchi Disk water clarity measurements, conducting water column profiles using the Seabird instrument, and conducting real-time surface mapping of water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, water temperature, salinity, and pH. In addition, the fixed site monitoring stations were deployed and continuously maintained. The featured photo shows the new monitoring vessel, Data Stream.
