Fixed-Site Network

​Phillipsdale Landing

Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was fair to good this week. Weather conditions were  wet this week, with a total of 2.93 inches recorded at T.F. Green, and the majority of rainfall occurring on the 13th and 14th. Blackstone River flow increased during the 13th and 14th and remained above the 18-year daily median for the majority of the week. Surface and bottom salinity dropped dramatically after the 13th -14th storm and increased river flows. Salinity at the surface averaged 4.7 ppt and ranged from 0.3 ppt to 13.0 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 14.4 ppt and ranged from 0.4 ppt to 29.5 ppt. Temperatures this week averaged 6.3°C at the surface and 5.9 °C at the bottom. Surface temperatures ranged from 4.3°C to 9.1°C, while bottom temperatures ranged from 4.4°C to 7.3°C.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold (i.e., DO >2.9 mg/L) throughout the week. Surface DO remained similar to the previous week, averaging 12.4 mg/L and ranging 10.4-14.1 mg/L. Bottom water DO concentration averaged 11.0 mg/L and ranged from 8.1 mg/L to 13.7 mg/L. Chlorophyll concentrations rose from the previous week, averaging 4.5 ug/L at the surface and 12.4 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum surface chlorophyll readings reached 56.0 ug/L, recorded in the morning of March 13th. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. Also, please note that portions of chlorophyll data from the surface sonde on March 13th and from the bottom sonde on March 14th and 16th were excluded from the summary this week due to suspected sediment interference.

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season.

​Phillipsdale Landing

Sondes were swapped for routine maintenance on the morning of March 7th.   Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions were mostly dry, with only 0.29 inches on March 11th, recorded at T.F. Green. Blackstone River flow declined over the course of the week from its increased flow due to the March 4th storm (0.81 inches). It remained above the 18-year daily median for the majority of the week. Surface salinity remained well below bottom salinity. Surface salinity this week averaged 9.1 ppt and ranged from 3.8 ppt to 15.1 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 22.0 ppt and ranged from 5.6 ppt to 30.3 ppt. Temperatures increased this week, averaging 5.8°C at both the surface and bottom . Surface temperatures ranged from 3.7°C to 7.9°C, while bottom temperatures ranged from 4.5°C to 7.1°C.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 11.8 mg/L and ranged 10.8 – 13.6 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 10.0 mg/L and ranged from 8.3 mg/L to 12.6 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings rose from the previous week, averaging 3.1 ug/L at the surface and 11.8 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached 18.7 ug/L on March 10th. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. Also, please note that portions of chlorophyll data from the bottom sonde from March 7th and 8th are not included in the summary above due potential sediment interference which is common at this site.

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season.

​Phillipsdale Landing

Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions this week included moderate rain and snow, with a total of 1.6 inches as recorded at T.F. Green     The Blackstone River flow remained below the 18-year daily median for the week. Surface salinity remained well below bottom salinity. Salinity at the surface averaged 6.5 ppt and ranged from 2.5 ppt to 14.8 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 20.9 ppt and ranged from 5.7 ppt to 29.5 ppt. Temperatures this week averaged 4.5°C at the surface and 5.3°C at the bottom. Surface temperatures ranged from 2.3°C to 6.9°C, while bottom temperatures ranged from 4.0°C to 6.2°C.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO did rise slightly compared to the previous week, averaging 12.1 mg/L and ranging 11.0-12.9 mg/L. Bottom water DO concentration averaged 9.7 mg/L and ranged from 7.4 mg/L to 12.3 mg/L. Chlorophyll remained low, averaging 2.2 ug/L at the surface and 3.9 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum surface chlorophyll readings reached 8.6 ug/L, recorded on the morning of March 2nd. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

Sondes were swapped for routine maintenance on the morning of February 23rd. Depth data had been lost by the sondes on February 15th but was restored with the deployment of new sondes at the swap. Data in this week’s summary should be interpreted with caution due to the lack of depth data to confirm sonde positioning for most of the week. 

Weather conditions this week included light to moderate rain or snow every day, totaling 0.62 inches as recorded at TF Green. The largest rain event was on February 23rd with 0.32 inches. Blackstone River flows showed a slight increase after this rain event but remained below the 18-year median flow rates. Surface salinity this week averaged 12.6 ppt and ranged from 4.1 ppt to 22.9 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 21.0 ppt and ranged from 8.7 ppt to 27.5 ppt. Temperatures at the surface averaged 5.6°C, ranging 2.9°C – 8.0°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 5.8°C and ranged 4.1°C – 6.7°C. 

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 10.8 mg/L and ranged 9.2 – 12.4 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 10.0 mg/L and ranged from 8.9 mg/L to 11.6 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings generally remained low, averaging 1.5 ug/L at the surface and 4.2 ug/L at the bottom. The maximum chlorophyll reading this week was 35.5 ug/L at the bottom on February 23rd. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

The surface sonde deployed on February 7th failed to log data internally, and so there is a data gap until DCP communications were restored this week on February 15th. Unfortunately, restoration of this connection resulted in lost depth data for both sondes through the end of the deployment on February 23rd. Data in this week’s summary should be interpreted with caution due to the gap in surface data and lack of depth data to confirm sonde positioning at both depths. 

Weather conditions this week were mostly dry, with just 0.25 inches of rainfall on February 17th and trace rainfall on the 13th and 16th. Blackstone River flows continued to decline all week and fell below the 18-year median flow rates for this time of year. Surface salinity from the latter half of the week averaged 7.4 ppt and ranged from 2.0 ppt to 20.3 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 20.6 ppt and ranged from 5.2 ppt to 29.8 ppt. Temperatures at the surface (latter half of the week) averaged 6.4°C, ranging 4.4°C – 8.1°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 5.4°C and ranged 4.6°C – 7.0°C. 

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO (latter half of the week) averaged 11.3 mg/L and ranged 10.1 – 12.4 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 9.9 mg/L and ranged from 8.8 mg/L to 12.3 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings generally remained low, averaging 0.8 ug/L at the surface (latter half of the week) and 2.9 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached just 6.8 ug/L in the data available this week. At the bottom, chlorophyll hit an isolated maximum of 25.1 ug/L on February 17th, though this does not appear to be related to phytoplankton activity as there were no concurrent changes to pH or DO. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

Sondes were swapped for routine maintenance on the morning of February 7th. The surface sonde continued to exhibit unusual buoyancy as began with the cold snap on February 3rd; for this week, approximately 27 hours of surface data were excluded from February 5th and 6th when the sonde was out of position. In addition the new surface sonde deployed on February 7th failed to log data, and so there is a data gap from this point through the end of the week. For these reasons, there are very limited surface data included in the following summary. 

Weather conditions this week were mostly dry, with just 0.05 inches of rainfall on February 7th and trace rainfall on the 8th and 9th. Blackstone River flows continued to decline all week, but overall remain above the 18-year median flow rates for this time of year. Surface salinity from the limited data available early in the week averaged 5.0 ppt and ranged from 1.4 ppt to 9.3 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 18.4 ppt and ranged from 3.6 ppt to 29.5 ppt. Temperatures at the surface (limited data) averaged 1.7°C, ranging -0.4°C – 2.9°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 3.8°C and ranged 0.5°C – 6.0°C. 

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO (limited data) averaged 13.0 mg/L and ranged 12.3 – 14.2 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 11.0 mg/L and ranged from 9.2 mg/L to 14.2 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings remained low, averaging 1.5 ug/L at the surface (limited data) and 7.4 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached just 2.3 ug/L in this limited dataset. Chlorophyll at the bottom was elevated early in the week, though this does not appear to be related to phytoplankton activity as there were no concurrent changes to pH or DO; the spikes may have been related to the very cold temperatures or sediment interference. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions were mostly dry, with just trace rainfall on January 29th and February 1st, and minor snowfall on January 31st. Blackstone River flows declined over the course of the week. Surface salinity averaged 1.7 ppt and ranged from 0.2 ppt to 7.7 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 11.4 ppt and ranged from 0.3 ppt to 29.7 ppt. February 3rd and 4th saw a blast of arctic air temperatures, and the waters responded by cooling dramatically at the end of the week. Temperatures overall averaged 4.0°C at the surface, ranging -0.3°C – 6.5°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 4.4°C and ranged 0.0°C – 6.0°C. During the cold snap, the surface sonde went out of position, possibly due to ice formation impacting sonde buoyancy; approximately 19 hours of surface data were excluded from this summary when the sonde was out of position. 

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 12.9 mg/L and ranged 12.0 – 14.8 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 11.8 mg/L and ranged from 8.4 mg/L to 14.2 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings remained low, averaging 2.0 ug/L at the surface and 9.9 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached just 8.4 ug/L this week. Chlorophyll at the bottom was elevated late in the week, though this does not appear to be related to phytoplankton activity as there were no concurrent changes to pH or DO; the spikes may have been related to the very cold temperatures or sediment interference. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

Sondes were swapped for routine maintenance on the morning of January 24th. Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions were rainy, including 0.34 inches on January 22nd, 0.92 inches on January 23rd (included some snow), 0.75 inches on January 25th, and 1.09 inches on January 26th (all as recorded at T.F. Green). Blackstone River flows were heavy all week in response to the precipitation, resulting in decreased salinity at Phillipsdale, particularly at the end of the week. Over the whole week, surface salinity averaged 2.0 ppt and ranged from 0.2 ppt to 9.9 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 9.5 ppt and ranged from 0.2 ppt to 28.6 ppt. Temperatures cooled this week, averaging 3.8°C at the surface and ranging 2.3°C – 5.3°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 4.4°C and ranged 2.6°C – 5.9°C.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 13.4 mg/L and ranged 12.0 – 14.2 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 12.4 mg/L and ranged from 9.4 mg/L to 14.6 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings remained low, averaging 1.7 ug/L at the surface and 2.5 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached just 3.0 ug/L this week. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions started dry, with Blackstone River flows declining compared to the week prior. Substantial rain on January 19th (1.05 inches as recorded at T.F. Green), led to increased Blackstone River flows, resulting in decreased salinity at Phillipsdale at the end of the week. Over the whole week, surface salinity averaged 5.4 ppt and ranged from 1.5 ppt to 10.2 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 18.7 ppt and ranged from 2.0 ppt to 30.0 ppt. Temperatures were similar this week to last, averaging 4.6°C at the surface and ranging 3.1°C – 6.8°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 5.6°C and ranged 4.1°C – 6.6°C.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 12.4 mg/L and ranged 11.3 – 13.9 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 10.4 mg/L and ranged from 8.7 mg/L to 13.8 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings remained low, averaging 0.7 ug/L at the surface and 4.0 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached just 1.3 ug/L this week. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. 

Phillipsdale Landing

Sondes were swapped for routine maintenance on the morning of January 10th. The batteries in the bottom sonde retrieved this week died the day prior to retrieval, resulting in a data gap of approximately 16 hours from January 9th 18:00 to January 10th 9:30. Overall, water quality at Phillipsdale Landing was good this week. Weather conditions started dry, with Blackstone River flows declining compared to the week prior. Substantial rain on January 12th (0.69 inches) and 13th (0.65 inches), as recorded at T.F. Green, led to increased Blackstone River flows, resulting in decreased salinity at Phillipsdale at the end of the week. Over the whole week, surface salinity averaged 4.4 ppt and ranged from 1.4 ppt to 9.2 ppt. At the bottom, salinity averaged 17.3 ppt and ranged from 1.2 ppt to 30.0 ppt. Temperatures were similar this week to last, averaging 4.7°C at the surface and ranging 3.3°C – 6.4°C. At the bottom, temperatures averaged 5.7°C and ranged 3.9°C – 6.7°C.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) at Phillipsdale Landing remained above the hypoxia threshold of 2.9 mg/L throughout the week. Surface DO averaged 12.3 mg/L and ranged 11.6 – 13.0 mg/L. Bottom DO concentrations averaged 10.3 mg/L and ranged from 8.5 mg/L to 13.0 mg/L. Chlorophyll readings remained low, averaging 1.1 ug/L at the surface and 3.2 ug/L at the bottom. Maximum chlorophyll at the surface reached just 2.7 ug/L this week. Please note that tidal fluctuations and Blackstone River flows greatly influence water column salinity, temperature, and DO at this location. 

Bullock Reach 

Bullock Reach sondes will be deployed later this spring for the 2023 monitoring season. ​