Skip Navigation

ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 1998 55(4):668-679; doi:10.1006/jmsc.1998.0380
© 1998 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Borkman, D. G.
Right arrow Articles by Smayda, T. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Borkman, D. G.
Right arrow Articles by Smayda, T. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Long-term trends in water clarity revealed by Secchi-disk measurements in lower Narragansett Bay

David G. Borkman and Theodore J. Smayda

University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography Narragansett, Rhode Island, 02882, USA

Correspondence by e-mail to D. G. Borkman (dborkman{at}gsosunl.gso.uri.edu) or to T. J. Smayda (tsmayda{at}gsosunl.gso.uri.edu)

Observations of Secchi-disk depth and related parameters were made weekly, from 1972 through 1996, in lower Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. A significant increase in Secchi depth, at a linearized rate of 0.05 m yr–1, was detected during this 25-year time series. Most of the increase in water clarity occurred between 1984 and 1994, when loading of total suspended solids (TSS) to the Bay via waste-water treatment plants decreased ca. 75%, and Secchi depths increased ca. 25%. Decreased annual TSS loading explained 43% of the variance in mean annual Secchi depth between 1983 and 1995. In addition to a long-term increase, there was also a strong seasonal pattern in water clarity. The rate of increase in Secchi depth in Narragansett Bay between 1972 and 1996 was similar to rates observed in other coastal waters that have had recent reductions in anthropogenic TSS loading.

Keywords: In situ light, long-term trend, Narragansett Bay, Secchi-disk depth, suspended solids, transparency, time series, water clarity


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.