Velocity and temperature data collected at the mouth of Narragansett Bay during summer 2018 showed episodic pulses of cool Rhode Island Sound water into the Bay via the deep East Passage. I am using the ROMS numerical model to run a simulation this period and compare it against the observational data. Once the model has been validated, I will perform a series of process-oriented modeling experiments to understand the physical drivers of these shelf-water intrusions. This should allow us to predict intrusions ahead of time. Additionally, the new pump station is now collecting water samples at the mouth of the East Passage so we will try to include this new data source to estimate the nutrient flux associated with these intrusion events.
RI NSF EPSCoR is supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under EPSCoR Cooperative Agreements #OIA-2433276 and in part by the RI Commerce Corporation via the Science and Technology Advisory Committee [STAC]. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation, the RI Commerce Corporation, STAC, our partners or our collaborators.