Seasonal warming of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound in 1997: Advanced very high resolution radiometer sea surface temperature and in situ measurements

Abstract

The warming of Narragansett Bay and the offshore waters of Rhode Island Sound (RIS) and Buzzards Bay in the spring and early summer of 1997 was studied using in situ time series data and remotely sensed advanced very high resolution radiometer sea surface temperature (SST) satellite images. High‐resolution SST images of the New England area were expanded to highlight Narragansett Bay and RIS. To validate this procedure, the remotely sensed data were compared to in situ data at the NOAA buoy in Buzzards Bay and at a spar buoy in mid‐Narragansett Bay. The standard error (1.3°C) observed at the buoy in Narragansett Bay was slightly higher than that observed at the buoy in Buzzards Bay (1.0°C). A transect line down Narragansett Bay and into RIS and another across the entrance of Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay were extracted from the 47 images. A thermal front was observed at the mouth of the bay with the bay being warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter than the sound. Two areas of cold water were identified in the RIS transect: a cold water plume at the tip of Long Island and a second area near the Elizabeth Islands. We believe that both were caused by vertical mixing. There were three sources of in situ time series data to compare with the SST: (1) a spar buoy with sensors in the surface and bottom waters located near the middle of the Bay, (2) observations from a shore site near the mouth of the Bay, and (3) a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoy at the mouth of Buzzards Bay. Using the spar buoy data, we were able to calculate the vertical density gradient, and we found that salinity was more important than temperature in controlling the density structure at this site. Time series temperature data from the surface water in Buzzards Bay were almost identical to those observed in the bottom waters of Narragansett Bay, indicating that bottom water in the bay originates as surface water in RIS. Using a cooling event in the surface waters at the end of July, a transport time of ∼4 days was calculated for the offshore surface waters to reach the bottom at the mid‐bay location.