Hi all,
I’m a little behind but here are the results from the last Neuse run on 9 July. It’s crazy how things have changed since spring when the estuary was basically a river. Salinities in the bottom waters of the lower estuary are as high as I remember seeing. The only other time that bottom waters at 180 have been this high was on 5 Oct 2002. Neuse river flows do not indicate that we are in as significant of a drought as in 2002. So, I think something on the ocean-side of the estuary might be playing a role in the high salinities and plan to see what our physical oceanographers think. The estuary was strongly stratified from New Bern to the mouth. Bottom waters were anoxic along much of the transect as evidenced by a strong sulfide smell. The crew will be out again next week.
Best,
Nathan
Keep up the good work