Hi all,
The estuary is fresher now due to all the rain from Arthur and Bertha but the tip of the salt wedge still extends almost to New Bern. A strong pycnocline occurred at about 4 m depth at stations upstream of station 120 and at about 5 m at the lower stations. Bottom waters were hypoxic (< 2 mg/L) at station 50 -120, and were <4 mg/L at the lower stations. There was a zone of high surface chlorophyll from stations 70 to 120. Microscopic examination of station 120 surface water where chlorophyll was greatest showed that the bloom was dominated by the dinoflagellate, Gyrodinium instriatum (more correctly known as Lavanderina fissa). This dinoflagellate is our most common summer-time bloom former in the Neuse and is not known to produce toxins. The other phytoplankton in the sample were a mix of cryptophytes, small diatoms, and smaller dinoflagellates.
Nathan