A Day in the Life of the Hudson - Student Salinity Readings
10/7/08
USGS Salt Front (100 ppm Cl-) RM 63.4
INTRODUCTION: To measure salt content, Day in the Life groups use Quantabs where salinity is likely to
be low, and refractometers, hydrometers and meters where it’s likely to be high. Quantabs give results in
-
parts per million [ppm] of chloride [Cl ]; the other methods read total salinity. Both units are useful.
USGS defines the location of the salt front using chloride. HRECOS and other references give total salinity
in practical salinity units [psu], the roughly equal parts per thousand [ppt], and sometimes ppm. To make
comparisons easier, we have converted these results to show both chloride and total salinity at all sites.
READINGS AS PPM
RM FOR
READINGS AS PPM
MEASUREMENT
GRAPHING
SAMPLING TIME
TOTAL SALINITY:
CHLORIDE (Cl ):
TECHNIQUE
Quantabs
300.0
9:00 AM no salinity recorded at all no salinity recorded at all
80
Quantabs
133.0
11:30 AM
145
30
Quantabs
127.0
3:50 PM
54
28
Quantabs
124.5
9:35 AM
51
10:00-noon
40
Quantabs
102.0
72
25
Quantabs
96.5
10:50 AM
45
21
Quantabs
84.5
10 AM to 1 PM
38
28
Quantabs
76.0
10:30 AM
51
56
Quantabs
61.0
11:30 AM
101
86
Quantabs
58.0
10:45 AM
155
81
Quantabs
57.0
10:10 AM
146
1,882
meter
52.5
12:58 PM
3,400
1,937
meter
41.0
11:45 AM
3,500
4,500
Quantabs
36.0
9AM-12:30 PM
8,129
hydrometer* reading too high
for site
32.0
0.5
14,830
2,840
test strip
31.0
11:33 AM
5,130
2,768
refractometer
30.0
9:39 AM
5,000
1,700
meter
28.0
10:30-1:15 PM
1,700
25.0
11:30 AM
15,500
25.1
10:15-1:30 PM
1,600
18.5
18.0
17.0
Inwood 14.0
13.0
10.0
7.1
7.0
5.5
4.0
2.5
2.5
2.1
2.0
Ft.Wadsworth -7.0
Breezy Pt -11.0
Jamaica Bay
Harlem R 12.0
East RM 8.0
East RM 4.2
East RM 4.0
9:30-1:15 PM
10:45 AM
9:20-11:15 AM
1:00 PM
11:30 AM
9:50 AM
9:30 AM
1:51 PM
10:15-2:30 PM
10:00 AM
10:15 AM
9:45-11:00 AM
10-10:30 AM
11:30 AM
12:15-2 PM
10:30 AM
11:20 AM
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
10:30-2PM
not provided
12:00 PM
1,400
12,000
6,000
7,600
7,700
9,300
8,500
12,000
7,000
15,300
14,000
14,600
14,300
13,600
14,100
20,900
28,140
29,000
18,100
24,000
23,000
23,340
very high reading-estuary test
kit-probably ineffective in this
8,580
salinity range
886 hydrometer - surface samples
refractometer - bottom
775
samples
6,642
3,321
hydrometer
4,207
refractometer
4,262
YSI meter
5,148
hydrometer
4,705
hydrometer
6,642
refractometer
3,875
hydrometer
8,469
drop kit
7,750
hydrometer
4,262
hydrometer
4,096
hydrometer
7,528
2,583
hydrometer
11,569 instant ocean hydrometer
15,577
hydrometer
16,053 hydrometer/ refractometer
10,019
6,827
hydrometer
12,731
hydrometer
12,920
meter
A Day in the Life of the Hudson - Student Salinity Readings
10/8/09
USGS Salt Front (100 ppm CL-) RM 60.3
RM FOR
GRAPHING
153.0
144.0
138.0
127.0
115.0
103.0
96.5
96.5
92.0
87.0
84.5
76.0
76.0
E 61.0
W 61.0
58.0
57.0
55.0
53.0
41.0
Nyack MS 31.1
Blue Rock 31.0
30.5
28.0
surface W 25.1
bottom W 25.1
E 25.0
W 18.5
W 18.5
boat 18.5
E 18.0
Inwood 14.0
13.0
11.5
T. Marshall 11.5
10.0
M225 5.5
Midtown W 5.5
4.1
NYCSWD 2.5
Wallerstein 2.5
River Proj 2.0
Harbor Sch 2.0
Breezy Pt -11.0
Bronx R 8.0
East RM 8.0
East RM 4.5
East RM 4.1
East River 4.0
East RM W 1.0
boat East RM 0.75
East RM W 0.5
SAMPLING
READINGS AS PPM READINGS AS PPM
MEASUREMENT
TIME
TOTAL SALINITY:
CHLORIDE (Cl-):
TECHNIQUE
10-11:30 AM
70
39
Quantabs
8:30-10:30 AM
43
24
Quantabs
179
99
Quantabs
10:30 AM
51
28
Quantabs
4:00 PM
51
28
Quantabs
10-11:30 AM
10:45 AM
16
Quantabs
29
43
drop count
12:00 PM
78
33
Quantabs
12:00 PM
60
28
Quantabs
51
33
Quantabs
1:40 PM
60
100
55
not noted
10:00 AM
60
Quantabs
10:15
108
30
Quantabs
10:15-11:15 AM
54
28
quantabs
2-2:30 PM
51
33
quantabs
2:30 PM
60
61
quantabs
10:30 AM
110
68
quantabs
11-12:40 AM
123
53
quantabs
11:00 AM
96
62
quantabs
9:30-11:30
112
1,190
meter
11:30-12:15 PM
2,150
2,870 conductivity meter converted
9:30-10:30
5,185
2,800
test strip
10:45 AM
5,058
1,827
hydrometer
10:10 AM
3,300
3,044
1:00 PM
5,500
meter
3,653
hydrometer
9:30-1:15 PM
6,600
3,875
refractometer
9:30-1:15 PM
7,000
4,982
10:15-11:45 AM
9,000
5,535
hydrometer
8:30AM
10,000
4,982
refractometer
9:30-10:00 AM
9,000
3,598
hydrometer
10:45-3:00 PM
6,500
3,529
hydrometer
9:30-11:30
6,375
4,262
YSI meter
11:30 AM
7,700
6,642
hydrometer
10:45 AM
12,000
7,528
10AM-5:30 PM
13,600
6,144
hydrometer
11:39 AM
11,100
7,009
hydrometer
10:30-11:15 AM
12,663
9,964
hydrometer
12:00 PM
18,000
9,133
hydrometer
9-11AM
16,500
9,521
hydrometer
11:30-noon
17,200
8,192
hydrometer
9:15-1:40 PM
14,800
7,196
hydrometer
11-11:30 AM
13,000
9,272
hydrometer
10:30-11:20 AM
16,750
9,964
hydrometer
12:00 PM
18,000
18,045
hydrometer
12:22 PM
32,600
9,964
hydrometer
11:25-11:45 AM
18,000
14,946
hydrometer
11:30 AM
27,000
12,178
hydrometer
10:30 AM
22,000
14,946
hydrometer
12:03 PM
27,000
11,624
hydrometer/refractometer
9:30-10:30 AM
21,000
13,562
hydrometer
11:30-11:45 AM
24,500
12,178
refractometer
11:25 AM
22,000
13,285
refractometer
11:00 AM
24,000
A Day in the Life of the Hudson - Student Salinity Readings
10/14/10
USGS Salt Front (100 ppm CL-) RM 36
RM FOR
GRAPHING
SAMPLING
TIME
300.0
6:00 AM
200.0
153.0
138.0
127.0
115.0
112.0
102.0
96.5
92.0
84.5
78.0
76.0
58.0
57.0
55.0
53.0
41.0
39.5
31.0
28.0
25.1
25.0
18.5
18.0
13.0
5.0
4.1
4.0
2.5
2.0
-1.0
-7.0
-11.0
Harlem R 13.0
Harlem R 12.0
Bronx R 8.5
Bronx R 8.0
East RM 4.5
East RM 4.0
East RM 0.5
9:30:00 AM
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
3:45 PM
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
1:17 PM
10:30 AM
11:15 AM
11:42 AM
9:40 PM
11:30 AM
9:30-noon
10:00 AM
not recorded
not recorded
11:00 AM
12:20 PM
10-11AM
10-11AM
10-1PM
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
10-11:30 AM
12:40 PM
11:00 AM
12:20 PM
11:00 AM
11-noon
11:00 AM
3:02 PM
10:15 AM
11:00 AM
11:05 PM
noon-1:30 PM
9-11AM
10:45 AM
11:30-1PM
11:30 AM
READINGS AS PPM
TOTAL SALINITY:
READINGS AS PPM
CHLORIDE (Cl-):
MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE
no salinity recorded at
below detection all
quantabs
no salinity recorded at
below detection all
quantabs
51
28
quantabs
< 51
<28
quantabs
< 51
<28
quantabs
< 51
<28
quantabs
< 51
<28
quantabs
< 51
<28
quantabs
51
28
quantabs
< 51
<28
quantabs
51
28
quantabs
not recorded
below detection
< 51
<28
quantabs
conductivity meter
78
51
29
quantabs
51
28
quantabs
51
28
quantabs
55
meter
100
248
quantabs
448
268
meter
485
720
meter
1,300
488
hydrometer
881
775
not recorded
1,400
277
not recorded
500
166
hydrometer
300
3,321
hydrometer
6,000
3,321
hydrometer
6,000
5,812
hydrometer
10,500
3,321
hydrometer
6,000
2,408
hydrometer
4,350
5,375
hydrometer
9,710
7,196
13,000
hydrometer
12,986
not recorded
23,460
15,610
28,200
hydrometer
4,096
not recorded
7,400
7,750
not recorded
14,000
2,029
not recorded
3,666
7,196
not recorded
13,000
13,562
hydrometer
24,500
12,731
hydrometer
23,000
14,392
refractometer
26,000