What the Ferry Tales us: A Study on Real Time Surface Salinity and Temperaure Data Collected from CTDs on-board Ferries in the Hudson Estuary after a Rain Event

The surface salinity and temperature distribution as well as the temporal and spatial variations after a rain event are examined along a stretch of the Hudson river estuary in two directions: along a mid-channel stretch starting at Hoboken North ferry terminal, NJ, down to Battery Park, New York City and along a perpendicular transect from Hoboken North to New York City midtown ferry terminal. The salinity and temperature are governing elements for the hydrodynamics of middle to highly stratified estuaries such as the Hudson estuary [Chant et al., 2000, Peters, 99, 2003]. Their measurements are performed here within the New York Harbor Observation System (NHYOS), a regional integrated system, dedicated to monitoring the New York Harbor area. The observation set-up comprises fixed and moored CTDs, as well as CTDs embarked on the commuter ferries. Time scaling produces pictures of the estuary's surface fresh water (rain and growing river inflows) at different resolutions. We exhibit a longitude and latitude dimension for the salinity and temperature sensibilities to be used in the hourly data quality control.