Sandy Brosnahan (Physical Scientist and Regional Dive Safety Officer) and Eric Marsjanik (Electronics Technician) of the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center provided diving capabilities to adjust the level angles of two previously installed Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) in the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut and in the Norwalk River in Norwalk, Connecticut. ADCPs measure the speed of the water current and the elevation of the water by transmitting sound waves that bounce off floating particles and the sediment on the river bottom. 

New England Water Science Center project lead Brittney Izbicki and field technicians Paul Solis, Danny Hansen, and Ryan Bottoroff assisted the divers with leveling the ADCPs and cleaning the sensors from both boats and on land.   

This effort is part of a coastal waterway study that includes a network of locations in the Mystic River, Norwalk River, and Sasco/Saugatuck complex (southwestern Connecticut) for the purpose of understanding nutrient loading into the Long Island Sound. USGS will be collecting water quality and hydrologic data continuously through deployed scientific equipment, such as the ADCPs, which take year-round measurements. The scientists will also take manual water samples for analysis at specific times and locations throughout the study period. The data collected will be used in nutrient estimate models of the coastal waterways to inform environmental management efforts of Long Island Sound.