How Healthy is Narragansett Bay? In-Person
Join the Barrington Land Conservation Trust on Wednesday, October 8 at 7 pm for a presentation on the health of Narragansett Bay by Dr. Warren Prell, Professor of Oceanography Emeritus, Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University.
Fifty years ago, Narragansett Bay was heavily polluted with excess nutrients (mostly Nitrogen) and coliform bacteria. These conditions led to hypoxia (low oxygen), high chlorophyll levels, fish kills, and much of the upper bay closed to shell fishing. Today, the Bay is greatly improved. The nitrogen input to the Bay have been reduced by 50%, the area of hypoxia and excess chlorophyll has been dramatically reduced, and the upper bay and part of the Providence River are conditionally open to shell fishing.
Warren will review how the Narragansett Bay estuary works, what leads to hypoxia, the changes that were made to reduce pollution levels, and how the improvements to the Bay were monitored. He will also speculate on how climate change may affect future hypoxia levels in the Bay.
About Warren Prell
Dr. Warren Prell received a BA in 1966 with Honors from Hanover College and a PhD in 1974 from Columbia University. He became director of oceanographic and geologic programs for the NYC Energy Research and Development Authority before being appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown in 1975. He was promoted to full professor in 1989 and was appointed to the Henry L. Doherty Chair in Oceanography in 1990.
This event is part of the Land Trust Learning Series, a partnership between the Land Trust and the Barrington Public Library and supported by local sponsors.
