Long-term monitoring using resident and caged mussels in Boston Harbor yield similar spatial and temporal trends in chemical contamination.

Measurements of chemical contaminants in caged (transplanted) and resident mussel populations have become a routine tool for monitoring and assessing the status and trends of coastal water quality. However, few long-term data sets are available to assess the comparability and efficacy of these two monitoring approaches. Three long-term independent data sets exist for Boston Harbor: the National Mussel Watch program has analyzed resident blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from the Boston Harbor/Massachusetts Bay region for over twenty years, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has annually deployed caged (transplanted) mussels (M.

Plume tracking and dilution of effluent from the Boston sewage outfall.

Field surveys were conducted on the Boston sewage outfall plume to test and certify the outfall's initial dilution in the near field and to investigate its dispersion in the far field. Rhodamine WT dye was added to the effluent at the treatment plant at a constant concentration over a 6-h period and tracked offshore over three days. During the near-field surveys, the current was flowing closely parallel to the diffuser, resulting in the wastefield spreading laterally as a dynamic density current at a rate that was closely predicted by theoretical equations.

Application of statistical modeling to optimize a coastal water quality monitoring program.

The long-term water quality monitoring program implemented by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in 1992 is extensive and has provide substantial understanding of the seasonality of the waters in both Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay and the response to improvements in effluent quality and offshore transfer of the effluent in September 2000. The monitoring program was designed with limited knowledge of spatial and temporal variability and long-term trends within the system. This led to an extensive spatial and temporal sampling program.