The project is to document the timing of a current change. According to the graphics in "Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book" ©, the current should change at Pier 16 soon after it changes at the Narrows. In fact, the current should change all along the Brooklyn shore in the same timeframe.
When I started sailing this summer, I was a question about whether this relationship had changed. Since Eldridge shows the same relationship as before I am confident it is the same. However for a brief moment I thought there had been a change and started to wonder what could cause it.
Beacuse of the contruction of the new and wider Panama Canal there are preparations being made for larger cargo vessels in the Port of Newark. Part of this preparation is dredging of the channels into the port. It occured to me that this was the kind of thing that could affect the current timing.
I am asking for volunteers to man the seven locations listed here and to mark and record the time the current starts to flow in the chosen direction (Ebb or Flood)
The purpose of this project is to document the timing of the changing current along the Brooklyn shore and into the East River. I have chosen two dates, a primary one and a backup. The dates are:
There are seven locations for the sampling. All are on shore except one which is the northern-most can in the Buttermilk Channel. They are:
I am currently looking for an additional location along the Brooklyn waterfront in the Sunset Park area. All locations are freely accessible public spaces. I predict your participation to be about one hour.
You can view a highly detailed diagram of the currents as they will present on 12/2 by going to the Stevens Tech Urban Ocean Observatory at the Center for Maritime Systems web site. Once you have navigated to site, move your mouse into the area labeled "Click on a forecast region". Then in the box labeled "NY/NJ Harbor Estuary", move your mouse near the area of the Narrows. When you have positioned the cursor properly, the icon text will read "NY/NJ Harbor Estuary". Click you mouse button on this spot. You will be presented with a graphic showing New York Harbor from Spuyten Duyvil in the north to Sandy Hook in the south.
Next, using the dialog box on the right, select Region="NY/NJ Harbor Estuary", Parameter="Surface Currents", Time Series="- Select Station -", change the date to November 2, 2012 and set the time at 12:00 Hours. The diagram you see is roughly equivalent to 11AM on 12/2/2012, a little less than one hour before the ebb begins at the narrows.
You can change the hour and see what the surface currents were on 11/2 and probably what they will look like on 12/2.