About Central Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is located in the northeastern U.S., is bounded by Connecticut to the north and by Long Island, New York to the south.
Background
Long Island Sound is connected to the ocean by the East River to the west and by three passes to the east. Its major source of fresh water is the Connecticut River, toward the eastern end of the sound. Despite this unusual configuration, it possesses a longitudinal salinity gradient. The sound has a distinct transport of less-saline water flowing eastward at the surface, and an opposing flow of saltier water along the bottom (Gordon, 1980). The East River serves as a conduit for a net export of salt at 1.2 x 104 kilograms/second (Bowman, 1975).
Current Patterns
The model uses a single current pattern scaled to the tides 1 mile SSE of Sachem Head (41° 13’N, 72° 42’W).
The current pattern was created with the NOAA Current Analysis for Trajectory Simulation (CATS) hydrodynamic application.
References
Oceanography
Bokuniewicz, H.J. and R.B. Gordon. Form and Tidal Energy in Long Island Sound. In: Saltzman, B., ed. Estuarine Physics and Chemistry: Studies in Long Island Sound. Advances in Geophysics, Vol. 22. New York: Academic Press, 1980: 41-67.
NOAA Tides and Currents: New Haven PORTS
Real-time tide, current, and meteorological conditions at the New Haven PORTS (Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System) station.
Wind and Weather
NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) coastal forecast for Long Island Sound
Daily coastal marine forecast.
The Weather Underground Marine Forecast
Daily marine forecast for Long Island waters
NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) Marine Forecasts
Coastal marine zone forecasts for the Long Island region, subdivided by zone.
NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) State Data
A list of states, linking to the current products for each state.
Current offshore meteorological conditions at thousands of buoys located around the U.S.
Oil Spill Response
NOAA's Emergency Response Division (ERD)
Tools and information for emergency responders and planners, and others concerned about the effects of oil and hazardous chemicals in our waters and along our coasts.