ABSTRACT
New England and other coastal cities of North America have suffered a great sea change in their economies at the close of the 20th Century. It is important to understand the climate and hydrology of this region, not only to comprehend the seasonal ecology of the rivers and bays, but also because some fundamental aspects of these seasonal changes have been neglected by dam, water, and environmental agencies. As the centerpiece of the New England economy and culture, Massachusetts Bay epitomizes the history of the northeast, in serious ecologic decline. Rhode Island Sound receives its major freshwater flows from Narragansett Bay on the southern coast of Massachusetts, which also drains the north-eastern half of Rhode Island. Long Island Sound is a narrow and sheltered, shallow portion of the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Connecticut, receiving freshwater flows from the Connecticut, Housatonic, and Thames Rivers.
