The study of comparative temperatures straddles the arenas of water and weather science. In our usual experiment, students take temperature readings of the air, using a digital thermometer. Simultaneously, students collect water samples from the river's surface using a canvas bucket and test them using a wet thermometer.
The students' goal is to discover if or how the air temperature affects the water temperature, and vice versa.
While crossing the tidal boll formed at the mouth of the Connecticut River on Day Two, we took the opportunity for a different sort of comparative temperature measurement. We took two water samples within a 20 feet and a few moments of each other. Even in that narrow span, we found that the the fresh water flowing from the river was 1° Celsius warmer than the salt water of Long Island Sound.
