on the Health of Quonnie Pond Narragansett, R.I.– August 4, 2000 — The health of the salt ponds is an issue that concerns coastal South County residents. The ponds have been the subject of many scientific studies, including the Quonochontaug Pond Project, funded by Shelter Harbor summer resident Finn M.W. Caspersen. To bring the public up to date on the results of the project to date, the URI Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) and the Salt Ponds Coalition will present The Quonochontaug Pond Project: An Overview and Summary of Results to Date. The lecture, given by GSO doctoral candidate Kathryn H. Ford, will be held on Thursday, August 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Weekapaug Chapel on Noyes Neck Road in Weekapaug. The Quonochontaug Pond Research Fellowship was initiated in 1998 through a $90,000 gift to GSO from Caspersen to enable a GSO graduate student and faculty team to develop a base-line study of the large coastal pond. Ph.D. candidate Kathryn Ford, under the guidance of GSO faculty members Scott Nixon and John King, has been working on the pond since May, 1999, studying its chemistry, circulation, and habitat and wildlife. In addition, Ford has been examining sediments to determine the history of contaminants in the pond, as well as the impacts of storm events. The lecture will focus on the results of the project to date and outline future research needs within the pond. The lecture is free and open to the public. For further information call the URI Graduate School of Oceanography Public Relations Office at 874-6642. -xxx- Lisa Cugini, 874-6642, lcugini@gso.uri.edu For more URI news visit: www.news.uri.edu For a brief weekly summary of URI news by e-mail, call 874-2116 or e-mail at ngillesie@advance.uri.edu