Next up on The Bay and Beyond- our first show featuring research in Narragansett Bay! We’re excited to welcome Dr. Sonia Refulio-Coronado, an Environmental Economist currently teaching at the University of Rhode Island. Sonia told us about her recent research that examined beach visits by Rhode Island residents in the context of changes in water quality at area beaches. She talks about how her work revealed inequities in beach access across Narragansett Bay, and some possible actions to help move us towards more inclusive beach access for all Rhode Island residents.

You can learn more about Sonia’s research here:

https://web.uri.edu/cels/news/sonia-refulio-coronado-on-water-quality-equity/

And read her research findings here:

Sonia Refulio-Coronado, Pengfei Liu. Nathaniel Merrill, and Emi Uchida 2026. Impact of Water Quality at the Beach on Disadvantaged Communities in Rhode Island: Evidence Using Mobility Data. Land Economics 102(3), pages 418-436. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/le.102.3.013026-0019

Join us on our first episode as we head back in geological history to take a look at how Narragansett Bay came about! With the help of special guest Dr. J.P. Walsh of URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, we look at the events leading up to and at the end of the last ice age to get a geological sense of how the Bay was formed. A fascinating look at how it all began!

References: McMaster, RL 1984. Holocene stratigraphy and depositional history of the Narragansett Bay System, Rhode Island, U.S.A. Sedimentology 31,777-192.

To learn more about the glacial and sea-level history of Narragansett Bay check out some of the recent great work by Dr. Bryan Oakley of Eastern Connecticut State University:

“Constrained age of Glacial Lake Narragansett and the deglacial chronology of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in southeastern New England”, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10933-013-9725-7

“Late Quaternary depositional environments, timing and recent deposition: Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island and Massachusetts”, https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/oa_diss/article/1100/&path_info=Oakley_uri_0186A_10295.pdf

J.P also oversees ongoing beach surveys in Rhode Island, a program initiated by Dr. McMaster in the 1960’s. The surveys help us to better understand shoreline changes, and information is used to inform decision-making locally and advance science globally. Another series of surveys along the south coast of Rhode Island was initiated by Dr. Jon Boothroyd, and are being continued under the supervision of Mike Bradley of the URI Environmental Data Center and Dr. Oakley. More information about both surveys can be found at https://beachdynamics.uri.edu

Be sure to check out our YouTube channel @TheBayandBeyond for the companion video to this episode: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFfrDgq5M8cWQtCfRfE5DVQ