Live conditions in Saco Bay off Camp Ellis, Maine · UNE Fathom receiver buoy with water sensors
🕒 Latest reading: Wednesday, Sep 23 2026 at 08:02 AM. Tap ⓘ on any box to learn what it means.
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Written automatically from the numbers — it changes as new data arrives.
For comparison, ocean water is about 32–35 PSU and drinking water is about 0. Values in between mean a mix of fresh water (rain, streams, groundwater) and seawater.
Warmest Sep 22 at 5:41 PM; coldest May 7 at 5:19 PM.
A quick guide to each measurement on this page — no science degree needed.
What it is: How warm or cold the water is, measured by a sensor just below the surface.
Why it matters: Temperature controls almost everything in the water: how much oxygen it can hold, how fast algae grow, which fish and shellfish are comfortable, and when lobsters and other animals move or molt.
📏 Gulf of Maine coastal water runs roughly 38–45 °F (3–7 °C) in late winter and 60–68 °F (15–20 °C) in late summer. Shallow ponds and marshes swing much more, warming fast on sunny days.
📍 Here: typically 62 °F; 44 °F to 77 °F so far.
What it is: The amount of dissolved salt in the water, in PSU (practical salinity units) — about the same as grams of salt per kilogram of water.
Why it matters: Saltiness tells you where the water came from. Fresh water from rain, streams, rivers or groundwater lowers it; ocean water raises it. Many plants and animals can only live within a certain salt range.
📏 Drinking water ≈ 0. Brackish (mixed) water ≈ 5–18. Open Gulf of Maine ≈ 31–33. Sudden drops usually follow heavy rain.
📍 Here: typically 29.0 PSU; 15.8 PSU to 32.0 PSU so far.
What it is: Oxygen gas dissolved in the water — the oxygen that fish, crabs, clams and worms breathe through their gills or skin. Shown in mg/L (milligrams per litre), and sometimes as % saturation: 100% means the water holds as much oxygen as it naturally can at that temperature and saltiness.
Why it matters: Low oxygen stresses or kills marine life. It drops when water is warm, still, or full of decaying plant material, and it swings up and down every day because algae make oxygen in sunlight and everything uses it up at night.
📏 Above 5 mg/L: healthy. 2–5 mg/L: stressful for many species. Below 2 mg/L: hypoxic — most fish leave or die. Saturation above 100% means algae are photosynthesising hard.
📍 Here: typically 110%; 10% to 140% so far.
What it is: The "tea" in the water: dissolved bits of decaying leaves, marsh grass and soil that tint water yellow-brown. The sensor measures how much it glows under ultraviolet light, in ppb (parts per billion, quinine-sulfate equivalents).
Why it matters: CDOM mostly comes from land — rivers, marshes and runoff — so it is a handy tracer of fresh water reaching the bay. It also soaks up sunlight (including UV), shading seaweed and plankton below.
📏 Low single digits: clear ocean water. Tens: noticeable land or marsh influence. It usually rises when salinity drops.
📍 Here: typically 2.0 ppb; 1.0 ppb to 14.0 ppb so far.
All measurements on one shared timeline. Use the buttons to zoom to the last day, week or month, or drag across any panel. Click a name in the legend to hide or show it.
Each day's range (shaded) and average (line); bars are daily totals.
Averages, lows and highs for each month (newest first).
| Month | Days | Water temperature avg | low | high | Salinity avg | low | high | Oxygen saturation avg | low | high | CDOM (dissolved organic matter) avg | low | high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 23/30 | 16.9 °C | 9.5 °C | 24.8 °C | 23.3 PSU | 17.5 PSU | 25.5 PSU | 88 % | 10 % | 119 % | 2.1 ppb | 1.0 ppb | 12.0 ppb |
| Aug 2026 | 31/31 | 18.5 °C | 15.2 °C | 22.9 °C | 18.1 PSU | 15.8 PSU | 21.7 PSU | 106 % | 66 % | 140 % | 2.6 ppb | 1.0 ppb | 10.0 ppb |
| Jul 2026 | 31/31 | 17.2 °C | 13.0 °C | 21.8 °C | 27.4 PSU | 21.1 PSU | 30.8 PSU | 119 % | 83 % | 140 % | 4.5 ppb | 1.0 ppb | 14.0 ppb |
| Jun 2026 | 30/30 | 14.8 °C | 10.0 °C | 20.7 °C | 30.1 PSU | 26.7 PSU | 31.1 PSU | 120 % | 94 % | 140 % | 2.9 ppb | 1.0 ppb | 10.0 ppb |
| May 2026 | 25/31 | 10.6 °C | 6.6 °C | 14.4 °C | 30.4 PSU | 26.5 PSU | 32.0 PSU | 109 % | 96 % | 122 % | 1.7 ppb | 1.0 ppb | 4.0 ppb |
=IMPORTDATA("https://ekelting.github.io/UNE-Marine-Monitoring-Network/fathom-buoy/data/daily.csv")