As we followed up on Ms. Palmer’s astonishing findings, we accidentally discovered an important step to using our refractometers.  We discovered when using a water sample that was quite cold, taken on site and immediately put onto the refractometer, the scale will read higher than if the sample is at room temperature – the same temperature as when the instrument was calibrated.  This probably indicates that the salinity measurements taken in the field during early March are incorrect, WHICH IS GOOD NEWS!  It is more likely that the salinity readings in the marsh nearer the Watts Avenue end, or possibly even all the readings are not accurate.  We are going to bring our samples to room temperature to test in more controlled conditions from now on!