DURHAM, N.H. – Researchers on board a ship testing air quality off the coast of New England say they have been surprised by the tremendous amount of pollution coming from boats, both commercial and recreational.

The Ronald H. Brown research vessel is working a few miles off the coast this month to monitor air pollutants and how they travel through the region.

The ship belongs to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the project involves more than 20 institutions, including the University of New Hampshire Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space.

The program also used an airplane to sample air quality above New England and will involve seven ground-based air testing stations across New England and New York.

Robert Talbot, a professor at the UNH institute, said the program will help forecast air quality in the region and add to the knowledge of how pollutants move into the area from heavy industrial areas south and west of New England.

“We have been sitting in a stationary area measuring what is coming to us. With the ship, aircraft and additional ground instrumentation, we’ll be able to go upwind and tell what is in the air coming our way,” Talbot said.