Data on the Fly
New interface provides real-time water quality mapping and visualization

Challenge
The quality of coastal waters changes quickly over space and time. To protect human health, coastal managers must monitor these changes, whether they evolve from natural processes or the pollution that accompanies increasing development. Red tide caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs), for example, costs the U.S. an average of $50 million annually. Coastal managers need tools to quickly detect HABs if they are to issue warnings for beaches and shellfish beds in a way that balances safe use with economic wellbeing. Such technology exists, but often by the time managers return to their labs to analyze data, the boundaries of the red tide have shifted, and managers must make decisions based on old information.

Response
A CICEET-sponsored researcher is developing a portable interface to allow users of the DATAFLOW water monitoring system to view data and map water quality on the fly. With DATAFLOW mounted on their boats, managers can take readings of water quality parameters such as chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, and turbidity every 4 seconds at speeds of up to 25 knots. However, while the system allows thousands of samples to be taken over a wide area, users have had to wait to return to to the lab to download and analyze the data.

With DATAVIEW, users can read results in real-time, allowing them to quantify areas of uncertainty, improve sampling techniques, and adapt management strategies on the spot. Merged with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps, DATAVIEW becomes more powerful. It can act as a navigation system, guiding field crews through prior cruise tracks and displaying previous data points for comparison. Or, it can signal the crew to stay within an area that exhibits water quality criteria specific to a potential problem like a harmful algal bloom. DATAVIEW also identifies areas with conditions conducive to habitat restoration.

Impact
DATAVIEW has been field-tested in the Severn River estuary Annapolis, Maryland, where researchers used it to identify areas with optimal characateristics for sea grass restoration. When they compared these results to established sea grass habitats, the water quality parameters matched, indicating the system has promise as a tool to identify conditions favorable restoration.

DATAVIEW is in use at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which monitors the Chesapeake Bay. In the future, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science plans to use it to monitor the Virginia portion of the Bay. Researchers also expect DATAVIEW to be useful in academic or research environments. You can access data collected using DATAVIEW online:

http://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/sim/dataflow_data.html

Learn More
Mr. Mark Trice
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment

T: 410.260.8630
E: MTrice@dnr.state.md.us

580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

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