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In Situ Nutrient Monitoring in Estuaries
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Project Title: Assessment and Monitoring of Estuarine Habitat Diversity: Developing the Tools to Protect and Restore Estuarine Habitats.
Research Locations: North Carolina, NC - Jacques Cousteau, NJ - Rookery Bay, FL
Last Update: 11-15-03
Assessing habitat change requires a detailed understanding of habitat type and quality, especially of highly variable parameters such as temperature and dissolved oxygen. This project is developing cost-effective instrumentation and methodology to accurately and rapidly map bottom and water column habitat conditions over large spatial scales. The project will develop a computer module to accept inputs from sonar, water quality sensors and global positioning instrumentation (GPS). The project will also develop software to integrate the geographically referenced data and create continuous contour maps of bottom and water column habitat features.
Design Concept
Project researchers collaborated with Marisys,Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla.,
to design and construct a "survey controller," housed in a rugged, waterproof
box, that integrates the inputs from a GPS, a YSI 6600 datalogger and
depth sensor, all of which are towed adjacent to a marine vessel.The controller
has additional ports that be used to receive other information such as
multibeam sonar data.
Field Results
- In experiments run during the summer of 2001, the system proved simple to
operate and very rugged. Researchers were able to create georeferenced
maps for large areas (such as Masonboro Island, NC as shown in the adjacent
map) ranging from 0.5 to 1.4 sq. km). The maps include data on habitat
parameters that exhibit high short-term variability, including:salinity,
temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity.
- True to the goal of the project,the assessments were conducted rapidly and with less cost in human resources than is usually associated with mapping projects of this magnitude.
Integrating Bottom Characteristics and Biotic Diversity
While work at the North Carolina reserve concentrates on highly variable
parameters, researchers at the Jacques Cousteau NERR in New Jersey are
developing new techniques to rapidly assess less variable parameters,
such as sediment and bottom characteristics.Specifically, investigators
are fine-tuning methods for using multibeam sonar to map shallow habitats
and video systems for groundtruthing purposes. Eventually, multibeam and
video inputs will then be integrated into the survey controller box to
offer a suite of inputs for rapid assessment of estuarine habitats. These
maps can then be compared with measures of biotic diversity.
Three Survey Controller Units Available to NERRS System
Marisys, Inc. is currently addressing hardware and software issues
associated with the prototype survey controller. By summer, 2002,
three units will be built and made available to the NERRS system
for habitat mapping activities.
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Project Coordinator
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S.Ross North Carolina NERR (910)395-3905 rosss@uncwil.edu |
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Start -End Date:
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09/01/1999 -09/01/2001
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NERR Reserve(s):
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North Carolina,NC - Jacques Cousteau,NJ - Rookery Bay,FL
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| For more information: |
Dolores Jalbert Leonard Phone: (603) 862-3685 Email: dolores.leonard@unh.edu |