Applications, strengths, weaknesses, and calibration of buoy based sensors

Buoy Sensors Dissolved oxygen……….Metabolism, hypoxia, trophic status Turbidity………. Clarity, inputs, ecosystem health pH/ORP………. Acidification/acid rain, CO2 flux Temperature………. Many applications Conductivity………. Salinity, etc Chlorophyll………. Algae, productivity, trophic status, color Phycocyanin………. Harmful algal blooms CDOM………. Color, carbon cycling Weather (rain, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, air temperature, barometric pressure………. Local meteorology conditions light………. Ecosystem productivity, UV damage, energy balance …and many others…

Common Technologies Optical –DO –Chlorophyll –Phycocyanin –CDOM ISE –pH/ORP –Other ions

Some Issues (or Opportunities?) DO response time DO solubility function of barometric pressure Chl/Phyco – fluorescence issues CDOM – many… ISEs – calibration frequency and drift Other sensors – photosensitive LCs – potential for light dose sensors? Measuring transparency where theres no light

Diel fluctuations in DO are used to calculate aquatic ecosystem metabolism. ??? Should they always be used to make these inferences? Can we make a quantitative statement about when we can use them and when we cant?

Issues to Discuss Removing sensors/buoys at end of year? –Storage Buoy maintenance –signal fidelity/sensor reliability –Power maintenance Common research questions (building bridges) –Can we use buoys to ask questions that span lake gradients?