Recipient Organization
STATE UNIV OF NEW YORK
(N/A)
SYRACUSE,NY 13210
Performing Department
Chemistry
Non Technical Summary
The Great Lakes Research Consortium, headquartered at SUNY-ESF, will install and maintain two buoys in the lower Great Lakes. The since 2010, the consortium in partnership with SUNY-ESF has deployed a TIDAS buoy at the 20 meter isopleth off the mouth of the Oswego River. This buoy provides full onwater meteorological information, as well as wave height, direction and temperature. The weather and wave information is routinely accessed by the Port of Oswego for the recreational and commercial boaters. In addition, the TIDAS buoy serves as a research platform for the deployment of optical sensors for harmful algal blooms currently being developed by SUNY-ESF. This information is of critical importance to Onondaga County, as the intakes for the Onondaga County Water Authority are located just downstream of the buoy location. A second TIDAS buoy will be deployed by our partners at Buffalo State College off of Dunkirk in eastern Lake Erie. The Dunkirk site was chosen because of its relationship to the water intakes for the City of Dunkirk's water authority and those providing water to the City of Buffalo. This buoy has similar instrumentation to the Oswego site (full meteorological measurements, waves, and water column temperature). It also serves a research platform for Buffalo State College efforts to delineate bottom water hypoxia in the eastern basin of Lake Erie. Weather, temperature and wave Information from both buoys are reported to the GLRC every half hour. Information is then transferred to GLOS approximately 10 minutes later.GLRC has also been actively involved with New York Sea Grant (NYSG) in distributing information from these buoys to their end users. At no additional cost to GLOS, we have deployed and maintained a weather station and monitoring buoy off of the Shackelton Biological Station in Oneida Lake.Information from this site is transferred to the GLRC and then forwarded to GLOS. New York Sea Grant is currently developing outreach and educational materials for the Oneida County educators (aka the Oneida Lake Education Initiative) based on this information. The GLRC, SUNY- ESF, SUNY- Oswego and NYSG also have entered in a collaborative venture to develop an outreach and education program in consultation with the H. Lee White Maritime Museum in the City of Oswego. As part of this effort, information from the Oswego buoy will be displayed in the museum. This museum hosts more than 250,000 visitors each year, many as part of Oswego Harborfest activities. The H. Lee White museum is also spearheading efforts to renovate the historic lighthouse located on the break wall for the port ofOswego. Discussions are already underway to install shore mounted sensors at that location that could provide information on the water quality of the harbor itself. GLRC has also worked with NYSG to provide an education exhibit highlighting GLOS's activities in Lake Ontario at the Great New York State Fair. In 2014, that exhibit was viewed by nearly 900,000 visitors.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
25%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
The observing network described below is part of a larger observing network that supports observations that address the four main focus areas for GLOS including Climate Adaptation, Ecosystem Heath, Maritime Operations, and Public Health and Water Security. It includes the deployment of the only US data bouy in Lake Ontario and well as a critical buoy in the eastern basin of Lake Erie. These buoys that provide continuous, real-time observations on wind, wave, temperature, and currents along with expanded water quality analysis for HABS and biological productivity. Data from these buoys also supports the currently modelling efforts by New York State to develop a coupled biological and physical model for biological productivity in the US nearshore areas of Lake Ontario. The lake Ontario buoy information is currently supporting modeling efforts in Sodus Bay Lake Ontario to develop predictive models for harmful algal blooms and to evaluate cost effective measures for their control and mitigation.These buoys also provide important wave height and period measurements that are used by sailors, emergency and maritime personnel regarding conditions on the eastern end of these two lakes. Buoy buoys are located near the intakes for of the water supplies for two major municipalities (Syracuse in Lake Ontario and Buffalo in Lake Erie) and as such, provide critical information for the ecosystem services. Information from both buoys provides important long term monitoring datasets that can support student research and education opportunities. Both buoys also serve as important research platforms to identify bottom water stratification and hypoxia in easternLake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Project Methods
A TIDAS 9000 series buoy will be deployed at the eastern end of Lake Ontario near the mouth of the Oswego River and in the eastern end of Lake Erie near Dunkirk. Both buoys will be deployed in appromimately 20 meters of water. The buoys will be equipped with the following instrumentation:• TIDAS 900 buoy -Buoy diameter- 3'8" (1.12m) equipped with an internal data logger and cellular modum.• PME thermistor string with T nodes at 2 meter intervals over a total length of 20m• YSI multiprobe for DO, pH and Temperature (if cost and time allow)• Internal Wave height, period and direction sensor• The meteorological instruments include:o Solar radiation - LICOR 200SA Pyranometero Wind speed, direction, and gust magnitudes~ RM Young 05106o Air temperature and relative humidity- RM Young 41382o Barometric pressure- RM Young 61302Vo Precipitation - RM Young 50203The buoys will be deployed as soon as ice and water conditions allow for their safe deployment (usually in May) via boat. Target depth is 20 m water. Data will be transmitted at 30 min intervals to the Great lakes Research Consortium and from there, displayed on the GLRC buoy data portal and transferred to GLOS DMAC.The website will be checked daily for reporting issues and periodically, the buoy will be physically inspected for maintenance issues. The buoys are retrieved in October, cleaned and stored for the winter.