Long Term Monitoring

Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) is continuously conducting long-term environmental monitoring to better understand natural processes and human impacts within estuaries. Twenty-six sites in the nationwide system collectively provide exceptional opportunities to address research questions and estuarine issues of national significance. Water quality monitoring has increasingly become an important part of the Reserve system's role in increasing our understanding of estuarine health.

By monitoring water quality, researchers can track short-term variability and long-term changes in the status of estuarine waters. Nationally standardized methods of data collection ensures continuity and accuracy. Water quality monitoring efforts have recently been expanded to include Florida's Aquatic Preserve sites as well.


Specialized Data Loggers

The System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) provides longterm environmental monitoring through specialized data loggers that collect information on water quality. Seven loggers are deployed at select locations within the Rookery Bay estuary. Dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, pH and turbidity are recorded every 30 minutes. The data is downloaded to computers at the Reserve where it is reviewed for quality control, analyzed, and reported seasonally. The data is transmitted electronically to the Centralized Data Management Office for archival storage and dissemination over the internet. The public is welcome to view or download this information at http://cdmo.baruch.sc.edu

Regional Application:

Long term data collection allows for tracking of environmental changes in estuarine ecosystems. Results are linked to watershed land use changes to provide essential information for regulatory staff, landowners, resource managers, planners and local governments. Locally, data has been used to improve water management policies and to guide restoration plans. The data has also been used to investigate fish kills in rivers with monitoring stations and assess effects of catastrophic storm events.