THRUST 1 | ASSESSMENT
Data from the Bay Observatory will be housed in the Rhode Island Data Discovery Center (RIDDC) an online repository for historical and real-time scientific information. The RIDDC will be a go-to source for Rhode Island scientists to find reliable data about Narragansett Bay ecosystems from which models and research conclusions can be made.
Benthic Lander
Illustrations by José R. Menéndez, 2018
Through the Rhode Island Consortium of
Water Sample
Coastal Ecology Assessment, Innovation and Modeling (RI C-AIM), the integrated Bay
Sensors
Observatory is being developed to measure various chemicals and biological organisms, the presence of which can impact plant and animal species, both in good and bad ways. Utilizing myriad sensors and water-sampling technology, the Bay Observatory will will send data for scientific use to the Rhode Island Data Discovery
A Benthic Lander is a mobile instrument which evaluates
Center, a website which will house information
chemicals passing between the bay’s sediment and the
incoming from the sensors on the bay, as well as
water above. It can detect chemicals such as oxygen and
a vast array of historical data from previous
sulfides, as well as collect upto 24 water samples at timed
collection programs.
intervals, providing key data on the flow of chemicals within Narragansett Bay’s ecosystems.
The new buoys will also have a unique feature: each sensor will be programmed to communicate data
Vincent, RI C-AIM researcher and associate professor
about collected chemicals among each unit, creating
of Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode
a real-time response network for scientists. If one
Island. “It will provide an opportunity to gather
buoy is measuring too much nitrate in the water
new kinds of scientific information.”
column, for example, a nearby biological sensor will turn on to measure if a spike in potentially harmful
That vital information, collected and analyzed through
phytoplankton populations is also occurring.
the Bay Observatory, will be used to help predict the effects of sea-level rise and other climate issues, as
8
“This is going to be a totally new type of data that
well as study human impact on coastal ecosystems.
hasn’t been gathered before,” says Dr. Harold ‘Bud’
Its success will be a standout piece for RI C-AIM.
THE CURRENT | SUMMER 2018