Center for the Inland Bays (CIB, https://inlandbays.org) staff member Zach Garmoe and DGS staff member Scott Andres installed a continuous water quality monitoring station in early June on Herring Creek. The YSI-EXO2 instrument at the station will measure dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, salinity, turbidity, pH, and plant pigments chlorophyll A and phycoerythrin. This is the third such station installed in the Inland Bays as part of project WiCCED (links) to investigate the duration and frequency of eutrophication-driven hypoxia (low DO), and the relationships to phytoplankton, hydrology, and other biogeochemical factors. The other two stations from project WiCCED are located on the upper Indian River and Pepper Creek. Together with CIB stations on the upper Indian River, in Little Assawoman Bay, and in the Little Assawoman Canal the stations are fulfilling a CIB goal of establishing a robust, sustainable network of continuous water quality sensing platforms in the Inland Bays watershed. In turn, the data and scientific analysis will inform State of Delaware and CIB efforts to improve water quality and protect aquatic habitats.
If interested in getting more information on project WiCCED, check out the DGS project description (https://www.dgs.udel.edu/projects/water-changing-coastal-environment-de…) and project WiCCED (https://projectwicced.org/ ) web pages.