Lake monitoring buoys
LERNZ researcher Chris McBride has developed a network of 19 solar-powered water quality monitoring buoys around New Zealand. Managed by Limnotrack, client stakeholders include Fish and Game, District and Regional Councils, energy companies and private trusts and landowners. The buoys measure water temperature, chlorophyll and phycocyanin (cyanobacteria) fluorescence, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and meteorological variables. Data are transmitted to a database and web interface every 15 minutes.
In addition to the standard fixed sensor buoys, newly developed vertical profiling buoys use an electric winch and armoured data cable raise and lower a water quality sensor package throughout the water column many times per day. This provides greater resolution of vertical bottom oxygen depletion and distribution of algae. Real-time data from the Te Arawa lakes monitoring buoys can be view on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Environmental Data Portal.
Schematic of vertical profiler buoy deployment

