Estuarine Monitoring - Old Woman Creek NERRProject Overview
Old Woman Creek State Nature Preserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of the few remaining relatively natural freshwater estuaries in the Great Lakes region. On the south-central shore of Lake Erie, Old Woman Creek and the lake water mix to form a unique ecosystem.
The 571-acre preserve provides critical habitat for native species and migrating birds and offers an essential opportunity to research ecological benefits provided by these fragile estuarine systems.
To assist in the understanding and preservation of the estuary, an automated water monitoring system was installed at Old Woman Creek Nature Preserve. The system is part of a long-term data set collected at National Estuarine Research Reserves around the country. Visit www.oldwomancreek.org for additional information.
System Description
Two water quality monitoring stations were deployed: one where Old Woman Creek enters the preserve and another near the mouth of the estuary. At both water quality stations, YSI 6600 multi-parameter sondes simultaneously measure; temperature, conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, level, and turbidity.
At a bridge site along the estuary, a SonTek Argonaut-SL side looking current meter was installed to measure bi-directional water flow, or estuarine circulation. This occurs when fresh or brackish water flows out near the surface, while denser marine water flows inward near the bottom. The Argonaut-SL is designed for side mounting applications and uses acoustic Doppler technology to measure water velocity in a horizontal layer. The internal microprocessor automatically calculates and outputs water flow.
At all three sites within the estuary, water quality and hydrology data is collected with NexSens 4100-iSIC data loggers, which then transmit the information via license free, spread spectrum radios to a base station located at the Old Woman Creek visitor center. From the base station computer, iChart software uploads data to an online datacenter at WQData.com. This data is used in environmental education and in restoration and resource management decisions. | NexSens 1001 | iChart software | NexSens WQData-6 | Annual data hosting package for up to 6 field sites, additional site expansion available | NexSens 4100-BASE | Spread spectrum radio base station | NexSens A41 | Omni antenna, radio frequency, 890-970 MHz | NexSens A31 | RF cable, low-loss, 10' | NexSens 4100-iSIC | iSIC data logger with spread spectrum radio telemetry | NexSens A55 | Pole/wall mounting kit | NexSens A38 | Ground kit | NexSens A22 | Solar power kit, 20-watt | NexSens A46 | Yagi antenna, radio frequency, 866-960 MHz | NexSens A31 | RF cable, low-loss, 10' | YSI 6600-04 | YSI 6600 V2-2 Sonde with temperature/conductivity & shallow vented level sensor | YSI 6561 | pH sensor | YSI 6562 | Dissolved oxygen sensor, polarographic, rapid-pulse | YSI 6136 | Turbidity sensor with self-cleaning wiper | YSI 6192 | Vented field cable, 50 ft. | SonTek 1ASL-21501 | Argonaut-SL 1.5 MHz side-looking system |
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