North Dogger SmartBuoy
These deployments form part of the Marine Ecosystem Connections: essential indicators of healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas project funded by the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) - Defra Project Code ME3205.
The primary aims of the Ecosystems Connections project are:-
- To improve our understanding of the flow of Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Silicon between ecosystem compartments in UK shelf and coastal waters.
- To predict the impacts of environmental variability on ecosystem connectivity and the productivity of shelf waters.
A SmartBuoy with mid-tether frame has been deployed at a site to the North of the Dogger Bank in approximately 80 metres of water for the high frequency monitoring in near-surface waters.
On the SmartBuoy, surface measurements of plant nutrient concentrations are derived from two instruments. The NAS-3X in-situ nutrient analyser takes hourly measurements of nitrate concentration, while lower frequency (daily) measurements of nitrate and silicate concentration are derived from laboratory analysis of water samples collected and preserved by the WMS-2 water sampler. An estimate of phytoplankton concentration (biomass) is obtained twice per hour using a fluorometer measuring chlorophyll fluorescence. To aid interpretation of these data, SmartBuoy also takes measurements of conductivity, temperature, suspended sediment concentration, light penetration with the ESM2 logger. Data are telemetered every two hours using ORBCOMM satellite telemetry.
The mid-tether frame is deployed on the SmartBuoy mooring about 25 meters below the surface to coincide with the typical depth of the thermocline as the seawater in this region stratifies in Summer/Autumn. An ESM2 logger measures chlorophyll fluorescence, conductivity, temperature, suspended sediment concentration, light penetration and dissolved oxygen twice hourly.
