Environment DEC
From the September 2004 issue
DEC and RPI Launch Innovative Hudson River Project
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin M. Crotty recently joined Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) researchers and the Rivers and Estuaries Center to launch the final pilot site of the Hudson River "Riverscope" Project. Riverscope is a real-time monitoring project on the Hudson that eventually will link monitoring sites along the river from Staten Island to Troy. The system will develop real-time data using robotic instrumentation to capture both short-term events on the river and monitor long-term change.
"As we foster the continued restoration of the Hudson River and meet the ambitious goals Governor Pataki has set for its resurgence, science and research will be important components to help shape the policies and programs to improve the health of this majestic waterway," Commissioner Crotty said. "The Riverscope Project will provide researchers and the public with a unique look at the river and allow us to collect invaluable information that will help shape the future of the Hudson."
Sites, Devices, Data and Funding
The monitoring node will be located in the Village of Halfmoon at Lock 2 on land that is owned by the New York State Canal Corporation. Another node will be located at Piermont Pier in Rockland County and will be run by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University.
Dr. Edward Shuster,
Associate Research
Professor at RPI,
demonstrates water
sampling equipment to
DEC Commissioner Crotty
Specifically, the monitoring device will be lowered via a computer-controlled programmable winch and will include instrumentation to measure conductivity, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and pH, as well as other data. This data will help researchers study the dynamics of water chemistry, sediment transport and mixing. Future plans for the Riverscope system include integration of the data onto the Internet, so that it can be viewed and downloaded by the public.
The project is being funded using a $500,000 grant to the Rivers and Estuaries Center from the Environmental Protection Agency, secured by Congressman James Walsh and supported by the newly formed Hudson River Congressional Caucus, headed by Congressman John Sweeney and Congresswomen Sue Kelly and Nita Lowey. RPI and LDEO are providing in-kind support for the project.
Rivers and Estuaries Center
Governor Pataki announced his intention to create a Rivers and Estuaries Center on the Hudson in his 2000 State of the State Address. Since that time, the strategic plan for it has been released, and Beacon was chosen as the main site for the center, with satellite facilities planned for the City of Troy in cooperation with RPI and in Rockland County in cooperation with LDEO. When completed, the center will be a world-class facility dedicated to the study of rivers and estuaries.
