Environment DEC
From the June 2010 issue
Clearwater Partnership Gives "Mobile" Dimension to Hudson River Monitoring
A new partnership with sloop Clearwater will provide more real-time water quality data to monitor the Hudson River. The famous boat is now equipped with monitoring equipment to broadcast river data round-the-clock, focusing on water temperature, salinity, turbidity and other measurements.
Clearwater's participation is the latest component of the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS)-a network of eight stations being installed in the Hudson River estuary from Schodack Island to the New York/New Jersey harbor. HRECOS stations send continuous updates to their website (see Related Links below) for the purposes of environmental forecasting and assessment. The partnership with Clearwater adds a mobile dimension to the monitoring network.
Dramatic Improvement
The Clearwater will track water quality along the Hudson from Albany to New York Harbor
"Installing a station on Clearwater dramatically expands the reach of HRECOS and will help scientists and river enthusiasts learn new information about this historic resource," DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said. "The mobile station will give researchers the ability to access areas of the river not reachable from our permanent stations, enhancing our understanding of the Hudson's ecosystem."
HRECOS is operated by a consortium of partners from government and the research community, including DEC, the National Estuarine Research Reserve, Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Hudson River Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Cary Institute. HRECOS staff are sponsored by DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program; additional funding is provided by DEC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration, and the Hudson River Foundation.
Wealth of Information
Since the six first stations were installed in 2008, the data collected have helped scientists, environmental monitors and recreational users of the river. Kayakers can access forecasts for wind and water-level conditions, and anglers can monitor salinity and temperatures. Cities and towns on the river's shore can access flood forecasts and warnings when dangerous storms approach.
Last fall, network data was used to provide more information on the role tidal cycles and rain events play in migration of American eels. This past March, the network provided extensive information about storm surges being experienced throughout the river. HRECOS also provides opportunities to integrate information being collected into educational planning.
The HRECOS station on the Clearwater, the network's seventh, will track conditions from Albany to the New York harbor. Instruments purchased by the Hudson River Foundation and installed by the Stevens Institute will continuously transmit the location of the Clearwater, as well as measurements of the Hudson's water quality, including dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity and water temperature. The eighth HRECOS station will be installed at Marist College in Poughkeepsie later this year. See Related Links below for more information about Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
Related Links
Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (leaving DEC's site)
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (leaving DEC's site)
