Remote Fishpond Monitoring

Posted by Keli'i Kotubetey on March 11, 2015

To be more specific, Coastal Biogeochemical Monitoring and Remote Data Logging.

Say what? Yup. Thats what we said …. at first. But then it was explained further and in laymans terms: a way to monitor changes in the fishpond and surrounding environment using equipment that uses wireless technology to make the data instantly available. Alittle more easy to digest right. If you are still with me, read on.

Since 2007, researchers and students at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa have been working closely with Paepae o He`eia staff to better understand the physics, chemistry, and biology of the Fishpond. Collecting water samples and making biogeochemical measurements in the lab are an essential part of performing coastal research, but exciting new developments in ocean sensing technology are enabling researchers to make more frequent measurements at multiple locations.

Meteorologists have long enjoyed access to technology that allows for collecting continuous unattended measurements, and recent advancements and decreased costs in electronics are allowing oceanographers to develop cutting-edge sensor ‘nodes’ for marine environments, as well. A pilot project has begun in 2015 to install such sensor nodes at He`eia Fishpond, and the first sets of dissolved oxygen and temperature data are becoming available online. For more information on the project, or to surf the data streams and watch the pond “breathing”, check this link:

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/oceanography/glazer/Brian_T._Glazer/research/DataLoggers/Plots.html

Mahalo to Brian Glazer of UH-Manoaʻs Department of Oceanography for hooking us up with this cool technology, making it publicly available, and stirring our interest in real-time fishpond monitoring to help us understand whats happening at the pond 24-7.

For more information contact us and weʻd be happy to share what we know or get you in touch with Dr. Glazer.