Transcript Salinity poster landscape - Division of Nearshore Research

NUECES BAY SALINITY MONITORING PROJECT
Principle Investigator: John S. Adams, Division of Nearshore Research
Conrad Blucher Institute for Surveying and Science, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
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History
The health of the Nueces
Estuary greatly depends
Nueces Bay
on freshwater inflows
into the Nueces Bay.
The construction of Lake
Corpus Christi in 1958 and the Choke
Canyon Reservoir in 1987 reduced the
amount of fresh water entering Nueces
Bay by 99%, as determined by the Bureau
of Reclamation. In 1992, an order was
issued by the Texas Water Commission
requiring water releases from the Lake
Corpus Christi Reservoir, with a volume
representative of that historically entering
the bay. The order required continuous
monitoring of salinity levels within
the Nueces Bay system.
Gulf
of
Mexico
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Whites Point
Overview
The Division of Nearshore
Research began the Nueces
Bay
Salinity
Monitoring
Project in 1991, under the
sponsorship of the City of
Corpus Christi. Monitoring
stations
are
deployed
throughout the Nueces Bay,
River
and
Delta
to
continuously measure salinity,
along with temperature, pH
and dissolved oxygen.
The DNR website displays Quality Control Graphs in near-real time
Data Management
 Data from the Salinity stations are
collected at thirty minute intervals by
the DNR network
 Data acquisition, archiving and
distribution take place autonomously
 Daily data inspections result in
timely station repairs and excellent
data quality
 The DNR system makes use of
line-of-site radio and satellite IP
technology to provide data to endusers in near-real time (less than five
minute delay)
 All DNR data are easily
accessible through the DNR website
http://lighthouse.tamucc.edu/Salinity
Salinity: A major factor affecting the
DNR Data Query Page
Decreased salinity concentrations following heavy rains in the Nueces Estuary
are graphed using DNRs Data Query page
physical makeup of an estuary.
Prolonged hypersaline conditions are
harmful to the overall health and
diversity of an estuary.
pH:
Acidic and alkaline waters
adversely affect many biological
processes.
Acidic conditions cause
sediments to release toxicants into the
water.
Dissolved Oxygen: Extended periods
of
depressed
dissolved
oxygen
concentrations (<2mg/L) can lead to a
“dead” estuary. Most desirable fish
species suffer if concentrations fall
below 3-4mg/L.
Depth: Measured relative to station.
The above parameters are measured using a Hydrolab ™ H2O Multiparameter Water Quality Sensor