The overarching theme of the Center ’s Aquatic application area is the creation and application of a new genre of wireless sensing systems that will provide real-time monitoring capabilities of chemical, physical and biological parameters in freshwater and coastal ecosystems. Temporal and spatial measurements at high-resolution are essential to developing an understanding of the dynamic nature of aquatic ecosystems and the rapid response of microbial communities to environmental driving forces. Our unique approach to aquatic sensing and sampling, Networked Aquatic Microbial Observing Systems (NAMOS), uses coordinated measurements between stationary sensing nodes and robotic vehicles (surface robotic boats and more recently autonomous underwater vehicles) to provide in-situ, real-time presence for observing plankton dynamics (e.g. chlorophyll concentration, dissolved oxygen) and linking them to pertinent environmental variables (e.g. temperature, light, nutrients, etc.). Sensing and sampling capabilities of the autonomous vehicles are carried out through the development of adaptive protocols, directed through the network. These systems enable the generation and testing of novel hypotheses regarding the processes that control the distribution, growth and demise of aquatic microbial populations.

2008 - 2009

Aquatic Microbial Observing Systems (AQU) Summary

Aquatic Microbial Observing Systems (AQU) Research Projects:

• AQU 01 - Aquatic Microbial Observing Systems

Full AQU report including all projects