Great Lakes beach study will use NexSens data buoys

Nearshore buoy at Huntington, Bay Village, Ohio

U.S. Geological Survey researchers are trying to get a better sense of how hydrologic properties influence pathogens that can make beachgoers sick at Great Lakes beaches.

Aiding in the research is a real-time monitoring network that includes nearshore NexSens MB-300 buoys with SDL500 submersible data loggers and cellular telemetry packages. Absolute level transducers are suspended beneath the buoys to measure information on wave energy.

With a fast enough sampling rate, level transducers are capable of monitoring data about wave frequency and height. The sensor is mounted at a fixed location underwater and calculates the height of the water column above it. As a wave crest passes by, water column height increases; when troughs approach, it decreases. The resulting record of sea surface elevations can be used to calculate wave energy data.

The wave measurements will be combined with other real-time data, such as turbidity, as well as on-shore photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and precipitation. This data will be analyzed along with routine water quality sampling at a number of beach sites.

In 2009, as many as 10% of Great Lakes beachgoers complained of getting sick after swimming at open beaches. Not only does lake pollution make people sick, it also takes its toll on the regions multi-billion-dollar recreation and tourism industries.

The Great Lakes Ocean Research Priorities Plan, formed by a collaboration of USGS scientists from the Water Science Centers and Great Lakes Science Center, aims to refine the techniques and science used to asses recreational water quality in the interest of providing managers with better data with which to make beach closure decisions and protect the public from illness.