Mobile Bay Real-time Continuous Environmental Monitoring -- Middle Bay Lighthouse (2005-present)

Metadata:

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Publication_Date:
2011
Title:
Mobile Bay Real-time Continuous Environmental Monitoring -- Middle Bay Lighthouse
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place:
Dauphin Island, AL
Publisher:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Other_Citation_Details:
None
Online_Linkage:
https://arcos.disl.org/stations/disl_stations?stationnew=188
Description:
Abstract:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab has partnered has partnered with many agencies and orgaizations to provide real-time meteorological and hydrographic data from Middle Bay Lighthouse in Mobile Bay, AL. Near real-time data are available in a user-friendly format at https://arcos.disl.org/. Informative pop-ups describe each parameter and graphs of each may be displayed for the visitor to the website. Researchers may download the data in a spreadsheet format for further analysis.
Purpose:
The value of coastal observing systems is recognized by the U.S. Congress, the National Ocean Partnership Program, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. Recent reports by the Pew Oceans Commission and U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy have decried the lack of information from near coastal waters on which to base management decisions and recommended monitoring programs linked to strong research. Reasons for continuous, real-time observations of meteorological and hydrographic parameters include (1) continuous characterization of spatial and temporal patterns of change in water quality, (2) development of a permanent record of significant and human caused changes in environmental indicators over time, and (3) support for research activities through the availability of consistent, scientifically valid data. An additional benefit of real-time observation is the potential for the public to track and learn about water quality conditions. Many coastal dwellers are uninformed about conditions in nearby estuaries because they do not have access to current information about parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen levels and water level and they may fail to appreciate the complexity of interactions in estuarine ecosystems.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date:
200501
Ending_Date:
Present
Currentness_Reference:
publication date
Status:
Progress:
In work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:
As needed
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate:
-88.0117
East_Bounding_Coordinate:
-88.0117
North_Bounding_Coordinate:
30.4367
South_Bounding_Coordinate:
30.4367
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
None
Theme_Keyword:
monitoring
Theme_Keyword:
near real-time
Theme_Keyword:
wind speed
Theme_Keyword:
wind direction
Theme_Keyword:
relative humidity
Theme_Keyword:
air temperature
Theme_Keyword:
barometric pressure
Theme_Keyword:
quantum radiation
Theme_Keyword:
precipitation
Theme_Keyword:
water temperature
Theme_Keyword:
dissolved oxygen
Theme_Keyword:
water depth
Theme_Keyword:
salinity
Theme_Keyword:
meteorological
Theme_Keyword:
hyrdographic
Theme_Keyword:
water quality
Theme_Keyword:
estuarine
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
ISO Topic
Theme_Keyword:
climatologyMeteorology Atmosphere
Theme_Keyword:
004
Theme_Keyword:
environment
Theme_Keyword:
007
Theme_Keyword:
inlandWaters
Theme_Keyword:
012
Theme_Keyword:
oceans
Theme_Keyword:
014
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:
None
Place_Keyword:
Mobile Bay
Place_Keyword:
Alabama
Place_Keyword:
Middle Bay Lighthouse
Access_Constraints:
None
Use_Constraints:
The data herein, including but not limited to geographic data, tabular data, analytical data, electronic data structures or files, are provided as is without warranty of any kind, either expressed, implied, or statutory. This is to include, but is not limited to, the implied warranties or merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The user assumes the entire risk as to quality and performance of the data. No guarantee of accuracy is granted, nor is any responsibility for reliance thereon assumed. In no event shall the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or special damages of any kind. DISL does not accept liability for any damages or misrepresentation caused by inaccuracies in the data or as a result of changes to the data caused by system transfers, transformations, or conversions, nor is there responsibility assumed to maintain the data in any manner or form. These data have been developed from the best available sources. Efforts have been made to ensure that the data are accurate and reliable, however, errors and variable conditions originating from physical sources used to develop the data may be reflected in the data supplied. Users must be aware of these conditions and bear responsibility for the appropriate use of the information with respect to possible errors and other circumstances specific to these data. The user is responsible for understanding accuracy limitations of the data and determining fitness for its use. These data have been processed successfully on computer systems at the DISL, however, no guarantee, expressed or implied is made by DISL regarding the use of these data on any other system, nor does the act of distribution constitute or imply such a warranty. Distribution of these data is intended for information purposes only.
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Data_Quality_Information:
Logical_Consistency_Report:
We are conducting range checking on all parameters displayed on the website. From the Middle Bay Lighthouse Environmental Monitoring dataset, a user can obtain valid information about atmosphere and ocean data in the Mobile Bay area since 2010. About Middle Bay Light Data 5/23/05 - 7/26/06 Hydrographic Data: The original Middle Bay weather station was outfitted with a YSI water profiling winch. As with the current system, the profiler collected hydrographic data every hour at different depths in the water column with the YSI 6600 EDS. This original system differed from the current system in that it started and rested on the bottom, and it used the time the winch ran to determine the depth interval of each step. For example, in this application, the sonde would take a measurement for two minutes then turn the winch on for ten seconds, then start another measurement. This resulted in a widely variable step distance between each profile, and a variable number of steps in each profile depending on the water height. The current software takes a depth measurement from the sonde before the hydrographic measurement is taken, so the steps are much closer to .5 meters in the current setup. One disadvantage of the new setup is that the winch does not lower the sonde to the same starting position for the first measurement (its always 3.0 meters below the surface,) so we cannot show tidal fluctuations in the water height. A separate water height gauge was installed to address this issue. Meteorological Data: The Middle Bay Station took measurements from the meteorological sensors (precipitation, air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and photosynthetically active radiation) every 60 seconds. Wind speed and direction were averaged, and precipitation totaled into ten minute intervals. The maximum and minimum wind speed and the time of these measurements were also calculated in the ten minute arrays. All meteorological measurements were further averaged (or totalized in the case of precipitation) at the end of each hour. This is the same sampling regime used by the Meaher Park and Dauphin Island Stations. During the hydrographic profile however, which lasted from about two minutes past the hour to fifteen minutes past the hour, the station could not collect meteorological data. This resulted in a fifteen minute meteorological data gap at the beginning of every hour. Therefore, the averages represent approximately forty five minutes of data. About Middle Bay Light Data 10/30/06 - 03/28/12 Hydrographic Data: The Middle Bay Light House weather station was outfitted with an upgraded YSI water profiling winch. This system allows a YSI 6600 EDS data sonde to take hydrographic measurements at different depths in the water column automatically every hour. At the top of the hour, the profiler moves the sonde to 3 meters below the surface where it takes its first measurement. After about two minutes, the time required to complete a measurement, the profiler moves the sonde up .5 meters and begins taking a second measurement. The sampling continues with a reading every .5 meters until the sonde reaches a depth of .5 meters where the final measurement is taken. After the final reading, the sonde descends to 2.5 meters where it waits for the next hour's profile. One profile requires approximately fifteen minutes to complete, two minutes for each of six measurements plus time for the winch to move the probe. Meteorological Data: This station takes measurements from the meteorological sensors (precipitation, air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and photosynthetically active radiation) every 60 seconds. Wind speed and direction are averaged, and precipitation totaled into ten minute intervals. The maximum and minimum wind speed and the time of these measurements are also calculated in the ten minute arrays. All meteorological measurements are further averaged (or totalized in the case of precipitation) at the end of each hour. This is the same sampling regime used by the Meaher Park and Dauphin Island Stations. During the hydrographic profile however, which lasts from about two minutes past the hour to fifteen minutes past the hour, the station can not collect meteorological data. This results in a fifteen minute meteorological data gap at the beginning of every hour. Therefore, the averages represent approximately forty five minutes of data. About Middle Bay Light Data 03/29/12 - Present Hydrographic Data: The Middle Bay Light House weather station is outfitted with an upgraded YSI water profiling winch. This system allows a YSI 6600 Extended Deployment System (EDS) data sonde to take hydrographic measurements at different depths in the water column automatically every hour. At the top of the hour, the profiler moves the sonde to 3 meters below the surface where it takes its first measurement. After about two minutes, the time required to complete a measurement, the profiler moves the sonde up 0.5 meters and begins taking a second measurement. The sampling continues with a reading every 0.5 meters until the sonde reaches a depth of 0.5 meters below the surface where the final measurement is taken. After the final reading, the sonde descends to 2.5 meters where it waits for the next hour's profile. One profile requires approximately fifteen minutes to complete, two minutes for each of six measurements plus time for the winch to move the sonde. Meteorological Data: This station takes measurements from meteorological sensors (precipitation, air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, photosynthetically active radiation, solar radiation [added 3/29/12]) every 60 seconds. Wind speed and direction are averaged, and precipitation totaled into ten minute intervals. The maximum and minimum wind speed and the time of these measurements are also calculated in the ten minute arrays. All meteorological measurements are further averaged (or totalized in the case of precipitation) at the end of each hour. This is the same sampling regime used by the Meaher Park, Dauphin Island, Katrina Cut, Cedar Point, Bon Secour, and Perdido Pass Stations. In past systems, this meteorological data was interrupted by the hydrographic profile for the first 15 minutes of each hour. This is no longer the case. The hydrographic profile now operates on its own datalogger, and there is continuous meteorological data for the entire hour. Currents and Wave Data: On 11/30/12, an RDIntruments NEMO Waves processing Module and Workhorse Monitor 1200kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) were installed on the Bay floor 6m SE of the SE most lighthouse leg. This instrument acoustically measures significant wave height, wave period, wave direction, as well as a profile of current magnitude and direction. It also measures water depth using a pressure sensor. Waves are measured every 30 min using , and current magnitude and direction is measured every 10 min. For more information on this data, please see the "Mobile Bay Real-time Continuous Environmental Monitoring -- Middle Bay Lighthouse Waves and Currents" metadata record or go to www.mymobilebay.com
Completeness_Report:
We provide near real time environmental monitoring data on the website, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There have been interruptions in the transmission of data. Occasionally stations were damaged by hurricanes, communications were interrupted or sensors failed. For those time periods, data were not written to the data base. When a data string comes in and one or more parameters are missing, then the missing data is flagged -9. Data are available for the following periods: Meteorological data -- 7/28/2005 - 12/4/2005 12/9/2005 - 12/21/2005 1/3/2006 - present Hydrographic data -- 7/28/2005 - 12/4/2005 12/9/2005 - 12/21/2005 1/3/2006 - 2/25/2006 3/6/2006 - 7/26/2006 10/30/2006 - present
Lineage:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The range checking program was developed in house. Data that fail the range check are automatically flagged 2 (questionable/suspect), data that pass the range check are flagged 3 (good). The program consists of SQL stored procedures that check each piece of data using the following range criteria: Meteorological Data -- Air Temperature: Sample not greater than 50 degrees Celsius (C)Sample not less than -10 degrees Celsius (C), Relative Humidity: Sample not greater than 100 Sample not less than 0, Wind Direction: Sample not greater than 360 degrees, Wind Speed: Sample not greater than 30 meters per second (m/s)Sample not less than 0.5 meters per second (m/s) for 12 hours consecutively, Barometric Pressure: Sample not greater than 1060 millibars (mb)Sample not less than 900 millibars (mb), Quantum Radiation: Sample not greater than 2500 microEinsteins/m2/sec Sample not less than 0 microEinsteins/m2/sec, Precipitation: Sample not greater than 3mm / min Sample not less than 0 mm/min,Hydrographical Data -- Water Temperature: Sample not greater than 45 degrees Celsius (C) Sample not less than -5 degrees Celsius (C), Depth: Sample not greater than 6.0 meters Sample not less than -0.0 meters, Salinity: Sample not greater than 40 parts per thousand (ppt) Sample not less than 0 parts per thousand (ppt), Dissolved Oxygen Percent: Sample not greater than 200 percent saturation Sample not less than 0 percent saturation (%), Dissolved Oxygen mg/L: Sample not greater than 20 milligrams per Liter (mg/L) Sample not less than 0 milligrams per Liter (mg/L).
Process_Date:
Not complete
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person:
Brian Dzwonkowski
Contact_Organization:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Contact_Address:
Address_Type:
mailing and physical
Address:
101 Bienville Blvd.
City:
Dauphin Island
State_or_Province:
Al
Postal_Code:
36528
Country:
USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
251-861-2141
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
briandz@disl.org
Hours_of_Service:
8-5:00 CST
Contact_Instructions:
Please email for further information.
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Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
Mobile Bay Real-time Continuous Environmental Monitoring -- Middle Bay Lighthouse
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Data are single observations taken at 1 minute intervals unless otherwise specified. Dates are julian days and all times are Central Standard Time. Air Temperature (one minute): measured in celsius (C), Precipitation (one minute): precip total measured in inches (inches), Barometric Pressure (one minute): measured in inches of Hg (in inches of mercury), Relative Humidity (one minute): measured in percent, Quantum Radiation (one minute): measured in µE/m2/s (microEinsteins), Wind Direction (one minute): measured in degrees, Windspeed (one minute): measured in knots, Winddir10m (ten minute): average wind direction in degrees over 10 min period, Windspeed10m (ten minute): average wind speed in knots over 10 min period, Windspeedmax (ten minute): max wind speed measured in knots over 10 min period,Windspeedmaxtime (ten minute): time of max wind speed, Windspeedmin (ten minute): min wind speed measured in knots over 10 min period, Windspeedmintime (ten minute): time of min wind speed, Air Temperature 60 (sixty minute): hourly average temperature measured in celsius (C), Wind Direction 60 (sixty minute): hourly average measured in degree, Windspeed 60 (sixty minute): hourly average measured in knots, Quantum Radiation Average 60 (sixty minute): hourly average measured in µE/m2/s (microEinsteins), Quantum Radiation Total 60 (sixty minute): hourly total measured in µE/m2/s (microEinsteins), Precipitation 60 (sixty minute): hourly total measured in inches (inches), Barometric Pressure 60 (sixty minute): hourly average measured in inches of mercury (inches of Hg), Water Temperature: measured in degrees C, Salinity: measured in psu, Depth (m): measured in meters, Dissolved Oxygen Percent: measured in percent, Dissolved Oxygen mg/L: measured in mg/L.
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Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person:
Brian Dzwonkowski
Contact_Organization:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Contact_Address:
Address_Type:
mailing and physical
Address:
101 Bienville Blvd.
City:
Dauphin Island
State_or_Province:
Al
Postal_Code:
36528
Country:
USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
251-861-2141
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
briandz@disl.org
Hours_of_Service:
8-5:00 CST
Contact_Instructions:
Please email for further information.
Distribution_Liability:
The Dauphin Island Sea Lab makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. Dauphin Island Sea Lab cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
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Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date:
201105
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Contact_Position:
Data Management Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type:
mailing and physical
Address:
101 Bienville Blvd.
City:
Dauphin Island
State_or_Province:
Al
Postal_Code:
36528
Country:
USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
251-861-2141
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
metadata@disl.org
Hours_of_Service:
8-5:00 CST
Contact_Instructions:
Please email the metadata specialist for further information.
Metadata_Standard_Name:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version:
FGDC-STD-001-1998
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