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Here you will find data from a buoy that is monitoring environmental aspects of Puget Sound. This buoy was constructed and is operated through a team effort between Intellicheck - Mobilisa and the Applied Physics Laboratory and the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington. This is one of several operational buoys in Puget Sound, with plans to construct more through a project funded by the U.S. Navy. These buoys will monitor the health of Washington State's Puget Sound Waterways.

We feature here data from the first Networked Profiling Buoy (NPB) built from this project. The buoy is located at Point Wells, south of Edmonds, in the Main Basin of Puget Sound. The sensor package measures a depth profile of oceanographic variables every hour from the sea surface to the sea bed. UW scientists are analyzing the data for an increased understanding of several oceanographic and water quality issues, including hypoxia (low oxygen concentrations), algal blooms (indicated by chlorophyll), and climate effects (especially on temperature, salinity, and underwater sunlight penetration (PAR)). The buoy is adaptable to integrate other sensors, such as for studying ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms, and oil spills, as these technologies evolve.

The data from this buoy are available here.

You will soon be able to view and download the data from this and the other buoys via NANOOS, the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems, part of the US Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), a federal system administered by NOAA.

We make the data available to researchers who use computer models to simulate water circulation and properties. The buoy project is being planned in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Puget Sound Partnership. We are all working together to better understand the Puget Sound environment in order to best protect this jewel of the Pacific Northwest.

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