Ecosystem Restoration
Ecosystem restoration brings back what nature first provided. Water quality monitoring projects range from wetlands, marshes, coast lines, fish and bird habitats, and riparian areas.
Goal: Restoring Coastal Wetlands
Organization: State Department of Natural Resources
Location: Louisiana Coast
Challenge: Need to establish a continuous water quality monitoring program across millions of acres of wetlands to observe effects of climate and habitat changes and assess effectiveness of restoration projects.
Solution: Hundreds of YSI sondes -- measuring level, temperature, and conductivity -- incorporated into existing or new monitoring platforms. Restricted access to the sites (weather and hunting season) means visits occur once per month. YSI instrument reliability reduces frequency of maintenance.
Dollars and $ense:
Total cost of ownership (equipment purchase plus maintenance) for YSI sondes is less expensive than the total cost of ownership for competitor sondes, which require more maintenance in harsh conditions.
Listen to the web presentation, "Cost-EffectiveContinuous Monitoring Tools for Improved Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration." Simple registration required.
Goal: Direct Wetland Rebuilding Efforts
Organization: State Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana State University
Location: Mississippi River Delta
Challenge: Government agencies and researchers need to characterize sediment movement and saline concentration in freshwater diversions in order to restore coastal wetlands.
Solution: Measure water quality and quantity across fluctuating wetlands and channels with instruments from YSI and SonTek/YSI. This data will help agencies to modify the diversions and control sediment.
Dollars and $ense:
Rugged YSI sondes withstood Hurricane Katrina; remained secured in place and logging data. And SonTek acoustic Doppler velocity technology allowed researchers to measure all the way down to zero in shallow conditions, capturing an critical range of data.
