What are they?

There are nine buoys in the coastal waters of New Jersey that contain water quality sensors. The three buoys in Cumberland County are updated bi-monthly; the remaining buoys are automatically updated (when operational). The automated buoys have a solar power source and telemetry for transmitting the data to a base station operated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

What do they measure?

Each buoy is equipped with sensors to measure water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and chlorophyll a.  Temperature and salinity are very basic measurements that determine what types of marine animals and plants could thrive in the location.  Dissolved oxygen and pH provide information how favorable the waters could be for the plants and animals that are present.  Turbidity tells us how far light can penetrate into the water for plants to use.  Chlorophyll a is a measure of the amount of plant material suspended in the water.  Typically this suspended plant material is microscopic plants called phytoplankton.

Where are they?