Autonomous Underway WQ sampling – EPA Victoria

The 2 Bays January 2011 cruise will continuously map the water quality of Port Phillip Bay, Western Port and Bass Strait using the Pelican as a “Ship of Opportunity” to create a spatial snapshot of summer conditions for 2011. This year the automated instrumentation provided by EPA Victoria, (that measures water quality - temperature, salinity, fluorescence and turbidity) will be coupled with the Pelican’s “brain” or onboard computer to generate up to the minute data streamed to various locations on the vessel. This development will allow Pelican’s shipborne GPS (positional) and echo sounder (bathymetry) data from the bridge to be melded with water quality data streams from the scientific instrumentation. The “brain” will automatically process and present data to onboard users to assist in companion studies.

Expected outcomes will include:
Identification of coastal discharges and their footprints (STPs, rivers, tidal exchanges)

Relative spatial water quality gradients in Port Phillip Bay, Western Port and Bass Strait and their connectivity, relating to the freshened conditions of 2010.

Spatial snapshot of water quality for comparison to earlier cruises tracking changes in climate and catchment discharge that were associated with the prolonged drought.

Scientific information to support real-time decision making for other science programs operating during the cruise

An opportunity for scientists and stakeholders to transfer knowledge on the two bays