The Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) is a research unit of the University of California (UC)located on the Sonoma coast 70 miles north of San Francisco. Since 1966 the Laboratory has provided unique opportunities for field research on a rich flora and fauna in close proximity to the Laboratory buildings. BML has well-equipped laboratories, strong on- site support staff and a firm commitment from the Davis campus to continue developing the facilities and support needed by the growing number of resident and visiting researchers. The Laboratory is located on the Bodega Marine Reserve (BMR), a 362-acre protected field site with a diverse set of marine and terrestrial coastal habitats. Adjacent subtidal areas are protected and available for study within the Bodega Marine Life Refuge. Oceanographic and meteorological data are essential components of many of the field studies conducted at the site. Environmental monitoring systems at BML have incurred problems in recent years, and now require replacement and upgrades to improve reliability, flexibility and accessibility to researchers. The oceanographic pressure sensor, operating in the severely adverse conditions of a shallow water, high energy nearshore environment, has been inoperable since winter storms two years ago. This project will significantly improve the monitoring system to provide automated, quality-controlled, oceanographic and meterological data and a processing and management system providing improved access to researchers. System will provide researchers with measurements of wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, rainfall, total solar radiation, photosynthetically active radiation, surface seawater temperature, and seawater salinity, all in real time. With data logger technology, tidal heights, directional waves, directional currents, bottom temperature, and bottom salinity will be monitored nearshore where such measurements are important to intert idal and shallow subtidal investigations. In deeper water, an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler will monitor the ocean currents responsible for transport of sediments, plankton, and larvae. Re- engineered data acquisition and management systems will increase the number of variables surveyed, improve the quality and reliability of data collected, and provide researchers with greater access to on-line and archived data via modem, local area network, and the Internet/World Wide Web.
