The PI requests MRI RAPID funding to acquire an YSI, Inc. Portable Seakeeper, which is a fully contained and automated underway sampling system. The YSI Portable Seakeeper has an integrated differential GPS for geo-referenced water sampling and the following sensor capabilities: Turner Designs C3 with crude oil sensor; optical dissolved oxygen; temperature; conductivity; turbidity; chlorophyll fluorescence; pH; and blue-green algae. The proposed instrument will provide an opportunity to: measure the spatial and temporal distributions of near-surface hydrocarbon solute and associated water quality indicators in the estuary; characterize the modulation of spatio-temporal distributions of near-surface hydrocarbon solute by local and remote forcing; estimate the residence times of hydrocarbon solute in the estuary relative to local and remote forcing; and formulate the constitutive relationships between near-surface hydrocarbons and water chemistry. A total of 36 surveys will be conducted, yielding a total of 144 transects. These surveys will be augmented by complimentary projects in the estuary that will describe the role of the ship channel on stratification and transport of submerged hydrocarbons and evaluate biological responses by sentinel benthic and pelagic species to the oil spill.
Broader Impacts
The requested instrument is to be used primarily in the field, but it will also be used in the University Of South Alabama Department Of Civil Engineering's environmental water chemistry laboratory to expose undergraduate and graduate students to state-of-the-art instrumentation, data collection, and data analysis in the context of answering specific scientific questions. Both undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom come from underrepresented populations, will have an opportunity to apply the scientific method to a unique and dynamic problem of local significance, thereby deepening their experience in the STEM curricula. In addition, knowledge created by the proposed research will enhance the curriculum development and enrichment of elementary, middle, and high school students in Mobile County through the Mobile Area Education Foundation (MAEF).
The primary objective of this project was to acquire a comprehensive, near-surface water sampling system to measure GPS-referenced water quality indicators and contaminants in the Mobile Bay (Alabama) estuary and connected waters. The instrument, called a Portable SeaKeeper, provides an opportunity to rapidly characterize near-surface water chemistry and hydrocarbons over large spatial areas. The Portable SeaKeeper continuously collects and analyzes water chemistry using an array of sensors by way of a forced intake and pump system. The system, operated continuously, can even be used while the vessel is underway at speeds greater than 20 m/s (40 knots). This system represents a significant technological improvement in the ability to perform water quality assessments of entire bay, estuary, river, and lake systems in a relatively short amount of time. The Portable SeaKeeper system was integrated into an existing hydrographic research platform that uses a three-person personal watercraft (PWC). The use of a PWC for performing hydrographic surveys provides an opportunity to collect measurements in remote and shallow areas typically inaccessible by traditional research vessels. The PWC has a complementary suite of instrumentation that enhances the capabilities of the Portable SeaKeeper system, such as an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), a portable conductivity-temperature profiling probe, and a meteorological station. Such capabilities have allowed for unprecedented measurements of estuarine processes in Mobile Bay, a system of great economic and ecologic significance, and yet a system that is not very well understood in terms of its physical characteristics and behavior. In particular, the Portable SeaKeeper system has yielded fascinating information about the spatial variability of near-surface water chemistry even over relatively small study areas. Such findings contradict the typical assumption of homogeneity, which is often thought to hold true over small areas. As an integral component of the PWC research platform, the Portable SeaKeeper is playing an important role in education and outreach in Southwest Alabama. The PWC is a main attraction for the more than 700 K – 12 students that visit the University of South Alabama’s College of Engineering each year. The PWC and Portable SeaKeeper system are also actively being used to teach undergraduate and graduate courses, and is providing an opportunity to infuse the civil, environmental, and coastal engineering curriculum with cutting-edge research techniques and results. Through the Portable SeaKeeper, students are gaining new insight on the intricacy of water chemistry, as well as the interdependence between some water quality parameters. Additionally, the collection of large spatial data sets is providing an opportunity for students to learn, use, and apply Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis tools in their and education and research, which will also benefit them in their professional careers.
