Long-Term Autonomous Data Buoys For Monitoring the English Channel

摘要

For more than a century, biogeochemical parameters have been measured in the English Channel off Plymouth, England. This sampling has intensified over the past two decades, leading to the formation of the Western Channel Observatory, hosted at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). Boat sampling, conducted on a weekly basis, measures numerous parameters, spanning chemical, physical and biological components from zooplankton to bacteria. These parameters, combined with atmospheric, meteorological and gas exchange measurements, serve to enhance the complex ecosystem modeling and remote sensing work at PML. Due to the harsh and dynamic nature of this environment, boat sampling is unable to provide the temporal frequency required.