Chesapeake Bay News

A new NOAA “smart buoy” deployed near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel will help boaters and fishermen in the Chesapeake to check conditions at the mouth of the Bay.

The highly sophisticated buoy is the newest addition to NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), a network of buoys that transmit multi-use oceanographic and meteorological data from the bay to weather forecasters, maritime safety personnel, coastal decision makers, and recreational boaters and fishermen.

Managed by NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office, CBIBS buoys collect weather, oceanographic and water-quality observations and transmit this data wirelessly in near-real time. These measurements and related educational resources can be accessed at http://buoybay.noaa.gov (http://www.buoybay.noaa.gov/m for mobile devices) and by toll-free phone at 877-BUOY-BAY (877-286-9229).

This information is also available via free Android and iPhone applications. CBIBS uses new technology to make information available for a broad range of research, commercial, and recreational purposes, including assessing the progress of bay restoration.

In addition to weather and water data, users can also use the website and toll free number to learn more about the voyages of Captain John Smith and their encounters with indigenous peoples 400 years ago. Each buoy in the system serves as an educational reference point along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, which in addition to education also serves as a mechanism for recreation, and tourism in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The other nine buoys in the network are located at the mouths of the Susquehanna, Patapsco, Severn, Potomac, and Rappahannock Rivers; in the main stem of the bay near Calvert County, Md.; in the Potomac River near Alexandria, Va.; in the James River near Jamestown; and in the Elizabeth River off Norfolk.

source: NOAA

In May, 2010, The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office deployed a “smart buoy” in the Potomac River, just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The buoy is the newest in NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), a network that provides scientists, boaters, and educators with real-time data about the Bay.

CBIBS buoys collect weather, oceanographic and water-quality observations and transmit this data wirelessly in near-real time. These measurements, along with historical information, can be accessed at www.buoybay.org (www.buoybay.org/m for mobile devices) and by phone at 877-BUOY-BAY (877-286-9229). CBIBS uses new technology to make information available for a broad range of measurements, including bay restoration progress. Online educational resources are also available.

Buoys in the system also mark points along the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, which highlights the natural history of the Bay.  The trail also provides opportunities for recreation, education, and tourism in the Chesapeake Bay region, and encourages stewardship of the bay.

“We are pleased that NOAA and the National Park Service continue to expand their innovative approach to combining scientific research support for the Chesapeake Bay with interpretive services for the public,” said John Maounis, superintendent of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. “With this eighth smart buoy on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, boaters and paddlers through this treasured landscape can learn more about Captain Smith’s visit here to the upper Potomac.”

This is the eighth buoy in the CBIBS system. Buoys deployed earlier are located at the mouths of the Susquehanna, Patapsco, Severn, Potomac, and Rappahannock Rivers, in the James River near Jamestown, and the Elizabeth River off Norfolk.