The water quality buoy collects and transmits data on temperature and dissolved oxygen in Lake Auburn during the ice-free season. Every 10 minutes, temperature and dissolved oxygen sensors at depths ranging from 0.5-32 m (1.6-105 feet) report to a data logger that radios the information to a base station. You can see what is happening on Lake Auburn in close to real-time here.

The buoy is the product of a collaboration between Bates College, the Auburn Water District, the Lewiston Water Division, and the Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission. Buoy data are useful for interpreting the lake’s response to events in the lake and watershed. The buoy also is one of many in the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), an international grassroots network devoted to lake monitoring and collaborative, scientific studies using high frequency data from lakes.