b'INSTANT DATALamp\'l adds that the RS5 is not only convenient toEarly in the project, the team put the EXO3 to the carry to a study location in its compact backpack test against its lab equipment, performing linear no small advantage on a roadless island that\'s onlyregressions to compare the in-situ chlorophyll a data accessible by ferryit\'s also convenient to use. against bench analysis equipment."A towable ADCP like the RS5 is easier than using a"We saw that the relationship is strongR 20.8so we handheld FlowTracker to measure discharge becausetrust the data from the sensor," Lamp\'l says. with a handheld FlowTracker, you need to physically get in the water and determine a stream cross-sectionA phycocyanin sensor on the same sonde helped the by measuring stream width, water depth, and velocityteam determine whether a bloom is benign algae or at equal subsections.potentially harmful cyanobacteria. The EXO3 sonde, "For our project, it would have been extremely difficultset to sample every minute during the testing period, to use a FlowTracker to accurately measure dischargealso measured conductivity/specific conductance, every 15 minutes for a full tidal cycle (from one lowdissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and temperature.tide to the next) in a saltmarsh tidal creek with soft, muddy substrate, oyster beds, tidal ranges, wrackThe combination of instruments and high-resolution and you can\'t forget about the alligators," Lamp\'l says.data created a unique package, Wilde notes.One of the datasets Wilde and Lamp\'l are "I think these tools are valuable in a lot of systems most excited about is the ratio of tidal volumewhere we have to understand the hydrology and compared to algae concentrations. They used thenutrient flux and then what is the algal response to it," chlorophyll a sensor in a YSI EXO3 Multiparametershe says. "I would see this as a way where we could Sonde to estimate the volume of algae in the sample. get a lot more data on tidal flow and how nutrient/sediment exchange affects water quality onbarrier islands."Katie Lampl and Wesley Gerrin deploy an EXO3 sonde to collect minute-by-minute data on water quality throughout the tidal cycle.56 MISSION: WATER'