Getting to the Hudson Without Leaving the Classroom

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Getting to Hudson WithoutLeaving the Classroom

Steve Stanne, Hudson River Estuary ProgramTeaching the Hudson Valley 2009 Summer Institute


1. Up to the minute information on specific parameters

Remote sensingUsing the web to read the river from a distance

Checking water temperature at Piermont on Friday, July 31, 2009, at 4:30 PM; it’s about 80.5 degrees F.


2. Observe patterns/cycles

Remote sensing Using the web to read the river from a distance

High and low tides at the George Washington Bridge; Tuesday, July 28, 2009 through Thursday, July 30, 2009


Remote sensingUsing the web to read the river from a distance

3. Show relationships between parameters or cycles

High and low tides versus salinity at the George Washington Bridge; Tuesday, July 28, 2009 through Thursday, July 30, 2009


4. Collects data during short-term events or in inclement conditions when scientists may not be able to collect samples


Turbidity (muddiness) of the water at Schodack Island following heavy rains in early July, 2009


5. Create line graphs with website interfaces or download data to further customize graphs



http://ny.water.usgs.gov/projects/dialer_plots/saltfront.html

Map and table show salt front location



Sensor stations at Albany, Poughkeepsie, West Point, & Hastings (latter two will be discontinued in September)

Choose real time info updated every 15 min. or daily maximum & minimum readings



Links to sensorson tributaries


Use the graphs to tell stories, pose questions, solve mysteries.Are the events shown in these graphs related? How?*

* See end of show for answers.


http://www.hrecos.org/joomla/

HRECOS Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System



Sensors at:

Schodack I. (Rensselaer Co.)

Tivoli Bays (Dutchess Co.)

Norrie Point (Dutchess Co.)

Piermont (Rockland Co.)

George Washington Bridge

Castle Point (Hoboken, NJ)



To view data, select Current Conditions


Use dropdown menus to choose station, parameter, etc. Current conditions come up; use Start Date/End Date or Set Start/Set End to choose other time periods (within limits - click on ? for more details)


Site does not now enable display of more than one graph at a time. Use your browser to open the HRECOS site in two windows, then manipulate window size to compare two graphs at once, or use screen shots.



Use the graphs to tell stories, pose questions, solve mysteries.*

What causes brief spikes in turbidity at Schodack Island? Hint: the river here is a narrow shipping channel.

Why do dissolved oxygen levels rise during the day and fall at night?

* See end of show for answers.


To learn about ecological stories that can be told using HRECOS data, select HRECOS Stories.



Bird WebcamsAvailable during the spring nesting season

New York Harbor herons rookeryhttp://www.nycaudubon.org/projects/harborherons/WebCam

/

Peregrine falcon nestshttp://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7701.html


http://www.riverproject.org/research_11piers_info.php

Underwater Video from the River Project, NYC

http://www.riverproject.org/research_12batteryparkvideo_butterfly.php


Hudson River Almanac

Free natural history journal, emailed weekly

1/11/04 - Sprout Brook, HRM 43.5: At first light we fished, chilled to the bone, on five inches of black flint ice. On the bare branches of a nearby shaggy white pine were nine black vultures, all perched in a row in their night roost, watching us, looking like a convention of undertakers. The air temperature was +1°F. Not a good morning to be a vulture. If they had any sense they'd be in Virginia looking for roadkill. - Tom Lake, Christopher Letts

For subscription information and to review back issues, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25608.html


For more information, contact

Steve Stanne, Interpretive SpecialistNYSDEC – Hudson River Estuary Program21 South Putt Corners RoadNew Paltz, NY 12561845 [email protected]

Hudson River Estuary Programeducation website www.dec.ny.gov/lands/5102.html


AnswersSlide 10Heavy rains caused high flows starting late on 7/29/09 in the Mohawk River, the largest tributary of the Hudson. These flows reached the Hudson shortly afterwards. At Albany, the rise and fall of the tides is superimposed on higher base flows starting 7/30/09. Low tide levels are about 2 feet higher than they were prior to the rain and resulting runoff. The runoff also cooled the Hudson, dropping the water temperature at Albany about 3 oC.

Slide 16Turbidity spikes at Schodack are caused by ships and tugboats passing on their way to and from the Port of Albany.Photosynthesis by aquatic plants and phytoplankton produces oxygen while sunlight is available during the day. At night, plants and phytoplankton cease photosynthesis and their respiration uses up oxygen.

Education

Getting to the Hudson Without Leaving the Classroom