On October 29th, SECOORA joined USF COMPS Systems Engineer, Jeffrey Scudder, and YSI Senior Applications Specialist, Mike Lizotte, as they hosted a tour of the USF COMPS Clam Bayou water quality station. A University of South Florida St. Petersburg environmental science lab applied classroom knowledge about water quality systems to the field.
During the tour, the students learned about the new YSI Xylem EXO2 Multi-Parameter Water Quality Monitoring sonde. The sonde system measures salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, water temperature, turbidity, chlorophyll, blue green algae, and fluorescent dissolved organic matter and depth. This water quality data augments the station’s wind, air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and barometric pressure measurements.
Mike and Jennifer Bishop, YSI Quality Engineer, showcased a new sensor array they were incorporating into the Clam Bayou station. They installed an YSI WaterLog bubbler and radar water level sensor. Both sensors measure water level using different technologies. Clam Bayou is serving as a developmental site to show how these sensors could be used in a coastal environment to measure sea level rise accurately. Data can also be used by the weather service for storm surge measurement. Bubblers and radars are mainly found in freshwater water quality and level monitoring systems. Pictured below is the system installed.
—-
Images Credit: Jennifer Bishop, Xylem YSI
Related news
Webinar | Powering Coastal Aquaculture: Demonstration of Paired Tidal Energy Harvesting and Water Quality Monitoring
Join us on October 20, 2026, at 11:00 AM ET to learn how a marine energy-powered sensor platform is helping North Carolina oyster farmers monitor water quality.
Saving the North Atlantic Right Whale: Underwater Gliders Join the Fight to Save a Species
Meet the SECOORA-funded scientists using underwater gliders and acoustic tech to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Dave Wells Joins SECOORA as Ocean Observing Systems Team Lead
SECOORA welcomes Dave Wells as Ocean Observing Systems Team Lead where he will oversee SECOORA's coastal observing system assets and data management.