PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program 007: Dausokele Estuary, Pohnpei, FSM

The nearshore sensors are part of the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) and are designed to measure a variety of ocean parameters at fixed point locations. The PacIOOS Water Quality Sensor Partnership Program (WQSPP) supports scientists and natural resource managers to collect water quality data in order to inform research, conservation, planning, and resource management projects in the U.S. Insular Pacific region. Comprised of a network of "roving" water quality nearshore sensors, the WQSPP provides participating partners with sensors, data management, and technical capacity-building to allow for robust data collection. As part of the WQSPP, the Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP) deployed a nearshore sensor 170 meters northeast of the Pohnpei International Airport runway within Dausokele Estuary within the lagoon along the northern shores of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The sensor package was mounted to the sea floor at approximately 9.5 meters depth. Data were recorded every 8 minutes. Land-based sedimentation can have severe impacts on the surrounding watersheds, compromising the water quality and the coastal habitat of coral reefs and fish. Inland development activities have purportedly increased in recent years, prompting the need to monitor sediment run-off from key watersheds. Measuring water quality conditions with an accurate sensor will allow CSP to better understand the variations in water quality during different weather conditions, especially periods of heavy rain.