Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) is a network of observational buoys that are deployed throughout the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

to observe the estuary's changing conditions and to serve as way points along the

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail The Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail is a series of water routes in the United States extending approximately along the Chesapeake Bay, the nation's largest estuary, and its tributaries in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, ...

. They are maintained by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA). These "smart buoys" observe and record meteorological, oceanographic and

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

data which can be obtained in real-time by using mobile apps or by visiting http://buoybay.noaa.gov/. CBIBS is an operational buoy system in the Chesapeake Bay dedicated to maintaining a broad range of measurements necessary to track Bay restoration progress.

Location of the buoys

The system's operational buoys are located: * at the mouth of the Severn River (near Annapolis, Maryland) * off the mouth of the Little Choptank River at Gooses Reef * at the mouth of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

(near

Point Lookout, Maryland Point Lookout State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve occupying Point Lookout, the southernmost tip of a peninsula formed by the confluence of Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River in St. Mary's County, Maryland. The state pa ...

) * at the mouth of the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...

(near Stingray Point and

Deltaville, Virginia Deltaville is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place on the eastern tip of Middlesex County in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is known for being a vacation spot for those looking for sailing, fishing, a ...

) *at the mouth of the York River (near Perrin, VA) 37.20063 N 76.26598 W * in the James River (near Jamestown, Virginia) Other buoys have been deployed in the past, at: *at the mouth of the Susquehanna River (near Havre de Grace, Maryland) * at the mouth of the Patapsco River (near

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

) *in the Elizabeth River (near Norfolk, Virginia) * at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay (near

Cape Henry, Virginia Cape Henry is a cape (geography), cape on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake ...

) *in the Upper Potomac River south of the

Woodrow Wilson Bridge The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge (also known as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or the Wilson Bridge) is a bascule bridge that spans the Potomac River between the independent city of Alexandria, Virginia, and Oxon Hill in Prince George's County, ...

(near

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

)

Types of data observed

The buoys observe and record a wide variety of meteorological, oceanographic, and water quality real-time data including

air temperature Atmospheric temperature is a measure of temperature at different levels of the Earth's atmosphere. It is governed by many factors, including incoming solar radiation, humidity and altitude. When discussing surface air temperature, the annual atm ...

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

barometric pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...

wind speed In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer. Wind speed ...

and direction,

wave height In fluid dynamics, the wave height of a surface wave is the difference between the elevations of a crest and a neighboring trough. ''Wave height'' is a term used by mariners, as well as in coastal, ocean and naval engineering. At sea, the te ...

and direction,

currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

, water temperature, salinity,

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...

, chlorophyll, and

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids ...

. Anyone can obtain the data by using mobile apps or by going to http://buoybay.noaa.gov/. Some buoys have an instrument that can track the passage of

Atlantic sturgeon The Atlantic sturgeon (''Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus'') is a member of the family Acipenseridae and along with other sturgeon it is sometimes considered a living fossil. The Atlantic sturgeon is one of two subspecies of '' A. oxyrinchus'', ...

and other fish tagged by scientists.

Relationship to other ocean observing systems

CBIBS is a component of the Chesapeake Bay Observing System (CBOS) and the U.S.

Integrated Ocean Observing System The Integrated Ocean Observing SystemIOOS is an organization of systems that routinely and continuously provides quality controlled data and information on current and future states of the oceans and Great Lakes from the global scale of ocean basi ...

(IOOS).

Partners

A variety of partners have helped with the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System over the years, including the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

and

Coast Guard Auxiliary The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGA, USCGAUX, CGAux, or USCG Aux) is the civilian uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard. Congress established the unit on 23 June 1939, as the United States Coast Guard Reserve ...

, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

, the

Maryland Department of Natural Resources The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. I ...

, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, the Chesapeake Conservancy, the Conservation Fund, the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

, the

Chesapeake Bay Foundation The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a non-profit organization devoted to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. It was founded in 1967 and has headquarters offices in Annapolis, Maryland. The foundation h ...

, the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail, Dominion Power,

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

, and the

Nauticus Nauticus is a maritime-themed science center and museum located on the downtown waterfront in Norfolk, Virginia, also known as the National Maritime Center. History Nauticus was incorporated under the National Maritime Center Authority in Febru ...

museum (located in Norfolk, Virginia).

Data users

CBIBS data is relied on by a variety of users including meteorologists, recreational boaters,

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

, commercial

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

s, educators, and

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...

decision makers.

Link to the National Historic Trail

In addition to providing real-time data about the Bay's changing conditions, CBIBS also marks and interprets the

, the first water trail in the

National Historic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

System. This trail is administered by the National Park Service and commemorates Captain Smith's exploratory voyages in the Bay during the summer of 1607 and 1608.

References

External links

*
Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System Facebook page

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office homepage

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail homepage

Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail homepage

Conservation Fund homepage

Chesapeake Bay Foundation homepage
{{authority control Buoyage Chesapeake Bay watershed James River Watershed Maritime safety National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Potomac River watershed