MMA Launches First-Of-Its-Kind Research Buoy To Monitor Water Quality In Nantucket Habor

The Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) has launched an Ocean Acidification Monitoring Project, deploying an oceanographic buoy in Nantucket Harbor that will collect and publish continuous data on seawater acidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, total algae, dissolved nitrates, and salinity. The data collected by the buoy will create a long-term record of ocean acidification in Nantucket Harbor, dubbed the Mitchell Curve, which will help track the health of critical eelgrass that supports coastal resilience, carbon sequestration, and local bay scallop populations.

“It's super important to understand what's happening. We know globally that temperature is changing, climate is changing,” said MMA Director of Science and Programs Jonelle Gurley. “It will be really interesting to see after large rain events, after increased boating, what may be happening in the harbor.”

The project is the first of its kind, offering insights into the water quality of the harbor that were previously unavailable.

“What makes it special and unique, not to be remiss, is that up until this moment, we have not been able to measure any of these parameters,” Gurley said. “There has been a data gap. We aren't thinking that this one buoy in this one location will completely close this gap, but it will give us a much more comprehensive picture of what is happening.”

The data will be open-source and free to access, allowing island non-profits to use the information MMA collects in a wide variety of critical conservation and environmental projects. The MMA also hopes to create visuals explaining the data that will make it easier to use. The data, particularly with MMA’s visualizations, will also provide key learning opportunities for island students.

“It creates a lot of opportunity even for students in our community to start looking into data and getting excited about their harbor,” Gurley, a former Nantucket High School science teacher, said. “Nantucket is the sandbox of science. We need to get our kids out there and connect them to what is happening.”

According to an MMA press release, the monitoring project was made possible by funding from ReMain Nantucket, the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation, the Osceola Foundation, and the Sociable Weaver Foundation, in collaboration with the Town of Nantucket’s Harbormaster.