{"id":38850,"date":"2024-11-11T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=38850"},"modified":"2025-10-06T16:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:57:08","slug":"green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm","title":{"rendered":"Green Water in Green Bay: Using Data Buoys to Monitor the Southern Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the bay of Green Bay has been referred to as the largest freshwater \u201cestuary\u201d in the world, the watershed hosts intensive agriculture and contributes one-third of Lake Michigan\u2019s total phosphorus load.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Fox River flows into the bay, carrying excess nutrients largely the result of non-point source runoff from the watershed. With a history of deterioration extending well into the last century, the bay ecosystem suffered significant declines in water quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This, in turn, stimulated major clean-up and ongoing restoration efforts to improve water quality. Tracking these changes is an important aspect of ecosystem management.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38858\" style=\"width: 778px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38858\" class=\"wp-image-38858 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Gleaming and new, the first LoRa buoy is deployed in lower Green Bay, ready to collect valuable, real-time surface algal pigment, temperature profile, and dissolved oxygen data for its first season. \" width=\"768\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38858\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Gleaming and new, the first LoRa buoy is deployed in lower Green Bay, ready to collect valuable, real-time surface algal pigment, temperature profile, and dissolved oxygen data for its first season. (Credit: Jessie Grow \/ UW-Milwaukee)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers at the University of Wisconsin (UW) have been studying the bay for decades, and actively monitoring remotely since 2012. More recently, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freshwater\/people\/grow-jessica-jessie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jessie Grow<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (UW-Milwaukee), <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwgb.edu\/directory\/people\/michael-zorn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Zorn<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (UW-Green Bay), and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/freshwater\/people\/klump-j-val\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">J. Val Klump<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (UW-Milwaukee) have deployed NexSens data buoys in the bay to monitor water quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two integrated and related efforts are being pursued:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monitoring hypoxic dead zones in the bottom waters of southern Green Bay<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing real-time data on harmful algal blooms<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Water Quality Issues Impacting the Bay<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to the bay\u2019s consistent exposure to environmental stressors, Green Bay represents a model mesocosm of nearly all of the stressors that have disrupted the Great Lakes for more than a century. For example, the bay has suffered from excessive algal growth, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/treating-harmful-algal-blooms-a-natural-progression.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">harmful algal blooms<\/a> (HABs), decreased water clarity, decreased submerged aquatic vegetation, and hypoxia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, as industrialization grew in the 1900s, primarily in the form of paper mills, the bay\u2019s sediments became polluted with organic contaminants (like PCBs).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The health of the system has been highlighted by the International Joint Commission, which designated the lower bay as an Area Of Concern (AOC), with 13 of a possible 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) present in the late 1980s. While there <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.wisconsin.gov\/topic\/GreatLakes\/GreenBay.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been progress<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on mitigating these BUIs, 10 still remain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhile a lot of that has now been cleaned up, it was at the cost of $1.3 billion. Now, non point source pollution\u2013which we knew then had major impacts on our quality in the bay\u2013has remained largely an unsolved problem,\u201d recalls Klump.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38886\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38886\" class=\"wp-image-38886 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_07_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Cable-ties fly as Dr. Val Klump (left) and Jessie Grow (right) put the finishing touches on the mooring line and dissolved oxygen cable for one of the NexSens CB-150 systems prior to deployment. \" width=\"940\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_07_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_07_ForWeb-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_07_ForWeb-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_07_ForWeb-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38886\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Cable-ties fly as Dr. Val Klump (left) and Jessie Grow (right) put the finishing touches on the mooring line and dissolved oxygen cable for one of the NexSens CB-150 systems prior to deployment. (Credit: Jessie Grow \/ UW-Milwaukee)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like other water bodies, Green Bay has been impacted by climate change. Predictions for the future of the region under climate models show warmer winters, increased precipitation, warmer and more prolonged summers, and a higher frequency of extreme events.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThese changes have the potential to exacerbate an already degraded system, with the potential for \u2018dead zones\u2019 and adverse impacts on the biota becoming both more frequent and extensive,\u201d cautions Klump.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He adds, \u201cFish kills from hypoxia, while rare, augur to be an increasing concern, particularly for commercial fishing operators.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, the bay has seen an increase in the intensity and frequency of harmful algal blooms in recent years, occurring as far north as off Sturgeon Bay and as late in the season as October.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Monitoring Water Quality in Green Bay<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Piloted for the first time in 2022, two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nexsens.com\/products\/data-buoys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NexSens buoys<\/a> (a CB-50 and a CB-150) configured with LoRaWAN technology were deployed in the bay. The following season, in 2023, the systems were refined, and three additional CB-150 buoys were added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project continues in 2024, with a focus on designing a smaller, lower-cost LoRaWAN buoy that will ultimately allow for more sensors to be deployed and improve the team\u2019s overall understanding of hypoxia and algal bloom dynamics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buoy size, customizable mooring, sensor compatibility, power efficiency, and future-proof capabilities were at the forefront of considerations for the platforms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38885\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38885\" class=\"wp-image-38885 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_16_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"With prototyping and testing complete, 3 finished systems are loaded up and battened down for a quick boat ride to their respective deployment sites in lower Green Bay. \" width=\"940\" height=\"705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_16_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_16_ForWeb-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_16_ForWeb-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_16_ForWeb-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38885\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">With prototyping and testing complete, 3 finished systems are loaded up and battened down for a quick boat ride to their respective deployment sites in lower Green Bay. (Credit: Jessie Grow \/ UW-Milwaukee)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe wanted smaller platforms that 1-3 people could easily deploy, service, and recover from a smaller watercraft,\u201d states Grow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to limited access to winches on vessels, mooring\/anchor systems needed to be relatively simple to maneuver by hand. Additionally, since deployment site depths ranged from 5-15 meters, custom mooring lines with enough slack to account for wave action were created for each site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to ensure systems were properly lighted with solar beacons and added to the Notice to Mariners to avoid any collisions. Finally, the buoys were deployed in the lower bay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grow elaborates, \u201cSite selection was based on historical sampling stations going back to the 1980\u2019s where sonde profiles were taken at various points throughout the bay\u2019s stratification period. The bay\u2019s SE region has the most frequent occurrences of bottom-water hypoxia, wherein hypoxic \u2018blobs\u2019 can vary significantly in location, duration, and even depth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the CB-50, a NexSens temperature string (4 nodes) allows the team to monitor temperature throughout the water column (0.5m, 3m, 4m, and 5m), and a bottom In-Situ RDO Blue dissolved oxygen\/temperature sensor combination allows them to record stratification and any periods of hypoxia at the site.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The CB-150 is equipped with the same In-Situ dissolved oxygen bottom sensor as well as two optical Yosemitech sensors at the surface, which monitor chlorophyll-<em>a<\/em>\u00a0<span data-ogsc=\"red\">and phycocyanin\u00a0<\/span>fluorescence,\u00a0<span data-ogsc=\"red\">as well as <\/span>temperature.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NexSens buoys were chosen as the platforms for both sites because the team had over ten years of experience working with these systems on other projects. For this project specifically, the customization and ease of maintenance were key considerations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grow explains, \u201cWe have been using NexSens buoys for over a decade, and experience tells us that they can withstand the test of time and tempest. When it comes to designing complex electrical systems that need to be able to survive the elements, confidence in the foundational platform is key, and we can rest easy knowing that the basic structure of the buoy will remain intact.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She continues, \u201cNexSens buoys provide an easily managed, customizable, and robust platform that is ideal for development of a sensor network that can be efficiently deployed from small watercraft, host solar power supply systems, and are readily available at a reasonable cost.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38859\" style=\"width: 778px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38859\" class=\"wp-image-38859 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_02_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Buoy button-up is a breeze when working with long-time colleagues and friends \u2013 Dr. Val Klump (left) and Dr. Mike Zorn (right) discuss the system\u2019s internal wiring configuration before sealing the data well with the custom-built stainless-steel lid. \" width=\"768\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_02_ForWeb.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_02_ForWeb-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_02_ForWeb-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_02_ForWeb-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38859\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Buoy button-up is a breeze when working with long-time colleagues and friends \u2013 Dr. Val Klump (left) and Dr. Mike Zorn (right) discuss the system\u2019s internal wiring configuration before sealing the data well with the custom-built stainless-steel lid. (Credit: Jessie Grow \/ UW-Milwaukee)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">LoRaWAN Integrated Buoys<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cellcom, a local network services provider, installed 7 LoRaWAN gateway receivers on existing cell towers located around the lower bay of Green Bay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cellcom\u2019s director of government relations and sustainability Mick O\u2019Malley stated that, \u201cAs a local mobile wireless provider, we care about the community and the health of our local environment. Being able to use a leading technology to support critical research that can make a difference for the environment was an incredible opportunity for us. Cellcom looks forward to continuing to partner with UW Green Bay on environmental initiatives in the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe network provides wireless coverage over the water in that region, allowing the buoys to transmit data wirelessly via the network,\u201d explains Zorn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each of the team\u2019s LoRaWAN buoys are configured with Dragino LoRaWAN controllers. According to Zorn, the lack of data logging was a conscious decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He explains, \u201cIt allows us to build systems that are smaller, less complicated, more reliable, and less expensive. It also allows us to take advantage of LoRaWAN&#8217;s low power capabilities. The CB-50 buoy currently operates with a small internal 3.3 V battery and no solar panel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThese combined devices send LoRaWAN data packets out at programmed intervals to Cellcom\u2019s mega\/field gateways and then to a network server. After several additional processing steps, the data are subsequently integrated with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/glos.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Great Lakes Observing System\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (GLOS) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/seagull.glos.org\/landing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seagull platform<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d continues Zorn.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38887\" style=\"width: 778px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38887\" class=\"wp-image-38887 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_09_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Prior to deployment, each system undergoes rigorous testing on dry land, i.e., the parking lot, to ensure all components are working properly including solar charging, water-tightness, and LoRaWAN signal strength.\" width=\"768\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_09_ForWeb.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_09_ForWeb-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_09_ForWeb-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_09_ForWeb-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38887\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Prior to deployment, each system undergoes rigorous testing on dry land, i.e., the parking lot, to ensure all components are working properly including solar charging, water-tightness, and LoRaWAN signal strength. (Credit: Jessie Grow \/ UW-Milwaukee)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Future Water Quality Monitoring Efforts in Green Bay<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To date, the buoys demonstrate the potential for such monitoring networks to capture the dynamics of rapidly shifting environmental conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis project will expand the pilot of such platforms and will target hypoxic dead zones in the bottom waters and HABs in surface waters as a demonstration of the potential for such arrays to capture the dynamics of rapidly shifting environmental conditions,\u201d clarifies Zorn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the future, the team hopes to expand the network, adding more LoRaWAN gateways and more monitoring sites to cover the northeastern part of the bay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For now, the data can help inform management of the bay\u2019s fishery, a source of $260 million annually, leading to better practices, limiting losses and protecting the native species essential to the bay\u2019s economy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, the team feels like interest in the bay&#8217;s health has shifted over the years.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_38894\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-38894\" class=\"wp-image-38894 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_PXL_20220908_191035509.MP_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Chris Houghton (left) and Dr. Mike Zorn (right) gear up for another LoRa buoy deployment onboard UW-Green Bay\u2019s R\/V Phoenix. \" width=\"940\" height=\"705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_PXL_20220908_191035509.MP_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_PXL_20220908_191035509.MP_ForWeb-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_PXL_20220908_191035509.MP_ForWeb-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_PXL_20220908_191035509.MP_ForWeb-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-38894\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Dr. Chris Houghton (left) and Dr. Mike Zorn (right) gear up for another LoRa buoy deployment onboard UW-Green Bay\u2019s R\/V Phoenix. (Credit: Val Klump \/ UW-Milwaukee)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think that people are becoming more and more aware of the value of the bay to the quality of life in the region,\u201d states Klump.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In late 2023, the team was made aware of a specific event wherein commercial trap nets located on Larsen\u2019s Reef, just outside the Sturgeon Bay ship channel, were hit with hypoxic waters. This event caused the suffocation of the fish held in the trap because trap nets are normally set for 3 to 4 days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2025, the team plans to test a pilot program to instrument one or more of these nets using the LoRaWAN network in areas where hypoxia has become a potential problem. Providing real-time oxygen and temperature data via the GLOS Seagull data platform could alert fishing operators to potential hypoxic waters hitting their nets, thereby allowing them to respond in a timely manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Conclusion<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team anticipates their findings will help make water quality data more accessible to regional shareholders in the bay and improve understanding of short-term conditions and long-term trends. Furthermore, the data can be used to build and improve existing ecosystem models.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All in all, the aim of the project is to serve the public on a direct level by providing temperature, DO, and HABs data to local boaters and anglers who rely on this real-time network to determine when and where to recreate on the bay.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the bay of Green Bay has been referred to as the largest freshwater \u201cestuary\u201d in the world, the watershed hosts intensive agriculture and contributes one-third of Lake Michigan\u2019s total phosphorus load.\u00a0 The Fox River flows into the bay, carrying excess nutrients largely the result of non-point source runoff from the watershed. With a history [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":38858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2371,2372,59,5,32,7,8,510],"tags":[91,2244,1214,126,2551,2552,204],"class_list":["post-38850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buoy","category-data-buoy","category-estuaries-wetlands","category-featured-articles","category-lakes-reservoirs","category-news","category-newsfeed","category-water-quality","tag-buoy","tag-buoy-monitoring","tag-buoys","tag-data-buoy","tag-green-bay","tag-lorawan","tag-university-of-wisconsin"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Green Water in Green Bay: Using Data Buoys to Monitor the Southern Bay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UW data buoys in Green Bay monitor water quality, helping researchers track pollutants and protect local waters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Green Water in Green Bay: Using Data Buoys to Monitor the Southern Bay\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UW data buoys in Green Bay monitor water quality, helping researchers track pollutants and protect local waters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-11T12:00:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T20:57:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Samantha Baxter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Samantha Baxter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Samantha Baxter\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/341002b379397e09112d3edcefc25a50\"},\"headline\":\"Green Water in Green Bay: Using Data Buoys to Monitor the Southern Bay\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-11T12:00:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T20:57:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm\"},\"wordCount\":1832,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/green-water-in-green-bay-using-data-buoys-to-monitor-the-southern-bay.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/UW_jg_08_ForWeb.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"buoy\",\"buoy monitoring\",\"buoys\",\"data buoy\",\"Green Bay\",\"LoRaWAN\",\"University of Wisconsin\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Buoy\",\"Data Buoy\",\"Estuaries &amp; 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