HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University deployed four buoys this week for the independent, scientific monitoring of the Lake Maurepas ecosystem as part of its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Government and with Air Products’ work on its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex.

“These buoys will provide data that the public can trust about the Lake Maurepas ecosystem since that data is coming directly from the lake itself. Independent monitoring of the lake is critically important to the community and all those people who live and work there,” said Louisiana Clean Energy Complex Commercial Executive Director Danna LeBlanc. “We know Southeastern researchers are the leading experts on Lake Maurepas, and the Air Products team is proud that they are able to expand their independent biomonitoring research by using these buoys.”

Southeastern will gather baseline data within the aquatic and wetland realms prior to the initiation of any future carbon sequestration projects in Lake Maurepas. An essential component of the project will be extensive environmental monitoring of the Lake Maurepas region, so that any impacts of the project can be understood and data be made publicly available.

“This demonstrates the value of our university to the region and nation as leaders in environmental monitoring,” said Southeastern’s President William Wainwright. “As carbon capture projects become more frequent, through Southeastern’s leadership in research, it can demonstrate the environmental scientific needs surrounding those activities.”

Specifically, the scientists from Southeastern will be monitoring the marine life populations (fishes, crabs, shrimp), as well as the plant life in the surrounding wetlands, and also watching and studying any variations in water quality.

Called the Blind, Amite, Tickfaw, and Maurepas buoys, the YSI Bay Buoys were named based on their geographic positions in the lake.

“The buoys will gather a variety of parameters in real time with data regularly uploaded to the cloud,” said Director of the Lake Maurepas Monitoring Program Kyle Piller. “The data will be posted on our project website through the use of easy to interpret dashboards for each buoy. Each measured parameter has a ‘normal’ range, and the software has the ability to send alert messages if a particular measured parameter is out of the normal range. In essence the buoys will be functioning as an early warning system.”

The buoys are outfitted with sensors to monitor water parameters, including dissolved oxygen, pH, water temperature, and carbon dioxide, Piller explained. One buoy will be outfitted with a weather station to measure atmospheric parameters, including wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure and precipitation.

“Southeastern will be monitoring all facets of this project involving the lake to ensure up-to-date data and information are available. We are making all the data we record available to the public to ensure everyone’s right to know any findings,” said Dan McCarthy, dean of the College of Science and Technology.

The website to access project data is southeastern.edu/lakemaurepas.