About This Site
The map on the buoy home page shows the locations of currently active and inactive profiling
buoys and surface meteorological monitoring locations on Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish.
These buoys are part of the Major Lakes Monitoring Program.
To view the latest surface data hover over the active site map pins. You can also view the latest profile
plots by clicking the Latest Profiles link on the left, the latest 24-hour
meteorological data by clicking on the Latest Weather link, or view or
download the latest data by selecting the View or Download Data link. To view
historical profiles or annual contour
plots or view or download historical data, select the appropriate link on the left.
The profiling buoys collect data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance,
chlorophyll fluorescence, and turbidity from near the bottom to within 1 meter of the surface
at 1-meter depth intervals. The number of profiles per day depends on the solar panel output –
generally between 3 profiles per day in winter to 6 profiles per day in summer. The
inactive buoys conducted profile sampling 4 times per day throughout the year. The active sites
also support meteorological stations, which currently report hourly average air temperature,
relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and total solar radiation. Further details
regarding the equipment and specifications of the active buoy stations can be found by selecting
the Buoy Specifications link. Definitions of common lake water quality
terms found on this site can be found on the
Lakes Glossary page.
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