Dr. Gary Whiting and Dr. James Reed, biology faculty at Christopher Newport University, have established a longterm ecological monitoring program to measure the water quality of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers.  This research involves the use of automated water quality sensors at sites along the Mattaponi River and along the Pamunkey River. 

• We are using YSI 6600 Environmental Monitoring Systems (data sondes) which are programmed to provide unattended hourly monitoring of the following parameters: water temperature, specific conductance, salinity, water depth, and turbidity (cloudiness).

• Each month, all sondes are physically accessed, removed from their protective mounts and the sonde data downloaded into a computer.

• Prior to redeployment, sondes are cleaned and checked for proper operation and calibration, restarted and replaced back into its mount for another month’s data collection. 

• The plan is to monitor these rivers over eight years. 

• Undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty mentors participate as a team in maintaining this important environmental sampling program.