Vertical Profiler Data

A floating vertical profiler buoy system anchored in the water, used for monitoring water quality at various depths.

About Vertical Profilers

Sometimes it is beneficial to measure water quality parameters at multiple depths rather than at a single fixed depth in the water column. In estuarine systems such as the Chesapeake Bay, tides, weather, and freshwater inputs can stratify the system, creating markedly different physical, chemical, and biological conditions at different water depths.

The vertical profiler is a monitoring instrument specifically designed for measuring water quality at multiple vertical locations in the water column. The system consists of a controller, winch, and data logging and telemetry system mounted on a floating platform. The winch lowers a water quality monitoring sonde through the water column, stopping at pre-determined depths to record temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and chlorophyll.

The vertical profiler has been anchored at several sites in the Chesapeake Bay and, depending on the site, conducts a profiling sequence every 1-3 hours, with measurements recorded at 1-2 meter depth intervals.

ProfilerQuery

Select Station, Parameters, and a Date Range, then "Submit Data Query"

1. Select a Vertical Profiler Station:
2. Select Parameter(s):
eg. 0.495, 0.942
eg. 0.5, 1.0, 2.0
3. Enter Date Range:
(After 06/29/07)
(Before 11/24/25)

Large queries may take a while, please be patient while your data are retrieved.

The vertical profiler records measurements at regular depth intervals. Depending on your data application you may choose to download the actual depth recorded by the instrument (eg. 0.495), or depth rounded to the nearest approximation (eg. 0.5), or both.

NOTE: 2026 data are provisional and have not yet been through our rigorous Quality Assurance procedures.