Scientists Use Manta Probes to Monitor Water Quality at World-Famous Jellyfish Lake, Palau
Solinst Eureka
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Overview
* Note: This article written by the team at Coral Reef Research Foundation.
The Coral Reef Research Foundation undertakes a wide variety of marine research activities in the Palau Islands, located in the western Pacific, just north of the equator. Palau is a remarkable tropical archipelago and is a renowned diving destination, also made famous by Jellyfish Lake, a unique marine ecosystem that is home to millions of Golden jellyfish. Jellyfish Lake (known locally as Ongeim’l Tketau) is singular with its daily migration of millions of jellyfish medusae following the sun across this salt water lake, and is the most-loved tourism site in Palau.
Challenge:
The population of medusae in Jellyfish Lake varies from year to year due to the physical conditions of the lake related to weather patterns and impacted by El Niño/La Niña climate variation. The changes in physical conditions, such as temperature, salinity, and oxygen, are important to measure accurately on a regular basis, concurrent with jellyfish population numbers and sizes. Over the last twenty years, one challenge has been to find and use water quality measuring instruments that can withstand the daunting tasks of rough boat trips and backpack hiking into these remote salt water environments, in an area with no support services. Accurate, repeatable data, month to month, are essential to understand the past dynamics and immediate future of the lake and its iconic jellyfish inhabitants.
Solution:
A Solinst Eureka Manta+ 35 is used regularly to measure water quality parameters (temperature, salinity, oxygen, pH chlorophyll a and depth) to understand the physical relationships of the lake to atmospheric conditions and thus how this influences the numbers of Golden jellyfish. We have found our Eureka instrument to be superior to others in reliability, durability, and ruggedness.
Result:
The use of Solinst Eureka probes has helped us to understand the dynamic relationships between the physical and the biological in Jellyfish Lake. Although variation in climate, such as El Niño and La Niña, is beyond our control, accurate data on change and resultant trends have allowed us to make predictions on the future status of jellyfish populations, important in the management of human use of the lake.
Manta Series Water Quality Probes
Solinst Eureka offers the largest selection of water quality sensor technologies in the industry. So in addition to standard configurations, each probe may be customized for your specific application. Pick sensors of your choice to fully populate larger probes, or add a battery pack to convert a probe to a logging device.
Manta Trimeter Water Quality Probe
The Trimeter holds any one sensor* from the Sensor Parameters list, Plus temperature and depth sensors (both are optional). For example, a Trimeter configuration could be turbidity, temperature, and depth. Another example could be DO and temperature.
EasyProbe: Water Quality Sondes
The EasyProbe, by Solinst Eureka, is a high-performance, cost-effective water quality monitor. It's ideal for spot-checking, remote telemetry, education, research, aquaculture, and more. The EasyProbe20 includes sensors for temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and pH, while the EasyProbe30 adds a turbidity sensor. Eureka multiprobes are known for their reliability, with a three-year warranty covering all sensors, and have the lowest maintenance costs in the industry.
Related Products
Water Level, Temperature & Conductivity Datalogging
The Levelogger 5 LTC measures and logs water level fluctuations, temperature and conductivity. It is programmed to record at intervals as often as 2 seconds. It includes an 8-year battery, memory for 100,000 sets of readings, and comes in 6 pressure ranges. A PFAS-free coating (inside and out) provides superior corrosion and abrasion resistance.
TLC Meter – Measure Accurate Temperature, Level & Conductivity
A TLC Meter provides accurate, stable temperature and conductivity measurements, displayed on a convenient LCD display for easy reading. Static water level and depth of readings are read off Solinst flat tape, which is precisely laser-marked every mm or 1/100 ft. Tape lengths are available to 300 m (1000 ft).
