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Salinity, a measure of the dissolved salts in seawater, is a fundamental property of seawater and basic to understanding biological and physical processes in coastal waters. In the open ocean long term salinity measurements are identified as necessary to understand global climate studies, hydrological cycle, and circulation. In the coastal oceans, information on salinity is critical to understanding biological effects on ecosystem function such as disease, nursery grounds, or harmful algal blooms and on physical processes such as freshwater runoff, estuarine mixing, and coastal currents. While the importance of salinity is recognized, little attention has been given to making routine measurements as to the location and frequency of such measurements. These issues were addressed in a workshop concerned with salinity measurements in coastal oceans, requirements for such, and measurement technology.

The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), US. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) Waterways Experiment Station (WES) and National Ocean Service (NOS) have established an environmental test facility for ocean and atmospheric sensors at the WES Field Research Facility (FRF) in Duck, NC. This facility provides a natural environmental laboratory for testing and evaluating sensors used for long-term, remote monitoring on platforms of opportunity. NDBC, NOS, and WES operate national scale-monitoring networks extending from estuaries through the coastal zone to offshore, each using its own unique platforms to accomplish agency missions. It is important that these platforms have the capability to accept additional sensors and can manage (process, qualify, store, and maintain) and disseminate the data in real time. The environmental test facility on the FRF pier is shared between the participating agencies. The new facility consists of an NDBC coastal weather station, two laboratories housing wet and dry laboratory facilities, an ocean platform for supporting sensors underwater, WES directional waves, water pressure, and current sensors, and a water level station operated by NOS. This facility will enable environmental managers and scientists to assess and evaluate the capabilities of environmental sensors to meet the requirements for accurate, reliable long-term unattended monitoring programs.

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