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NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Launches New CBIBS Website, iPhone App

by
Bill Whorton

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office has just launched its new website for the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS)! Now people looking for on-the-water observations from up and down the Chesapeake Bay can get data from the CBIBS website. In addition to a fresh new look, the site features streamlined navigation and offers users the often-requested ability to bookmark individual buoys’ data pages.

The data download and graphing sections have been revamped, giving site visitors more options as they explore CBIBS data. The site now includes a frequently updated “Buoy News” area to keep the community of CBIBS visitors up to date on the system, as well as a “Featured User” section that highlights how people around the watershed use information from CBIBS. Also, iPhone users can now get buoy data in a flash by using the Smart Buoys app available in the iTunes Store. The app was developed in partnership with the Chesapeake Conservancy. An app for Android users is also available; both apps are, of course, free.

The updated CBIBS website and the apps give students and teachers engaging and intuitive access to real-time Chesapeake Bay data. In particular, the new graphing capabilities give users the ability to graph water quality and weather data from any CBIBS buoy in the Bay for 30 days or more using the data graphing tool. Teachers can use this clearly presented data to teach about the relationships among water quality parameters and the effects of changes in certain parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, on the fish that swim throughout the Bay. When you visit the site, make sure to pick some interesting data to graph, hover your mouse over the graph, and you will see the exact measurement and time.

The new CBIBS site will also support Chesapeake Exploration, a brand-new collection of online activities for middle and high school students that brings the science of the Chesapeake Bay to life. These activities are scheduled to be available beginning late this fall. If you are interested learning more about Chesapeake Exploration, piloting the activities prior to the official release, or using the activities with your students, visit the Chesapeake Exploration website.

The latest updates on CBIBS are also posted on the CBIBS Facebook fan page—join us there!