Meteorological and hydrographic data collected from Dauphin Island Station near Dauphin Island, Alabama, Gulf of Mexico from 2014-01-01 to 2014-12-31 (NCEI Accession 0141141)

Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program have partnered with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Mobile County to provide real-time meteorological and hydrographic data from Cedar Point, AL. Near real-time data are available in a user-friendly format at www.mymobilebay.com. Informative pop-ups describe each parameter and graphs of each may be displayed for the visitor to the website. Researchers may download the data in a spreadsheet format for further analysis.

Purpose:
The value of coastal observing systems is recognized by the U.S. Congress, the National Ocean Partnership Program, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. Recent reports by the Pew Oceans Commission and U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy have decried the lack of information from near coastal waters on which to base management decisions and recommended monitoring programs linked to strong research. Reasons for continuous, real-time observations of meteorological and hydrographic parameters include (1) continuous characterization of spatial and temporal patterns of change in water quality, (2) development of a permanent record of significant and human caused changes in environmental indicators over time, and (3) support for research activities through the availability of consistent, scientifically valid data. An additional benefit of real-time observation is the potential for the public to track and learn about water quality conditions. Many coastal dwellers are uninformed about conditions in nearby estuaries because they do not have access to current information about parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen levels and water level and they may fail to appreciate the complexity of interactions in estuarine ecosystems.

多芬岛海洋实验室（Dauphin Island Sea Lab）与莫比尔湾国家河口项目（Mobile Bay National Estuary Program）已与阿拉巴马州保护部、莫比尔县开展合作，提供来自阿拉巴马州锡达角的实时气象与水文数据。准实时数据可通过www.mymobilebay.com以用户友好型格式对外发布。网站访客可查看各参数的信息弹窗，并调取对应参数的可视化图表。研究人员可下载电子表格格式的数据，用于开展进一步分析研究。

宗旨：
美国国会、国家海洋合作项目、环境保护署（Environmental Protection Agency）与国家海洋和大气管理局（National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration）均已认可海岸观测系统的重要价值。皮尤海洋委员会（Pew Oceans Commission）及美国海洋政策委员会（U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy）近期发布的报告指出，当前近岸海域缺乏支撑管理决策的有效信息，并建议构建与扎实研究相结合的监测方案。对气象与水文参数开展持续实时观测的原因包括：（1）持续刻画水质变化的时空分布特征；（2）建立环境指标随时间推移产生的显著变化及人为影响的永久观测记录；（3）通过提供一致且科学有效的数据，为各类研究活动提供支撑。实时观测的另一项益处在于，可为公众提供追踪并了解水质状况的渠道。诸多沿海居民因无法获取水温、盐度、溶解氧浓度、水位等参数的实时信息，对邻近河口的生态环境状况知之甚少，也难以领会河口生态系统交互作用的复杂性。