PSWIMS, a profiling instrument system for remote physical and chemical measurements in shallow water

Abstract: PSWIMS (ProfilingShallowWaterInstrumentMountingSystem) is a relatively simple instrumentation system that has been developed to remotely collect vertical profiles of physical and chemical parameters in shallow water that is subject to significant changes in depth. The system is designed for observations that can not practically be made with moored sensors (due to the high cost of multiple sensors, the physical size of sensors, or the inability of moored instruments to accommodate changes in water depth) or with hand held sensors (due to the need for frequent observations over extended periods of time). Results are presented from two field deployments that demonstrate the utility of PSWIMS for measuring horizontal flux and for monitoring water quality parameters in shallow water.