Users of the VECOS website can currently view three types of water quality data; interpolated images of surface water quality generated by the Dataflow (Underway) program, graphs of shallow water quality data from fixed stations that has gone through quality assurance protocols, and real time data from the last 7 days at available stations. Users can download quality assured data from both Dataflow cruises and fixed continuous monitoring stations but are not be able to download real time data from the stations where it is available.
All monitoring is organized by Chesapeake Bay Program segments, which are derived from the salinity regime of the area. For instance the main stem of the York River is represented by two segments; the York Polyhaline (YRKPH) and York Mesohaline (YEKMH). Descriptions for each segment can be found to the left of the page as at the second tier/level of the site (the Segment Page). For information on the different monitoring efforts and the equipment used by this program as well as the Data Disclaimer for the data available for download, refer to the “Resources” tab on the Main Page.
To navigate through this site, click the check box on the Main Map for the type of data you are interested in; Fixed Stations, Underway Coverages (Dataflow), or Realtime Data. Areas for which data is available will appear as a green transparent layer representing segments for Dataflow or red dot for station data. Hovering over the area or dot will result in the station or segment name floating by the cursor. Click on your segment or station of interest. This will take you to the second tier or level, the Segment Page. On the Segment Map you will see stars representing stations with their station names and a boat icon representing Dataflow data. On some segments you will see stations stars with a circle, this means that there is Realtime data available for that station. Under the map is a table which lists the stations and Dataflow region that are in that segment and gives a brief description of the data available. You can navigate to the data in two ways; by clicking on the desired station or Dataflow icon on the map or by selecting the station or Dataflow region on the table. On this page you can also navigate to another segment on the Regional View Map on the left. Scrolling down you will see a picture for the segment as well as a segment description. To view data click on your desired station or the boat icon.
Underway Coverages (Dataflow) Data: If you selected to view Dataflow Data, you will navigate to a third tier or level, the Dataflow Page. You will see interpolations for the most recent cruise date for each parameter. You can switch to a different date by using the scroll window and clicking on your desired date and clicking the “View Selected Date” button. You can download the data represented by clicking the “Download Data from M/D/YYYY” button.
Fixed Continuous Station Data: If you selected a station to view Station Data, you will navigate to a third tier or level, the Station Page. The default view is the most recent 7 days of archived data. To view other data or a longer period of data simply used the calendars to select a start and end date and click the “View Selected Date(s)” button. At any time you can download the data you are viewing by clicking the “Download this Archived Data” button.
Realtime Continuous Stations Data: If you selected a station with Realtime data available when you navigate to Station Page you will see the same options as on the above description of the Fixed Continuous Station Data but you will also see a “View Realtime Data” button. If you click this button you will be taken to a page displaying the last 7 days of data up to the most recent measurement. If you click on a specific graph for a parameter of interest you can select a different range of dates to view. You will not be able to download this data.
Downloaded Data: Once you have downloaded data files you will see that for some data, the cell is blank and there is an error code associated with the data. For definitions of the error codes see the Data Disclaimer and Info link under “Resources” on the Main Page.