Needoba, J, A, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, USA, needoba@mbari.org
Johnson, K, S, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, USA, johnson@mbari.org
Monismith, S, G, Stanford University, Stanford, USA, 
Paytan, A, , Stanford University, Standford, USA, 
Los Huertos, M, , University of California (Santa Cruz), Santa Cruz, USA, 
Wasson, K, , Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Watsonville, USA, 
Coletti, L, , Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, USA, 
Fitzwater, S, , Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, USA, 
Jannasch, H, W, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, USA, 
Plant, J, , Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, USA, 

THE LAND/OCEAN BIOGEOCHEMICAL OBSERVATORY (LOBO): A SENSOR NETWORK FOR COUPLED NUTRIENT CYCLES IN A COMPLEX ENVIRONMENT

Observing coupled biogeochemical cycles and understanding their interactions in a complex environment is a difficult challenge. This challenge is accentuated by the limitations of present technologies for chemical measurements. These technological limitations nearly always require manual sample collection and transport to a laboratory for analysis, which results in severe undersampling of the environment. The LOBO observing system is an array of chemical sensors that are deployed in the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve with support from the NSF BioComplexity in the Environment Program. The network is intended to demonstrate the synergistic effects that accrue by employing multiple in situ chemical sensor platforms within the environment. Sensors are deployed in close proximity so that the propagation of environmental signals can be observed passing from node to node and transformations of the signals between each node can be quantified. We will present the results from the first year of observations with nitrate sensors that demonstrate the complex interaction of the nitrogen and hydrological cycles, and their modifications by human alteration of the ecosystem.