RECON

River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network

Enter Site Take a Tour

What's New

Weather Stations Update

Originally deployed in 2012, thanks to funding from the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) through a grant from Lee County, the RECON weather stations became the first weather stations in this area located directly over the water. Designed to give researchers and boaters near real-time information on the current over water weather conditions, they quickly became the go to weather source for the local boating community. ...

The River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) is a network of water quality sensors deployed throughout the Caloosahatchee river and estuary to provide real-time, water quality data to scientists, policy makers, and the general public.

The extensive watersheds of the Caloosahatchee (1,400 square miles) and Lake Okeechobee (4,400 square miles) each contribute water that flows into the Caloosahatchee estuary and the Gulf of Mexico. Water quality is affected by both Lake Okeechobee discharges and runoff from the Caloosahatchee watershed. Over time, these watersheds have changed from low-nutrient loading marshes and wetlands to high loading urban and agricultural land uses. Nutrients increase turbidity and decrease concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO). In addition, excess nutrients fuel nuisance algal blooms. Losses of low-nutrient adapted communities, such as seagrasses have contributed to changes in fish, crustacean and marine mammal communities.

Real-time Data

View graphs of recent data

Map View

Zoom-in and pan to sites and obtain a quick summary of current conditions

Boater Forecast

See tide predictions, wind forecasts, and wave heights from the region

Enter Site Take a Tour

What is RECON?

The River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) is a network of water quality sensors deployed throughout the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary to provide real-time, water quality data to scientists, policy makers, and the general public.

The data generated from RECON allows scientists to monitor conditions related to water quality and resource management such as:

Alteration of underwater light that sustains seagrass
Changes in salinity due to freshwater releases or lack of, resulting in reduced biodiversity
Elevated chlorophyll and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) indicative of enhanced nutrient levels
Low oxygen conditions (hypoxia)

RECON was established in 2007 to understand the dynamic and changing conditions in the Caloosahatchee partly caused by extreme freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee watershed. The extensive watershed (1,400 square miles) and Lake Okeechobee (4,400 square miles) each contribute water that flows into the Caloosahatchee estuary and the Gulf of Mexico. Large volumes of freshwater runoff can cause lower salinities and have led to degradation of essential fish habitat, such as oysters and seagrass. RECON is used in all ongoing research projects at the Marine Laboratory to better understand the effects of disturbances on marine plants and animals.

Recon Weather Station RECON uses state-of-the-art sensors with integrated anti-biofouling systems to maximize deployment time, minimize operational costs and provide high quality data. RECON measures key water quality parameters such as: temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, depth, CDOM, chlorophyll a, turbidity. Additionally, several RECON sites are equipped with meteorological sensors which measure wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).

RECON is a real-time data network. The ability to observe an event in near real-time allows our scientific staff to understand events and determine if any actions (such as water sampling around a hotspot or area of concern) are necessary.