About VECOS

The Virginia Estuarine and Coastal Observing System (VECOS) is a website designed to distribute the results of water quality and meteorological data monitoring efforts from the Chesapeake Bay and associated tributaries within Virginia. These data are provided from a variety of monitoring programs conducted by the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve - Viginia, including high resolution mapping of surface water quality (DATAFLOW), high-frequency measurements of water quality taken every 15 minutes from fixed, shallow water monitoring stations (CONMON), continuous measurements taken from deeper waters along multiple depths (Profiler). VECOS also provides links to external monitoring programs, including high-frequency water quality and meteorological monitoring at deep water locations in the Chesapeake Bay as part of the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS), meteorological monitoring locations specific to the York River watershed, and long-term routine water quality sampling, typically taken 12-20 times per year since 1985 through the Chesapeake Bay Program (Longterm). Information about how to use VECOS can be found here.