DAERA launches Lough Neagh Blue Green Data Viewer

DAERA has launched the first stage of an on-line Lough Neagh data viewer as part of ongoing initiatives to tackle blue green algae blooms on the Lough.

The viewer will provide near real time high frequency data to enhance public knowledge and support ongoing research.

Welcoming the development DAERA Minister Muir said: “This viewer release is an important intervention in providing scientific data to help better understand water quality situation in the Lough. Making this data accessible greatly improves transparency, supports more effective decision making and improves the public’s understanding as we work together to address the water quality crisis at Lough Neagh.”

This initial data viewer release will display data from nine monitoring sites in the Lough and its main tributaries.

Three multiparameter in-lough probes, located in the northeast, northwest and southwest of the Lough will transmit information every 30 minutes on temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, specific conductivity and phycocyanin fluorescence.  (Phycocayanin flouresence provides a means to understanding blue green algal levels in the Lough and distinguish blue green algae from other non- toxic species.) 

A further six river probes, located at the foot of each of the major tributaries, measure temperature and dissolved oxygen only.  This data is updated on a monthly basis.

Users will be able to view recent probe data using interactive graphs.  Data can also be downloaded to assist more in-depth analysis over multiple years. 

Development of the viewer is a multistage process and NIEA are already collecting data for enhancements to the data viewer, including nutrient levels and algal types. These enhancements will be available in the coming months.

The viewer is available here