The Coastal Monitoring Program is an ongoing data collection effort to:
The Program was initiated by the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the mid 2010s to support aquaculture site selection and management. CMAR assumed responsibility for the Program in 2019, and has since expanded its scope and mandate.
Through this program, CMAR collects and publishes high resolution ocean data from around the coast of Nova Scotia. Monitoring typically takes place within 1 km of the shore, at depths from 0 to 70 m. More recently, monitoring has been expanded inland to include Nova Scotia’s lakes and rivers.
Following the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles, data is publicly accessible for free in a variety of formats. CMAR has published data collected dating back to 2015.
Visit the Data Access section below to view monitoring station locations, download summary reports, and access full datasets.
Temperature, dissolved oxygen, and salinity data is recorded by autonomous sensors. Sensors are typically deployed at standard depths on vertical moorings referred to as “sensor strings”.
Each sensor string is deployed in one location for 3 to 12 months, with sensors recording data every 10 to 60 minutes. CMAR maintains over 70 sensor strings and is continuously expanding into new areas.
CMAR publishes the Water Quality data in summary reports and datasets. Tagged animal detection data collected by the acoustic release sensors is shared with the Ocean Tracking Network.
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) measure several wave parameters, including wave height, wave period, and wave direction.
Each ADCP is typically deployed in one location for 30 to 90 days and records wave parameters every 60 minutes.
CMAR publishes the Wave data in summary reports and datasets.
Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) measure current speed and direction at different depths throughout the water column.
Each ADCP is typically deployed in one location for 30 to 90 days and records current parameters every 60 minutes.
CMAR publishes the Current data in summary reports and datasets.
Program data is available for free with no sign-in required. The interactive map below shows the locations for which CMAR has published data. Use the layer list in the top right corner of the map to toggle the station locations for each data type.
Click on a station marker to access the relevant summary report and dataset links associated with that station. Summary reports can also be accessed via the Reports page. Datasets can also be accessed directly from the Nova Scotia Open Data Portal and CIOOS Atlantic.
For additional details on how to access each data resource, view the Data Access Reference Sheet.
Please note, all Wave reports and datasets are under revision and will be updated by December 31, 2024.
Our team of experts transforms complex ocean data into simplified, accessible information streams and visuals for a diverse range of stakeholders.
Visit our Data Governance Page for a general overview of CMAR’s data governance initiatives, or visit our full Data Governance Website for in-depth information on our quality control procedures.
CMAR maintains a suite of R packages on GitHub to partially automate processing and quality control of the Coastal Monitoring Program data.
Help us prioritize our data collection and processing efforts to better serve our stakeholders. If you have accessed or used any program data, please complete our questionnaire with your feedback.
