KwaZulu-Natal Bight Sentinel Site - South Africa

The KwaZulu-Natal Bight Sentinel Site (KZNBSS) is a coastal observatory situated on the subtropical east coast of South Africa. The KZNBSS forms part of distributed network of sentinel sites for LTER coordinated by the Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure (SMCRI) initiative of the Department of Science and Innovation of South Africa. The site is in its deployment phase with the first instruments launched in February 2022. The network comprises 6 Underwater Temperature Recorder Arrays (UTR) deployed offshore and 3 shallow UTRs deployed in permanently submerged rocky shore gullies for the facilitation of shallow water temperature observations. The site encompasses a coastal reach of 150 km that includes the uThukela MPA to the northeast. Deployment of additional instruments (2023-2025) near the City of Durban will include an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and a METOCEAN Coastal Observation Buoy. A Pelagic Ecosystem LTER Programme will also be established in partnership with regional institutions and existing research projects.