A wireless real‐time coastal observation network

Abstract

A new integrated coastal observation system is providing preliminary data from the North American Great Lakes. This system can be implemented in other coastal regions. To date, it has been successfully deployed on Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie to make seabed to sea surface measurements of chemical, biological, and physical parameters, which are transmitted wirelessly through buoys and permanent stations. Called the Real‐Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON), the new system leverages existing networking technology to provide universal access to a wide variety of instrumentation through the use of an underwater Ethernet port server [Austin, 2002]. A team of NOAA engineers and scientists has completed the development and testing of this integrated coastal observation network.

Diatoms abound in ice-covered Lake Erie: An investigation of offshore winter limnology in Lake Erie over the period 2007 to 2010

“…The extensive (> 7 km wide) cache seen in the central basin in 2008 could have an origin in the storm that passed through the lake in the week preceding the 2008 investigation. A permanent NOAA-GLERL Real-Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON; Ruberg et al, 2007) Station located at Toledo Channel Marker # 2 in the lake's western basin recorded maximum wind speeds of 50 knots from the north accompanied by a drop in air temperature of > 10°C to − 20°C just 2 days prior to the survey. The cache observed in the central basin ( Fig.…”

Societal Benefits of the Real-Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON): Implications for Municipal Drinking Water Quality

“…Surface wireless and wired underwater guest ports (Austin, 2002) provide an opportunity for installation of a wide range of sensors from any regional institution without incurring the expense of a buoy development and deployment program. Recent deployments have demonstrated the system's capacity to provide long-term observations and the ability to respond to episodic events (Ruberg et al, 2007). Providing information to drinking water managers in time to respond to the effects of changing environmental conditions in Lake Erie demands long-term observations of dissolved oxygen over several weeks coupled with observations of pH and temperature variation over only a few hours.…”

“…The Ann Arbor operations center controls data collection platforms and transfers sensor data for web display, archive, research, and forecast applications (after Ruberg et al, 2007).…”

“…Real-time observations are needed to provide resource users with information on the current status of the ecosystem to reduce public health risks (Oceans.US, 2006). The next generation of national coastal observation buoys must be designed with networking technology concepts (Ruberg, Brandt et al, 2007) to keep up with the increasing demands of observation requirements and benefit from technological advances.…”

Winter limnology on the Great Lakes: The role of the U.S. Coast Guard

“…1) and on occasion, filtrate was collected for analysis of dissolved nutrients. During times when Neah Bay returned to Cleveland, the vessel occupied a hydrographic site at the location of the Cleveland Central Buoy, a seasonal NOAA-GLERL Real-Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON: Ruberg et al, 2007) station located 10 km north of Cleveland. At this site, crew members measured vertical light attenuation through the water column and collected near-surface water samples using a Van Dorn-type bottle for same-day processing at BGSU thereby contributing to our seasonal estimates of production by the diatom-dominated winter algal community.…”