• There are usually Web-based databases or other mechanisms for retrieving the
historical raw data, or quality-controlled data, or both.
• The data are primarily used by weather-predicting agencies to form local and
long-range forecasts, and to assist in advising mariners of existing or predicted
sea state.
A relatively new application of the technology that led to the development and
support of meteorological monitoring stations is deployment of oceanographic
monitoring stations that include in-water measurements in addition to the above
parameters. Such stations have also been developed for near-shore coastal zones. The
newest generation of in-water monitoring stations now provides specific data related to
biological processes and stress responses, thus expanding this technology from
monitoring of the environment to scientifically based predictive and diagnostic
capabilities.
We have been actively involved in the design, construction, deployment, and
expansion of near shore (coastal) marine diagnostic and predictive monitoring arrays.
This chapter will provide an overview of the current capabilities of our system, and an
example of the use of this capability to study aquatic ecosystem processes in a coastal
(coral reef) environment.
2. Challenges in Setting up a Network
A number of specific issues and challenges must be addressed before setting up an
in situ meteorological and oceanographic instrument array. Some of the common and
significant problems to setting up a data collection network include the following:
• The financial outlay to construct just one station can be over US $100,000 (but
price depends upon many factors). This includes the cost of the instruments,
replacements of those instruments, instrument calibrations, travel and
transportation costs, diving support, etc.
• In the U.S.A., permission must be received from the U.S. Coast Guard, the
Army Corps of Engineers, the local Fish and Wildlife Service, and possibly
the local Marine Protected Area (MPA) to construct the station. Such
permission may be extremely difficult to come by and may require numerous
permits, with long time lags in between application and award of the permit.
• If the site is very remote, the data must be sent via satellite. This requires
subscribing to an available and appropriate satellite, then implementing a data
retrieval system.
• The cost of field support for technicians is appreciable when you consider
salaries, boats, trailers, fuel, insurance, supplies, and other unforeseen costs.
One of the chief disadvantages these stations and networks have is that instruments
that malfunction or start to exhibit drift (i.e., begin to record an increasing disparity
between true and measured values) cannot be attended to in a timely (i.e., days or
weeks) fashion. Another problem is that incoming data in essence "stack up" and are
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historical raw data, or quality-controlled data, or both.
• The data are primarily used by weather-predicting agencies to form local and
long-range forecasts, and to assist in advising mariners of existing or predicted
sea state.
A relatively new application of the technology that led to the development and
support of meteorological monitoring stations is deployment of oceanographic
monitoring stations that include in-water measurements in addition to the above
parameters. Such stations have also been developed for near-shore coastal zones. The
newest generation of in-water monitoring stations now provides specific data related to
biological processes and stress responses, thus expanding this technology from
monitoring of the environment to scientifically based predictive and diagnostic
capabilities.
We have been actively involved in the design, construction, deployment, and
expansion of near shore (coastal) marine diagnostic and predictive monitoring arrays.
This chapter will provide an overview of the current capabilities of our system, and an
example of the use of this capability to study aquatic ecosystem processes in a coastal
(coral reef) environment.
2. Challenges in Setting up a Network
A number of specific issues and challenges must be addressed before setting up an
in situ meteorological and oceanographic instrument array. Some of the common and
significant problems to setting up a data collection network include the following:
• The financial outlay to construct just one station can be over US $100,000 (but
price depends upon many factors). This includes the cost of the instruments,
replacements of those instruments, instrument calibrations, travel and
transportation costs, diving support, etc.
• In the U.S.A., permission must be received from the U.S. Coast Guard, the
Army Corps of Engineers, the local Fish and Wildlife Service, and possibly
the local Marine Protected Area (MPA) to construct the station. Such
permission may be extremely difficult to come by and may require numerous
permits, with long time lags in between application and award of the permit.
• If the site is very remote, the data must be sent via satellite. This requires
subscribing to an available and appropriate satellite, then implementing a data
retrieval system.
• The cost of field support for technicians is appreciable when you consider
salaries, boats, trailers, fuel, insurance, supplies, and other unforeseen costs.
One of the chief disadvantages these stations and networks have is that instruments
that malfunction or start to exhibit drift (i.e., begin to record an increasing disparity
between true and measured values) cannot be attended to in a timely (i.e., days or
weeks) fashion. Another problem is that incoming data in essence "stack up" and are
136
Hendee, Stabenau, Florit, Manzello and Jeffris