The industry's recognized authority for design, engineering and application of equipment and services in the global ocean community
Issue link: http://sea-technology.epubxp.com/i/586584
www.sea-technology.com October 2015 / st 13 that integrate the data logger, modem, regulator and wiring, the buoys are able to transmit data reliably and quickly across multiple communication platforms with- out limiting sensing capabilities. The other side of wireless data transfer lies in the Web- based accessibility afforded through Web-hosted online services in the form of Web-based SCADA. This type of system allows for people from all over the world to se- curely connect in real time into the same set of stations via dedicated control centers. Monitoring platforms are also able to conduct automatic quality assurance and quality control processing to pre-empt any communica- tions issues that could arise. Alarm notifcations via email or SMS can be used to notify users of exceptional mea- surements in real time. The ability to integrate into vessel traffc systems (VTS) also allows for the fexibility of buoys to act as integral parts of complex port authority naviga- tion systems. Real-time hydrodynamic modeling systems can also be built into the software to predict weather pat- terns or other dangerous environmental advisories. Project Neptune Based on a fow-through system's benefts and opera- tional considerations, the Pollution Control Department of Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) en- gaged Pentair Environmental Systems to deploy a com- prehensive real-time coastal monitoring system known as Project Neptune. The system provides early warnings for water quality conditions that may lead to problems such as fsh kills, unusable beaches or pollution. In combi- nation with a fne-grid hydrographic model, the system provides forecasts of problems to aid emergency response and to lead cleanup operations to the most critical loca- tions. The monitoring system is highly integrated with instru- ments to monitor a variety of water quality, hydrographic or meteorological conditions in the open coastal waters of one of the busiest shipping ports in the world. The net- work consists of eight buoys strategically located at en- vironmentally sensitive areas; near aquaculture fsheries, ports and loading terminals, and recreational beaches. Located in tropical waters, the buoy mounts all the water quality instruments in a fow-through system inside the buoy to eliminate light and reduce biofouling. A peristal- tic pump system includes pumps to draw samples from the water surface, midcolumn or near-bottom depths to provide fne resolution of water quality conditions related to depth. Measured parameters include physical water quality (electrical conductivity, salinity, turbidity, dissolved "Flow-through proves more effective for instrumentation that requires a high degree of precision."