Down East Instrumentation, LLC Delivers Real-Time Monitoring Buoy System to Client

The buoy system is the latest addition to their array of real-time monitoring buoys and coastal platforms that comprise the observational component of the Coastal Ocean Research & Monitoring Program (CORMP). CORMP is a member of the congressionally mandated Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Primarily funded by NOAA, CORMP was established in 2000 as a research and monitoring program to address the IOOS goals in the southeastern North Carolina coastal ocean. The buoy system is also an addition to the inventory of monitoring assets maintained by the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA), of which Down East is a member.

The system was successfully deployed in late May from the R/V Cape Hatteras, operated by the Duke Univ. Marine Lab. It is currently situated at CORMP’s ILM2 site in 17 meters water depth off the coast of Wilmington, NC. The buoy is outfitted with Down East’s Automated Buoy Weather Station, a turnkey atmospheric sensor package designed and built specifically for the harsh conditions experienced by coastal and deep water buoy moorings. Atmospheric parameters measured include air temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity and wind speed and direction. An on-board GPS receiver tracks buoy movement and keeps the buoy’s controller/data logger real time clock synced to UTC (Universal Coordinated Time). Additionally, a Sea-Bird Electronics SBE-37 MicroCat is integrated to the system to provide sea surface temperature and salinity. All of the sensors are sampled once an hour and the data is telemetered to shore using the Iridium satellite communications network. Data received is posted to the CORMP website.

The buoy system has been designed for deployment durations of up to one year between servicing.