Harbor Observation Station

Posted on: July 13, 2009 | admin | Comments Off | Print Article | Rate Post:

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Alaska SeaLife Center and Partners Launch Harbor Observation Station
First in planned network will provide useful information for harbormaster, mariners

Installation began this week on the first of what scientists hope will be a statewide network of stations that collect data on atmospheric and ocean conditions near Alaska’s harbors.

The prototype equipment will be installed on the breakwater crest at Seward’s harbor entrance.  The equipment includes a full suite of weather sensors. Six hundred feet of telemetry cable extending out to a depth of 30 feet will provide connectivity for a set of marine sensors.  When completed, two-minute averages of wind speed and direction, air temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and solar radiation will be reported to displays in the Seward Harbormasters Office and on the project web site (http://denali.micro-specialties.com/AHON/Seward). Underwater sensors will measure water temperature and conductivity every second, with hourly averages used to compute and report water salinity and density. Tide level will be reported every six minutes and wave conditions every hour.

With program funding from the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS), the Alaska SeaLife Center contracted with the UAA School of Engineering and an Alaskan electronics firm, Micro Specialties, Inc., to handle technical aspects of equipment design, installation and testing. UAA also was sponsored by NOAA’s National Weather Service to design and equip the station with a system that screens the internet for coded tsunami warning text messages and automatically translates these for voice synthesized broadcast over marine VHF radio to mariners.

“We hope to first erect the station tower, then establish radio telemetry communications with the harbormasters office and the station on the breakwater. After that, we’ll install the instrumentation and test the data logging. Finally, we’ll get the network arrangements set up to transfer data to the Micro-Specialties server,” said Orson Smith, the UAA engineering professor leading the project.

Alaska has more than 100 harbor or boating facilities where commercial and recreational voyages originate. Harbors invariably attract development, and waterfront businesses are at risk for coastal erosion, flooding, and tsunamis, and may affect the marine environment by generating pollutants. An environmental monitoring system will provide reporting and forecasting of weather and other coastal marine conditions, and can help monitor impacts of climate change on coastal communities.

“The Alaska Harbor Observation Network will collect data that can help us make informed decisions about coastal development,” said Seward Harbormaster Kari Anderson. “This real-time reporting and forecasting of marine conditions will be valuable for recreational and professional mariners. It is fantastic that the Seward Harbor will be the test site for the initial prototype.”

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