Monitoring and Assessment

Use Smart Wave Buoys

What Is It?

MetBuoy, Planet Ocean Ltd.

Data/Smart buoys can measure and report important data regarding wave action in real-time. This data can be essential for measuring the impact of storms and informing decision-makers. Wave buoys can measure all relevant properties of waves that are needed to determine their impact on the coastline and offshore and nearshore wave buoy data is important for analyzing and modeling storm events. Furthermore, real-time wave data can play a role in disaster management as well as marine safety. With advances in small and affordable motion sensors, the costs involved with wave buoy measurements have dropped enormously. Recently, the first smartphone-based wave buoy has been introduced. Smart buoys are versatile and can be equipped with multiple technologies that can go beyond wave measurement and also measure water quality and provide interpretive and educational data.

There are also several companies along with the US Navy which are looking into smart buoys as a small-scale renewable energy technology; they can gather energy from wave motion but farther out at sea and without installation on the ocean floor. Read more about a new deployment of a “PowerBuoy” here.

Benefits

Resource for more informed decision-making for marine transportation and safety
Lightweight versions of smart buoys allow for relatively quick deployment.
Real-time data of local marine conditions, including growing waves, is available to everyone through a phone’s internet connection
Smart buoys range in sizes and can be equipped with different technologies that are project-specific, such as water-quality testing, educational interpretation, humidity sensors, etc.

Drawbacks

If not deployed permanently, quick deployment is required during the onset of a storm event

Regulatory Impacts and Requirements

Unlike many of the other technologies showcased, the buoys deploy in bodies of water, and are thus subject to local and federal marine and waterway regulations as opposed to the building-based agencies showcased in other profiles.

Resources:

Axys Technology Inc: “AXYS ‘smart’ buoys help create Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)”
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System
ScienceDaily: “Smart buoy for measuring water pollutants”
BoatU.S.: “Talking Buoys, Better Boating”

Climate Resilience Toolkit