Port administration staff need easy, over the web, access to local wind and tidal information, as they rely on accurate local tide, current and weather information to manage shipping and general port operations safely and efficiently. Many environmental monitoring systems are good at recording data but aren’t always good at making it easily available. The Neon data- to-web service provides a simple, low-risk option to get the data to the people who need it very quickly. Adding a Neon data-to-web system enables existing monitoring operations to step up to internet level, making it easy to access directly usable information via the web, with automated reporting and alarming.
The data can also be viewed while you are mobile, with a smart phone or tablet. This enables pilots and other operators to access wind and tidal information in near real time while working on or around the harbour. Ships can get advanced warnings of any extreme conditions before entering the harbour.
Neon Remote Loggers can be installed at existing weather and tidal monitoring stations. They can be easily integrated with the existing wind speed, wind direction, sea level, velocity and direction instruments. For example, one station may be located on a tower out in the harbour, to monitor the conditions near the harbour entrance. Another may be located on a wharf.
For simpler measurements, one or more Unidata Starflow Acoustic Doppler instruments could be installed to measure the speed of the currents. The inbuilt depth sensor could also report he rise and fall of sea level. For wide channels, perhaps located at the harbour entrance, an underwater Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) which looks across the shipping channel could be installed. ADCP regularly measures the speed and direction of sea water currents as the tides ebb and flow. This instrument could also measure the rise and fall of sea level.
An ADCP continuously takes fast, accurate measurements of sea level and water movement in three dimensions, in near real time. These indicate the actual tidal forces acting on a ship and enable crew to ensure that the keel will always have sufficient clearance.
To measure cross-channel water currents, the ADCP transmits beams of sound pulses and calculates current velocities from the received ‘echoes’ reflected from suspended particles.
With a Neon Remote Logger system out in the harbour and another system at the wharf, wind and tidal data can be recorded and pushed on a regular interval, perhaps every 5 minutes up to a Neon server for storage and access. The communications link could be cell phone based or satellite based depending on the cell phone coverage in the area. Also, for critical operations such as this, it is wise to have two different communication paths. Adding a mix of cell phone and satellite telemetry systems spreads the risk of failure.
Authorised personnel with Internet browser can access at this information on the Neon server, in real time, or examine older data, perhaps looking for trends. When set up, alarm messages are automatically sent to notify staff if wind or tide exceeded acceptable programmable limits. If customised reports have been set up, they are automatically sent to selected people.
On the Neon server you can easily set up a schedule to automatically send reports to specific parties. All or any of the information can be automatically delivered at any time and frequency, in a variety of formats, such as email.
