McWilliams, Sam

Raghukumar, Kaus

English

ScholarWorks @ The University of New Orleans

University of New Orleans 
ScholarWorks@UNO 
Ocean Waves Workshop 
Oct 17th, 10:30 AM - 10:45 AM 
Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 2 Notes 
Kaus Raghukumar 
Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA 
Sam McWilliams 
Integral Consulting Inc., Santa Cruz, CA 
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Raghukumar, Kaus and McWilliams, Sam, "Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 2 Notes" (2019). Ocean 
Waves Workshop. 3. 
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/oceanwaves/2019/Session2/3 
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Session 2 – Sensors and Networks Supporting Maritime Operations 
Rapporteurs:   1Kaus Raghukumar, Ph.D., and 1Sam McWilliams, E.I.T. 
1Integral Consulting 
 
Networks of buoys and stations measure, process, and transmit important meteorological and 
oceanographic data from coastal marine areas to shore side processing centers. These important 
data are then made available to the public for maritime and aviation applications.   
Obsolete sensors at operational centers such as NDBC and Navy ranges should be replaced with 
state-of-the-art sensors.  A technology refresh should include NDBC buoys and Coastal-Marine 
Automated Network (C-MAN) stations.   
NDBC is currently updating the hardware on their wave/weather buoys. The hardware being 
updated consists of new processors that are more power efficient (0.198 Wh currently versus 
0.65 Wh previously). The sensing element (IMU for waves, anemometer for winds) remain the 
same, as do the processing algorithms.  
Historical data may or may not be helpful in supporting maritime operations. If the 
environmental observations are outdated (or historical), they may prove useless or detrimental.  
 
Engineering efforts should be conducted to increase the life of buoys. 
 
Automated servicing of buoys using Unmanned Surface Vehicles can reduce costs and improve 
efficiency, but are not currently being considered by NDBC. 
 
Key changes to data quality and collection methodologies are often contained in the metadata. 
Work to improve metadata reporting is ongoing.  
 
Data transfer is a key component to supporting decision makers.  Innovative nanosatellite 
constellations focused on communications such as Kinéis may help ensure connectivity with 
sensors and facilitate access to the correct data at the right time and from the right location.   
 
New technologies are due to digital innovations. Smart networks demand more data and operate 
at faster rates. Leverage programs such as DARPA’s Ocean of Things and Geospatial Cloud 
Analytics. 
 
Enhance Navy ranges with sensors and models. Networks of real-time sensors and models can 
support the planning and execution of training and operations. Real-time data is especially useful 
to support testing and evaluation of new capabilities such as unmanned vehicles. 
Observations during extreme events will lead to improved parameterizations in models to help 
plan for and prevent wave-related damages. 
New low-cost wave buoys such as the WindSpotter® measure waves using GPS and winds using 
the tail of the wave spectrum. These buoys can be deployed as swarms to aid in ship operations.  
Data bandwidth is currently limited by Iridium connections, but there is a possibility of 
transitioning data communication to CubeSat constellations.  
The utility of these kinds of innovative buoys to the Navy can be demonstrated during field trials 
such as the annual Advanced Naval Technology Exercise or ANTX.  
 


Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 2 Notes

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&amp;context=oceanwaves

Ocean Waves Workshop 2019 Session 2 Notes

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