The University of Rhode Island (URI) had a recent requirement for two oceanographic buoy systems and a land-based deck unit for ongoing oceanographic research under the Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment Innovation & Modeling (RI-CAIM). Funded by the National Science Foundation (Award #OIA-1655221), RI-CAIM is a five-year grant program. Representatives from the University approached leading global data buoy manufacturers Ocean Scientific International Ltd. (OSIL) with their specifications, and OSIL are delighted to be providing suitable systems to the project.

Researchers have requested systems that can utilize a new array of sensors and equipment, called the integrated Bay Observatory, that has already been acquired by URI through RI C-AIM. The data from this platform will be sent back to a computer system hosted at URI’s Bay Campus and parsed to a networked database, RI C-AIM’s Rhode Island Data Discovery Center, for real-time or near-real time data display. 

This database would operate within a suitable software system that would allow users to change settings or trigger samplers remotely (using either programmed interval sampling or manually triggered by a user). OSIL have an established reputation for providing fully integrated systems that consistently deliver high-quality data to the end user in practical formats.

OSIL are providing two of their 1.2m Tern Buoys for the project, tough and durable systems that can withstand the harshest of conditions and are ideal for extended coastal monitoring deployments. The Tern buoy hull design incorporates a stainless steel sub frame with a moon pool for instrument protection, and its modular manufacture makes the buoy easy to ship and assemble on-site following delivery. The buoy frame design has also been modified to allow an autonomous water sampler system to be connected to the bottom of the buoys.

The buoys are to be deployed year-round in Narragansett Bay, while the land-based deck unit is to be housed in a permanent monitoring station set up within a disused lighthouse. All systems will host a range of Sea-Bird sensors in addition to a full suite of meteorological instruments and GPS tracking fitted to the data buoys.

For further information or sales enquiries, please contact: sales@osil.com or call +44 (0) 2392 488 240.