CANBERRA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A new network of spotter buoys off Victor Harbor, South Australia, is set to improve scientific monitoring of ocean conditions, providing real-time data on wave height, direction and temperature.
Deployed in Encounter Bay and the Southern Ocean by researchers from Flinders University, the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Oceanography team, and Victor Harbor Council, these high-tech buoys will fill critical gaps in coastal data, aiding research on climate change, sea level rise, and coastal erosion, according to a Flinders University release on Monday.
The initiative comes as unusually warm ocean temperatures have led to destructive brown foam washing up along the southern coastline, believed to be caused by microalgal blooms. The real-time data will help scientists, policymakers, and local governments better understand and respond to these environmental changes, it said.
"This will provide good baseline data about coastal waters that has been lacking," and improve the ability to model and predict coastal changes, said Associate Professor Miot da Silva from Flinders University's Beach and Dune Systems (BEADS) Lab.
The data will also support marine industries, tourism, fisheries, navigation, dredging operations, and search-and-rescue missions, ensuring safer and more sustainable coastal management, said Patrick Hesp, head of the BEADS Lab.
Data from the Spotter buoys, managed and analyzed through a three-and-a-half-year Enterprise Industry scholarship funded by Victor Harbor Council and Flinders University, will support local governments in developing more effective coastal protection strategies, Hesp said.
The project builds on ongoing collaborations between Flinders University, the SARDI, the Department of Environment and Water, and the Integrated Marine Observing System which operates a statewide network of wave buoys, said the Flinders University. ■
