AHERC Team Develops Technology for Monitoring Ocean Storm Surge Levels

To measure storm surge and wave height during storms that impact remote coastal communities, the Rapid Sea Level Deployment project will use HOBO water level sensors to collect data. The HOBO MX2001 logger consists of a top-end logging unit and a water level sensor. The HOBO, which is mounted on the RSD tripod, collects pressure and temperature measurements at a rate of up to 1sample/second. Using the pressure of the sensor below water, atmospheric pressure collected at the above-water logger and temperature, the height of the water column is calculated. Data is stored internally and the logger can be programed to start/stop at set water levels to conserve the battery and storage space for only the desired collection periods. Once a storm has passed, data can be downloaded wirelessly via Bluetooth from the logger and emailed for analysis while the sensor waits in standby mode for the next storm. The design of the logger allows for a resident at the deployment site to easily download and send data back to UAF, eliminating the need for site visits to retrieve data.