Sofar’s new Smart Mooring is an environmental monitoring tool capable of measuring a wide variety of parameters with a single universal interface. Sofar has partnered with RBR to provide high-accuracy RBRcoda³ sensors to measure pressure, temperature, or dissolved oxygen along the smart mooring line and at the bottom. Initial projects will focus on using the RBRcoda³ D pressure sensors for realtime measurements of infragravity waves, tides, and storm surge.
The solar-powered Spotter surface buoy delivers both power and communications across the water column for seamless realtime access to the RBR data. The Spotter + Smart Mooring system will give researchers, coastal engineers, and anybody who wants to know what’s going on down there hyper-localized or regional awareness of any parameter.
The revolutionary concept of the Smart Mooring is that each part of the system is configurable and customizable. Each cable length (available in various sizes from 5m to 50m) can be connected to a sensor node, a mooring termination, or another length of cable directly in the field using only simple hand tools. Each sensor node is itself configurable and swappable–allowing for the use of a different RBRcoda³ sensor at each node.
The Smart Mooring system operates with power, data, and mechanical fastening handled by a single simplified cable.
The Smart Mooring platform overcomes several challenges presented by traditional moored systems, by delivering power and data over a single, marine-grade cable. First, the entire monitoring platform is significantly smaller and lighter than traditional ocean monitoring instrumentation, which makes for an easy deployment. Less drag means that smaller anchor weights and flotations are needed to secure the mooring in place. The entire Smart Mooring system can be deployed by a small boat. Less weight and size also means that the Smart Mooring can be shipped economically via air freight or standard ground transportation.
Currently, Sofar has two configurations to choose from, a temperature profiler and a water level gauge, or you can customize your own system. Visit sofarocean.com/products/smart-mooring for more information.