Florida: Oceanography in the Gulf of Mexico Campbell gear used
for telemetry of data from offshore station This station is
currently transmitting live data from the region of Tropical
Storm Debby, including up to 18 foot waves. Data viewable at
this link. Recent events in the Gulf of Mexico—hurricanes, oil
spill, red-tide algae blooms—have shown the need for real-time
accessibility of oceanographic data for this region. Quick
access to this information can show the extent of damage and
help in planning responses. In response to this need, Florida
State University (FSU) was asked to design a telemetry system
that would retrieve oceanographic measurements from a tower
located about 12 mi off shore. The tower already hosted a
weather station with various atmospheric instruments and a
Campbell Scientific CR3000 datalogger. The CR3000 stored data
from the sensors and then transmitted the data to shore via a
radio modem. FSU had the task of integrating an existing group
of oceanographic instruments on the ocean bot