"instrumenting the Great Barrier Reef"
BackgroundA sensor network consists of a number of sensors spatially distributed across an area. Sensors can be used to monitor or detect events at a location: for instance, temperature changes or motion detection. Each sensor should be small and inexpensive and use little evergy to operate and transmit a stream of data over a wireless network.
Creating a wireless sensor network is challenging. An added difficulty in this project is the deployment of sensors in a marine environment: saltwater is corrosive and tropical waters encourage the growth of biological life on surfaces... P. Ridd and M. Heron will develop experimental sensors for this project.
Davies Reef: the old met tower (left) will be decommissioned later this year. The newly designed tower (right) is primarily for collecting meteorological data. It also is the first point of presence (POP) on the internet on the GBR and will host the “skipping microwave” link 70km back to shore. The SensorNet will be deployed around this tower (Photograph: N. Bordes).
The sensors will be deployed at Davies reef, which already has a weather station. Davies reef is located in the Great Barrier Reef at latitude 18°50'S, longitude 147°41'E, about 60km from Townsville.
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