Author(s)

M. Bencivenga, G. Nardone, F. Ruggiero & D. Calore

Abstract

The Italian Data Buoy Network consists of 15 oceanographic buoys, deployed along Italian coasts, on a seabed 100 meters deep. It collects directional sea wave data, meteorological data, sea surface temperature and in some cases quality parameters. Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and hyperspectral probes will be added in the future. The network will be also the main framework for tsunami wave study in the central Mediterranean Sea, and an early technological platform to study low-frequency sea motion detected in open sea using high-precision, multichannel, multisatellite GPS/Glonass/Galileo receivers and sea bottom instrumentation equipped with nano-resolution pressure sensors. Keywords: data buoys, coastal management, directional wave measurement, gravity waves, physical oceanography, iSSH, SST, tide, tidal waves, tsunami. 1 Introduction The Italian Data Buoy Network (RON) owned and managed by ISPRA, was completely redesigned by Envirtech in 2009 to acquire more oceanographic parameters and to increase nautical capabilities, reducing accidental buoy adrift events. The network goals comprise the Mediterranean Tsunami Assessment System (MeTAS) project. Since 1989, a network has been in place along Italian coasts, but this was only able to measure directional sea waves and sea surface temperature. It consisted of eight ‘slope-following’ Datawell Wavec buoys, and was called the Rete Ondametrica Nazionale (RON). It was a semi-real-time network with reduced capabilities in terms of prompt data accessibility, as only a small part of the collected data was available at the control centre. All data were stored at shore stations and manually downloaded on a quarterly basis using magnetic disks. In 1999, the number of buoys was increased to 10, introducing

Keywords

data buoys, coastal management, directional wave measurement, gravity waves, physical oceanography, iSSH, SST, tide, tidal waves, tsunami.