Underwater Sensor Networks, Oceanography and Plankton Assemblages

The great barrier reef Australia (GBR) is affected by cold water intrusions originating in the Coral Sea and upwelled on the reef. Therefore biological interest in GBR upwellings has been driven by the view that upwelled waters rich in nutrients boost plankton production and overall productivity of the GBR system. We propose to employ a wireless sensor network (WSN) for in situ monitoring of upwellings. Temperature is a good proxy for upwellings however 3D dense spatial data is required to describe upwellings and their impact on plankton abundance. The array of underwater sensors was deployed at various depths on the coral reef in Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island, GBR. We propose that the temperature data is communicated real time using RF signal to the on-shore base station. WSN has capability to communicate temperature data in real time thus offering the opportunity for rapid response times to measure the biological impact of upwellings on reef assemblages. This permits us to collect the plankton data in real-time synchronized to the temperature changes. This paper outlines the methods of the deployment of WSN for ecological research. It also describes preliminary results.