Mid Atlantic Bight Prototype Wave Monitoring Network Engineering

This paper describes the engineering effort required to implement a prototype waves measurement system for near real-time acquisition and dissemination of wave amplitude data in the Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB) for the NOAA Coastal Waves Program (CWP). From late 1981 through mid 1983, a variety of methods were employed to extend coastal waves measurements further offshore from the previous CWP line-of-sight buoy system to the edge of the MAB continental shelf. These included a Waverider Satellite (WRS) Buoy, which transmits wave data through GOES satellites and position data through TIROS satellites, and the corresponding deep water mooring system, both of which required extensive developmental testing and modification to meet CWP mission requirements with high reliability and quantifiable accuracy. These efforts are described separately in the following text.