Application of a FerryBox: automatic measurements in the North Sea

The experience of over two years operation of a new monitoring system called FerryBox which uses ferryboats as carrier system for automated monitoring equipment is demonstrated and shows the functionality and applicability of such systems. The "German FerryBox" presented here has been installed on a ferry between Cuxhaven (DE) and Harwich (UK) and is in operation since November 2001. The system consists of a fully automated flow-through system with sensors and automatic analysers for the measurement of oceanographic, chemical and biological parameters, among which are nutrients and algal properties. The system provides detailed observations of the annual dynamics of nutrient and algae in the southern North Sea. The data are compared with measurements from buoys and by remote sensing. For interpreting the two-daily cruise data tracer trajectories from a numerical model are used.