One day, if John Cronin’s vision comes true, you might be able to check on the state of the Hudson River at that precise moment in time by checking a network of sensors feeding data to the Internet.
In August 2007, the institute and IBM announced a partnership to create the River and Estuary Observatory Network in the Hudson from Troy to New York harbor as the first technology-based monitoring and forecasting network for a river estuary.
Once installed, the network will allow for minute-to-minute monitoring of physical, chemical and biological data from New York’s Hudson and St. Lawrence Rivers via an integrated network of sensors, robotics and computational technology distributed throughout both rivers.
Beacon Institute deployed B1 — the first sensor array for the REON system — in the Hudson River off Denning’s Point on August 20, 2008. The sensor array was redesigned in 2009 and redeployed. It is moored with a four point tension mooring system that includes four 300 lb mushroom anchors. The shackles and chains of mooring adjust tension on the platform based on water and wind conditions, much like the way shock absorbers smooth the ride of an automobile.
PV panels provide solar power to batteries on deck, which power everything on the sensor platform including the wireless communications. The computer-controlled autonomous robotic profiler enables an array of multiple sensors to move up and down in the water for measurements.
Capital Green Scene airs at 11 a.m. Saturdays on 88.3-FM (The Saint-WVCR) from its studios on the Loudonville campus of Siena College.
Co-blogger Bill Helmer and I share the mike. The broadcast also streams live over the Internet. And, WVCR has also started to podcast select episodes of the show, which will be downloadable to a mobile device.