A Rapid Deployment Integrated Environmental and Oceanographic Assessment System (IEOAS) for Coastal Waters: Design Concepts and Field Implementation

Emergency response and spill monitoring in coastal and near-shore environments are enhanced with the availability and use of real-time environmental data coupled with numerical simulation in an adaptive sampling framework. Invariably the various modules often exist on different computing platforms, and a common thread is needed to achieve an integrated system suitable for application in spill or emergency response situations. In emergency response operations, information sharing between on-scene command and incident command is often required to facilitate decision-making. Wireless (802.11b) data networks, coupled with use of concepts from distributed computing, can bridge the gap between data acquisition and data availability, thereby reducing the inherent latency within the system. Within the context of environmental monitoring, distributed computing consists of a distributed file system (DFS), remote application services (RAS), network management, and wireless data telemetry for wide-area network services (WAN). This study focuses on the implementation of an integrated rapid response environmental assessment system combining in situ monitoring, real-time telemetry, and direct numerical simulation (DNS) with web-based data access and visualization of oceanographic and environmental parameters. The viability of the system was demonstrated in mock-spill response exercises and successful application to scientific dye-tracer studies. Design details are presented.