Oceanographic data collection and subsea data relay

Data Buoys

The first group contains Oceanographic Buoys able to collect  physical and chemical parameters, like sea waves  data and energy spectra, quality parameters as dissolved oxigen, pH, turbidity, salinity and others depending on the special transducers used. The second group contains all buoys deployed  to relay  data acquired by underwater and seabottom devices.

We started to manage data buoys since the fundation  in year 2000. Our first project was the Italian Data Buoys Network, involving 15 buoys  in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
At present we manage directly more than 25 data buoys and have sold more than 50 buoys worldwide.  Basically Envirtech data buoys can be divided in two main groups:

Envirtech Deep Sea MKI-2 

In 2007, Envirtech developed the DeepSea MKI buoy for directional waves measurement.  All the buoys Envirtech MKI-2 integrate a solid state MEMS directional wave measurment pack, and a meteorological station. The payload can be expanded hosting further underwater instrumentation for the measurement of  chemical and physical sea parameters. The buoy is composed of a central metal pole in AISI 316 Stainless steel and a rotationally moulded, medium density, UV stabilized,  buoyant having the shape of a truncated cone. The buoy dimensions, the focal light height  and the radar corner reflector allow good visibility in day and night conditions (3 nm).
Leading  features are:
► Inertial sensor  (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) embedding a micro  digital compass  able to measure the directional waves parameters and  spectra;
► A very low power consumption CPU with high processing capability;
► A VHF or UHF radio modem with  power from 100mW to 10W;
► An Inmarsat D+ satellite transceiver embedding a  GPS receiver to be used as back up relay  system and  to treck the buoy position;
► Autonomous power supply system based on a  primary lithium batteries pack and an optional indipendent  solar panels power pack.
All data provided by  sensors (wave sensors, meteo sensors, multi-parametric probes) are stored using a compact flash NVRAM with  capacity up to 32 Gb. The MKI-2 CPU integrates  three axial acceleration and the three axial gyro, to get the wave directional spectra, together the zero crossing analysis. The electronic unit is protected inside a water proof cylinder equipped with underwater proof  connectors to interface the radio antenna, the meteo sensors, the satellite modem and optional multiparametric probe (CTD + other sensors ) that can be fixed on the low part of the pole. The pole and the buoyant can be disassembled to facilitate the transport of the buoy: in particular the pole can be splitted in three parts and the buoyant can be divided in three segments (Envirtech proprietary patented design).

Deep Sea MKI-2