A Preliminary Study of a Buoy System for Acquisition, Transmission, and Management of Hydrological Data Obtained from In-situ Measurements

The requirements for a system of remotely located, data collection buoys are considered first for a prototype system to be used in conjunction with the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-A), and then for a more advanced system. The necessary sensor characteristics for compatibility with the ERTS-A data collection platforms are considered, as well as possible sites for location of the prototype buoys. The advanced system is considered from the standpoint of continuous data collection both through satellite data relay and ground telemetry systems. Management of the data from a buoy system is analyzed, especially with regard to the advanced system.