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Marine Environmental Monitoring Network MARNET
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To monitor conditions in the Baltic and the North Sea, Germany's Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) set up MARNET, a marine environmental monitoring network.
The MARNET software is based on a distributed data management system which is deployed on a number of measuring stations in the North and Baltic Seas. The system collects hydrographic, meteorological, and biogeochemical data to help monitor conditions within the Baltic and North Sea eco systems. The Environmental Monitoring Network currently consists of ten automated measuring stations, which are installed on buoys, lighthouses, and unmanned lightships. Three of these stations, which are located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany), are operated by the Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemuende (IOW) on behalf of BSH. Werum has modernized fundamental aspects of MARNET.
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MARNET Measuring Stations
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Technical Details of a Station
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| Scope of Modernization Project |
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Werum provided the measuring stations with equipment such as components for data recording and storage at sea. The stations, which are controlled via satellite and GSM communication links, utilize these connections to send the recorded data to a central onshore system, where they are archived and distributed to all the institutes involved in the projects. Werum tested the system on a fully functional prototype before going online with the overall setup.
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| Homogenous Network Structure |
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Since its modernization, the MARNET network has taken on a more uniform structure. The harmonized IT infrastructure of the new data management system guarantees integrity of the data. It also provides centralized network configuration and administration, as well as increasing the ability of the onshore stations to communicate with the individual measuring stations.
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| Increased Capabilities and Performance |
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The new system performs much more efficiently than it used to. The extreme conditions under which the automated measuring stations operate in the North and Baltic Seas lead to high demands on the physical and functional properties of the software and hardware. Many of MARNET's components come from Werum's data management system DSHIP, which has been used successfully for many years on a variety of research vessels. The hardware for the new system was supplied by National Instruments and their Compact FieldPoint System. With the modernization of its equipment, MARNET is able to combine low energy consumption with meeting all its storage and networking requirements. A small network on board each of the measuring stations communicates with all the measuring devices which have been installed. Device servers control TCP/IP data conversion in serial communication. Every hour, the data recorded by the system is sent to an onshore system via a METEOSAT link. In addition, MARNET stores measured data on robust, in situ CompactFlash Media cards. On routine maintenance visits, these cards can be changed and brought ashore.
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| Configuration Management |
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A configuration management system keeps track of the details of each station's measuring devices, data recording intervals and data transmission cycles. This is a generic system, which can be easily configured to adapt to the requirements of each specific measuring station.
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| Stand-alone Operation of Stations |
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These stations are designed to operate on a stand-alone basis for several months without system failure or the need for on-site maintenance. It is therefore essential that IT systems installed at sea are extremely reliable. Remote control and monitoring of the systems is guaranteed through bidirectional GSM links to the stations. As a result, operators have constant access to the data recorded by each of the stations. They can then screen the data or check data and error lists to monitor the current state of affairs at each station. In this way, the measuring stations at sea can be monitored and controlled from onshore stations, and data that cannot be transferred by METEOSAT connection can be actively downloaded using the GSM link.
Overall, we can say that the system has helped to reduce the need for on-site maintenance to a minimum, thereby saving the agency time and money.
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| Additional Information |
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For more information on the monitoring network MARNET visit:
 Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH)
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