Auckland
NEW ZEALANDERS in search of the perfect wave will soon know whether the surf
is running before they leave home. The same technology will allow port
authorities to spot boats making illegal discharges and researchers to track
subtle changes on foreshores without leaving their labs.
The advances will be made possible through a video system being installed at
beaches and ports throughout the country. Each unit consists of a video camera,
a computer and a modem linked to a phone line. Solar panels will provide the
power.
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The units will be erected on poles or buildings. Images and data will be sent
via phone lines to a central computer at the National Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Hamilton on North Island. The images will be
stored for scientific analysis, but will also be transferred immediately to
NIWA鈥檚 Web site at http://www.niwa.cri.nz so that surfers, fishermen,
scientists and local officials can use the Net to see what is happening at a
particular beach.
鈥淎 number of the units will be installed at our best surfing beaches, so
people will know what surfing conditions are like,鈥� says Kerry Black, a coastal
oceanographer with NIWA and manager of the project.
Over the next few weeks, the first units in the network will be installed at
three locations on North Island. Black says that another three will be operating
by the middle of next year, rising to a total of 15 within three years. Six
regional councils and three universities are collaborating with NIWA on the
project.
Software at the central computer will analyse the images to provide data on
the movement of sand, bathymetry, beach erosion and animal activity. Weather
stations will be installed at some of the sites to send back barometric and wind
readings. 鈥淲e expect the network to run for decades, so long-term data sets will
be accumulated for researchers,鈥� says Black.
Images on the system鈥檚 Web site will be updated hourly. But NIWA officials
will be able to call up a unit at any time so that images can be transferred
immediately to the central computer. 鈥淭his will be useful for checking sudden
changes in conditions, such as when a storm hits,鈥� says Black.
The project is called Cam-Era. 鈥淲e think it is unique,鈥� says Black. 鈥淲e know
of no other system with the same range of monitoring applications and degree of
public access.鈥�