This ambitious project has been planned to provide publicly accessible data while making a minimal impact on the environment. Beachgoers have been able to spot the yellow research buoy anchored some distance off Shark Rock Pier in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“This project sees a locally designed and manufactured data collection buoy, providing a constant stream of information that simply hasn’t been available before,” says Andrew Young, director of eNtsa.
eNtsa director, Andrew Young, onboard SAIAB research vessel RV Observer with the research buoy located in Algoa Bay.
“A simple comparison would be the smart watch. Until you actually have the sensors in place, you have no idea of the data available and what it is going to tell you about your body. We expect to be learning through every step of this process.”
The project is in the early stages, and is currently fitted with temperature sensors, with more technology set for deployment as the research progresses.
While there is an element of the unknown about the project, due to the tempestuous and often unpredictable nature of the marine environment, enthusiasm for the initiative is high.
Everything from the design of the buoy, installation of the sensors and the solar panels which power the instrumentation, and even the chosen location of the mooring has been meticulously researched.
“We have done everything possible for a successful deployment, with a strong focus on utilising local resources, ingenuity and skills development,” says Young. “The sea is out of our control, so we simply have to be adaptable, and this will be part of the learning curve we face.”
The deployment of the research buoy in Algoa Bay, anchored a few hundred metres off-shore of Shark Rock Pier, is an important step in uncovering the mysteries of the sea, according to eNtsa director, Andrew Young.
eNtsa is an engagement entity of Nelson Mandela University, focused on supply and development initiatives on behalf of the automotive industry, and providing research for organisations such as Sasol and Eskom.
This research initiative is thanks to an agreement with the South African International Marine Institute (SAIMI), and has multiple goals, both in terms of data collection and providing opportunities for Masters students in a variety of disciplines.
“The instrumentation which will be contained within this buoy allows measuring of environmental conditions, and monitoring the marine ecosystem,” says Young. “The opportunities this platform creates for ongoing, detailed research will deepen our understanding of our environment.
"There are some 40 million people living along the Southern African coastline who rely on the ocean for their livelihood,” he said. “Information about changes in that environment is a vital part of planning for the future.”
The launch of this research buoy is the first of three planned for data collection in the bay, and was effected with assistance from RV Observer, a research vessel of the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB).
This research buoy is currently being used to monitor the temperature of Algoa Bay, and is anchored off-shore of Nelson Mandela Bay’s Shark Rock Pier.
“It is the collaboration of all the organisations that allows us to make projects like this a reality, and the information gleaned from this initial deployment will guide the project in terms of how we move to the next phase,” says Young.
“We have some expectations of the project, but we are working in uncharted territory, so there are both hard lessons and successes ahead.”
Some of the information anticipated are towards the measurement noise pollution in the Bay, migration patterns and movement of local sealife, currents, wave heights, tidal range, and to build up an overall indication of the bBay’s health.