The Buccoo Buoy was inspected on 12 May 2015. While the anchor ropes and metal base required cleaning, the sonde, probes and protective case were relatively unfouled. Three probes required the copper coating to be replaced.
A calibration was not conducted on this trip, and the sonde was cleaned and re-installed.
Data from the Sontek ADP was collected. The unit seems to be working fine and the data looks good.
The status of RMY RH sensor remains the same.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
March 2015 maintenance - Buccoo
BUTO1 was inspected ans serviced over the period 14-17 March 2015. During this period
the exterior of the buoy (floating base and metal supports) were cleaned
of barnacles and other fouling. All instruments were inspected, cleaned
and replaced. During this period the sonde was out the water for 3 days.
The anode is badly eroded and should be replaced.
The RMY temp/RH installed the previous month was not collecting data. The unit was inpsected and reinstalled, but the problem persists. On further correspondence with C-ARMs two other options will be looked at to correct the problem.
The Sontek ADP was also deployed on this trip.
Cellular and RF communications were confirmed from multiple sources.
The next visit is scheduled for the end of May 2015
The anode is badly eroded and should be replaced.
The RMY temp/RH installed the previous month was not collecting data. The unit was inpsected and reinstalled, but the problem persists. On further correspondence with C-ARMs two other options will be looked at to correct the problem.
The Sontek ADP was also deployed on this trip.
Cellular and RF communications were confirmed from multiple sources.
The next visit is scheduled for the end of May 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
February 2015 maintenance - Buccoo
Over the period 2-3 February 2015 the Buccoo CREWS was brought to shore for a follow-up maintenance. During this period
the exterior of the buoy (floating base and metal supports were cleaned
of barnacles and other fouling. All instruments were inspected, cleaned
and replaced. The floating base and metal supports were painted with anti-fouling paint to control relatively high rate of fouling (mianly by barnacles) on the buoy. Two of the anodes on the support base had to be replaced.
The RMY temp/RH , conductivity/temp probe and ch-a probe were also re-installed and are working properly.The relay arrangement on the ASC was not restored to "factory setting"
Cellular and RF communications were confirmed from multiple sources.
The next visit is scheduled for the end of February 2015
The RMY temp/RH , conductivity/temp probe and ch-a probe were also re-installed and are working properly.The relay arrangement on the ASC was not restored to "factory setting"
Cellular and RF communications were confirmed from multiple sources.
The next visit is scheduled for the end of February 2015
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
November 2014 Annual service and repair
During the 9-14 Dec period Jon Fajan was invited over to conduct an annual maintenance and repair of two Tobago CREWS. During this period the exterior of the buoy (floating base and metal supports were cleaned of barnacles and other fouling. All instruments were inspected, cleaned and replaced. Two months prior (September) the Buccoo CREWS was not transmitting data. The cause was thought to be a power surge, which triggered a power failure. A relay was by passed and the power restored resulting in the transmission of data from the CREWS. The CREWS was redeployed on 13 Nov 2014 but due to overcast and rainy conditions we were unable to reset the ASC because the solar
panels are only putting out about 13V today. Removing and replacing the
positive wires from the battery did not reset. The power was put back on the
bypass and an attempt will be made to reset during the service visit to repaint
the hull in the very near future. If at that point the voltage from the panels
exceeds 13.5V and the relay still does not reset –
the ASC (it would have failed within the 1 year of deployment) may have to be checked by YSI. The buoy was deploy without the RMY temp/rh sensor and
without the turbidity and chl-a EXO2 sensors as these are all in need of
service. Cellular and RF communications were confirmed from
multiple sources.
Previous basic maintenance was also conducted in August 2014, July 2014, June 2014, April 2014, February 2014. Inspections were inconsistent due to team changes, sea conditions and other logistical constraints. Ideally Buccoo should be monitored twice monthly due to the high rate of fouling, however this is not logistically possible.
Previous basic maintenance was also conducted in August 2014, July 2014, June 2014, April 2014, February 2014. Inspections were inconsistent due to team changes, sea conditions and other logistical constraints. Ideally Buccoo should be monitored twice monthly due to the high rate of fouling, however this is not logistically possible.
Monday, May 5, 2014
April 2014 scheduled maintenance
The Buccoo Reef CREWS given a basic maintenance service on 24st April
2014. Moderate barnacle and algal fouling was noted, but less severe than the last time. No obvious physical damage was noted, but barnacles were noted to have attached to the top of the EXO2 at the connections of the cables. Some fouling "crud" was also noted on the female connector then de-coupled from the EXO2. The copper coating remains intact and holding. The failure of the Turbidity probe to
pass the QC test remains unresolved (the same issue exist for ARTO1),
even though it all seems right during the cal. Recommended action is a
firmware upgrade.
Possible error with barometric readings. Pressure ranges from 1013-1015 millibar throughout the day. A 1millibar change suggest a 10m displacement.
Possible error with barometric readings. Pressure ranges from 1013-1015 millibar throughout the day. A 1millibar change suggest a 10m displacement.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
March 2014 Scheduled Maintenance
The Buccoo Reef CREWS (BUTO1) was serviced on 19/03/2014 after several months of basic maintenance. Rough seas prevents schedules maintenance in December/January.
Pre-cal CTD
Depth: 1.05m
Temperature: 27.23
Conductivity: 56155
Salinity: 35.5
Mooring lines, the buoy and the hardware attached to the buoy remained intact and with no noticeable damage. Mooring lines and the buoy were heavily fouled with green filamentous algae and sessile barnacles. The anchors remained intact with no cracks or weaknesses noticed. The eastern subsurface buoy has shifted up to below the surface of the water, and will be adjust on next visit.
The EXO2 was heavily fouled primarily with sessile barnacles at both ends. The fouling was to the extent that it prevent the opening of the unit from the protective casing and the release of the probes from the EXO2 base unit. Most of the copper coating surrounding the probes had been oxidised but no physical damage was noticed on the sensors. The probes were thoroughly cleaned of all barnacles, algae and other encrustations. All debris removed from the threading and krytox gel reapplied to all ports prior to reconnection to the base unit. On recalibration it was noted that the conductivity/temperature probe was faulty (during calibration it registered temperature of 1.xx e-9 and conductivity readings of 96500 in the conductivity standard) and has been replaced with a new probe. The faulty probe has been sent to YSI from examination. The new probe passed calibration process. A QC result was generated during the TSS calibration process for reasons undetermined. This also occurred during the first installation of the CREWS.
Buccoo is a high fouling area and as a result more regular checks to BUTO1 will be made. Basic checks will be made twice per month to clean any fouling and recalibration exercises conducted monthly as best as possible.
Pre-cal CTD
Depth: 1.05m
Temperature: 27.23
Conductivity: 56155
Salinity: 35.5
Mooring lines, the buoy and the hardware attached to the buoy remained intact and with no noticeable damage. Mooring lines and the buoy were heavily fouled with green filamentous algae and sessile barnacles. The anchors remained intact with no cracks or weaknesses noticed. The eastern subsurface buoy has shifted up to below the surface of the water, and will be adjust on next visit.
The EXO2 was heavily fouled primarily with sessile barnacles at both ends. The fouling was to the extent that it prevent the opening of the unit from the protective casing and the release of the probes from the EXO2 base unit. Most of the copper coating surrounding the probes had been oxidised but no physical damage was noticed on the sensors. The probes were thoroughly cleaned of all barnacles, algae and other encrustations. All debris removed from the threading and krytox gel reapplied to all ports prior to reconnection to the base unit. On recalibration it was noted that the conductivity/temperature probe was faulty (during calibration it registered temperature of 1.xx e-9 and conductivity readings of 96500 in the conductivity standard) and has been replaced with a new probe. The faulty probe has been sent to YSI from examination. The new probe passed calibration process. A QC result was generated during the TSS calibration process for reasons undetermined. This also occurred during the first installation of the CREWS.
Buccoo is a high fouling area and as a result more regular checks to BUTO1 will be made. Basic checks will be made twice per month to clean any fouling and recalibration exercises conducted monthly as best as possible.
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| barnacles settling at junction between protective cap and EXO base inhibiting smoothing opening of unit |
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| Fouling within protecting casing |
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| BUCO1 anchor |
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| Copper coating deterioration |
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| Range of sizes of barnacles colonising EXO2 |
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| Deterioration of copper coating on probes |
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| Tough algal mat and barnacles covering protective cover and probes |
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| Settlers on top of EXO2 |
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| Fouling on CREW buoy |
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Welcome to the Maintenance Log for the BUTO1 CREWS station!
This station was installed on November 23rd, 2013. It is an anchored buoy located west and north of the western tip of Tobago not far from Buccoo Bay, and is owned and operated by Trinidad and Tobago's Institute for Marine Affairs (IMA) in collaboration with the Coral Reef Early Warning System (CREWS). CREWS handles the data stream and ecoforecasting for this station, and operates out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML).
We are informally referring to the buoy as BUTO1 (Buccoo Reef, Tobago the 1st) although the National Weather Service in the US will also be giving it an all-numeric buoy designation.
For more information about IMA, please visit its website at this location: http://www.ima.gov.tt/
The new buoy's exact coordinates are
We are informally referring to the buoy as BUTO1 (Buccoo Reef, Tobago the 1st) although the National Weather Service in the US will also be giving it an all-numeric buoy designation.
For more information about IMA, please visit its website at this location: http://www.ima.gov.tt/
The new buoy's exact coordinates are
N 11° 11.095'
W 60° 50.870'
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