Instrumentation system for parametric data collection of OTEC using deep sea moored surface buoy

Abstract

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a clean form of ocean energy and one of the best sources for the mitigation of electrical power demand in islands in the vicinity of tropical countries like India. An integrated ocean observatory system has been developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) for the design of OTEC plants. The system comprises of a surface buoy anchored in 1200 m water depth. Sub-sea sensors are mounted on the induction mooring cable to enable reading and transmission of the water temperature, water velocity and other in-situ data on a real-time basis. This paper explains the unique oceanographic instrumentation system developed and implemented for the deep-sea moored surface buoy system at Kavaratti, Lakshadweep. The data received is logged onto an onboard Data Acquisition (DAQ) system and communicated through wireless mode Internet of Things (IoT) and redundant communication system using a Radio Frequency (RF) antenna. This DAQ system can handle high sample rates and large-size data packets without any interruption. The system architecture is designed with several modes of communication to ensure loss free data collection. This specially designed deep-sea moored observatory system can be implemented for similar oceanographic observations. The oceanographic profile data of water temperature, depth, and water velocity received from the system would be helpful in designing OTEC plants.