Development of a Coral Reef Observing System using 802.11 Wireless at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef

This paper describes the design, installation and operation of a high-speed, real-time coral reef observing system network at Heron Island, within the Australian Great Barrier Reef. As part of the Queensland Integrated Marine Observing System (Q-IMOS) node of the Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), a low data rate wireless sensor network has been operational at Heron Island since 2008. In 2013 a new surface reef pole and underwater cabled Ethernet network were installed on the edge of the Heron Island Reef lagoon, with telemetry back to the Heron Island Research Station achieved using a 300 Mbps wireless 802.11 link. The reef pole provides a network bridge to an underwater-cabled Ethernet network, and also provides an 802.11 wireless access point for the remainder of the Heron Island reef lagoon. Internet protocol networks provide for an extensible architecture, enabling the easy connection of any type of oceanographic instrument, camera or video system to the observing system. Acoustic monitoring receivers for fish tracking are connected to the network to allow for real-time monitoring. The underwater-cabled network is modular in design allowing for easy repair, expansion or reconfiguration of the network for any future requirements. This paper discusses the design considerations, system components and results of using affordable wireless 802.11 networks in a harsh marine environment for coral reef observing systems.