Refurbishment of Metocean Buoys

Descriptions

Our two metocean buoys, originally part-funded by the INTERREG VA “COMPASS” project, provided high-resolution real-time data, delivered by their telemetry system. While the Loch Ewe metocean buoy was deployed, it relayed highly valuable data which, for example, allowed us to identify the mechanisms that contributed to an observed marine heatwave in 2022 – something which would not have been possible using the data from the ecosystem monitoring site alone or in combination with external datasets. Unfortunately, the buoy was critically damaged in a storm in January 2023. The buoy deployed in the Clyde suffered critical operational damage soon after deployment in spring 2022, which was difficult to diagnose prior to its recovery in May 2023, and we have a clear plan to prevent such issues in the future by modifying some components and standardising the system for compatibility with the proven design of the Loch Ewe buoy. The contract being proposed is to commission the repairs and refurbishment of both systems in order to bring them back up to full operational status, so that they can complement the wider, delayed-mode, marine monitoring network with real-time data that can be used to provide more responsive evidence to information requests by our policy colleagues, stakeholders, colleagues and the general public.