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Buoy Mooring
fondriest.com
A buoy-based system must be moored to ensure
that it remains stationary.
The buoy is usually moored via a stainless
steel mooring line, bottom chain and anchor.
It is recommended to moor the buoy in the
deepest part of the waterway to ensure the most inclusive measurements.
This allows for multiple measurement depths
and will best reflect the characteristics of the water body as a whole.
Buoy-based systems are typically moored as
either a single-point or two-point mooring, based on environmental and
application-specific factors.
Single-Point Mooring
Single-point moorings are not common, but
they require the least amount of mooring equipment.
This setup can be deployed in very calm
waters with minimal instruments.
A single-point mooring should only be used
when all sensors and equipment are housed within an instrument cage or
deployment pipe.
Hanging sensors risk getting damaged or
entangled with the anchor line.
A cage or pipe protects the instruments from
entanglement, subsurface debris, and currents without affecting sensor
readings.
In a single-point configuration, a mooring
line connects the buoy directly to a bottom chain and anchor.
The sensors are typically housed within a
central deployment pipe or attached to a rigid instrument cage. The anchor,
bottom chain, and mooring line are assembled and attached to the buoy prior to
deploying the system.
Two-Point Mooring
Two-point moorings are the most common
deployment configuration.
This is the recommended setup if sensors will
be hanging at multiple depths in the water column.
In a two-point setup, the mooring lines are
pulled away from the data buoy by two smaller marker buoys.
This configuration leaves the water column
below the buoy available for sensors, without risk of entanglement with anchor
lines.
It also offers greater stability if there are
currents or wave action at the location.
A two-point mooring requires a larger
deployment area than a single-point mooring, as the marker buoys are typically
set about ten feet away from the data buoy.
Additional mooring lines run from the marker
buoys to bottom chains and anchors at the seafloor.
The increased system stability from the two
anchor setup is well worth the extra equipment, as is the expanded area for
hanging sensors.
If there is significant subsurface debris or other risks present, deployment pipes or instrument cages can still be used.
https://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/monitoring-equipment/buoy-mooring/
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