This thing looks amazing on the outside – that solar array is a really impressive design! – and the internal guts are cleverly hidden the central PVC pipe, attached to watertight sensors for measuring turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen. Definitely an impressive project from the high school student-ran BCAMRL mechatronics research lab.

The world today is extremely dependent on the ocean, from sources of food to raw materials. However, recent studies show that an increase in pollution poses a danger to these large bodies of water. In order to aid the solving of this problem, we created an autonomous buoy that is able to collect a wide selection of data. Our buoy stays afloat in the ocean for extended periods of time and is entirely self-sufficient. It contains solar panels connected to an internal power module to provide power to run its electrical components. There is a turbidity sensor to measure the clearness and purity of surrounding water, which allows the determination of present contamination. There is also a pH sensor which provides data to keep track of the pH levels in the ocean, as a rising level of acidity in ocean water is harming biological ecosystems. A dissolved oxygen sensor connected as well, to further provide data for analysis. A GPS module allows this data to be transferred to a central monitor or receiving location to be analyzed and stored. The continuous power from the solar panels allows the buoy to stay in the water and provide a continuous updated stream of data. The data collected will provide information vital to the creation of a solution for this pressing issue. Acidity and purity levels are important factors in determining pollution levels, and more data will allow a better understanding of the problem in order to find the best solution.

Read more here at Instructables.

The ocean is a key part of human life. It is a habitat for over 500,000 species of marine life and provides a source of income for communities. Ocean acidification, however, threatens all of this. CO2 dissolves into water producing carbonic acid, which harms many animals, like shellfish. This devastates local businesses and economies. Our buoy is a costeffective device to collect data on the ocean’s state in order to better understand the problem at hand.