Cool IoT Use Cases: Protecting Beluga whales in Alaska
Market overview
Beluga whales live in the Arctic Ocean and coastal areas of Canada, Alaska, Russia and Greenland. The population is estimated to be 150,000 worldwide. Only around 300 to 400 inhabit the Cook Inlet in Alaska where, in 2008, this species was considered critically endangered.
The problem
In February 2017, a natural gas leak was detected approximately 6 kilometres offshore in the Cook Inlet. The leak was immediately reported and the Alaskan authorities responded with detailed and challenging monitoring requirements due to the area being a critical habitat for endangered Beluga whales.
The players
Libelium‘s partner company, Aridea Solutions and NOAA Fisheries, the administration that is responsible for the stewardship of the USA’s ocean resources and their habitat.
The solution
Aridea Solutions designed a solution to monitor the leak, based on a buoy equipped with Libelium’s wireless sensor platform. This monitors methane, oxygen and CO2 levels above the surface of the water. Simultaneously, it monitors dissolved methane, dissolved O2 and several other parameters directly beneath the surface.
The buoy employs sensors from four manufacturers. They interface with Libelium’s Plug & Sense! Platform, which enables aggregation and transmission of data to a gateway on-board a ship that can be one to two miles away. It is subsequently sent to Aridea’s Terralytix platform via a 4G cellular connection.
The buoy system was deployed several times to monitor and report on environmental conditions until the weather conditions allowed divers to permanently repair the leak. The buoy and sensors chosen for the deployment were designed to withstand extreme temperatures and tidal changes. Due to coast guard restrictions placed around the leak site, the buoy had to be able to drift through the affected area by timing the tidal cycles in the area.
Business benefits
- Continuous real-time monitoring of environment parameters
- Fast deployment of monitoring technology for environmental challenges
- Ship-to-shore communication enables data to be analysed in near real time.
The author is freelance IoT writer, Bob Emmerson
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