THE WAVE MONITORING NETWORK OF THE CAMPANIA REGION (ITALY) IS ON THE WAY

CAE won the tender issued by the Region of Campania (Italy) for the expansion and modernization of the regional network for wave and sea current monitoring.
This intervention,  adding a new sea monitoring segment to the Regional ground network, improves the capacity of the Administration to face risks related to sea storms, sedimentation and coastal erosion.
Two buoys for waves and current monitoring will be installed some 20 km offshore the Campania coast, close to the island of Capri and the Cilento zone. Wave movement will be monitored by means of accelerometers. Three more coastal stations will be installed at mouth of Volturno, Sarno and Sele rivers, to be also equipped with sensors for wave movement and current meters, in addition to sensors for meteorological monitoring.
The system of 5 stations will measure several kind of data. Data from depth sensors will allow the study of the different wave movement components, furnishing among others the vertical profile of currents as a function of wave height, current velocity, direction and transport capacity. Wave sensors will perform spectral analysis of the surface wave structure, identifying all necessary parameters for the description of the movement. Meteorological sensors, on their turn, will measure wind direction and speed, air temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.  Two out of the three coastal station will be also equipped with sensors for image capitation CAM20, to allow site view upon operator request.
All these parameters, properly elaborated by dedicated software packages, will allow a clear picture of the sea action on coasts, through real time representations and reliable forecasting.
The 5 stations, all equipped with solar panels for independent powering, will be integrated via radio transmission of data into the existing regional hydro-meteorological system, whose capacity has been improved to accept the new sensors. The operating capacity of the CAE existing technological platform SIR20 was also expanded to accept new data. Special software modules and new working positions shall be created for the management of the system components specifically dedicated to wave and current monitoring. 
The full integration between the existing in-shore and the new off-shore and coastal network, is conceived and designed to create a synergy between sea and ground meteorological monitoring.  This result is the finishing life of a successful path followed by the Campania Region starting from 2006, with CAE continued support.