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Coastal water, watched between the samples.

Bathing waters are sampled for bacteria a few times a season, but pollution after storms, low oxygen and algal blooms come and go between samples. Sondes at beaches and estuaries watch continuously and predict when water is likely to be unsafe, so authorities warn bathers and close shellfish beds in time.

Industry

Oceans

Measurements

5

Sources cited

4

1. Oceans · Coastal and bathing water quality

   Between the samples

   Bathing waters are sampled for bacteria a few times a season, and results arrive days later. Sewer overflows after heavy rain, low oxygen and algal blooms come and go between samples. Continuous sensing and a prediction model let authorities act while bathers and shellfish are still at risk.

2. What is measured

   Water, rain and rivers

   Sondes at beaches and estuaries measure temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll every ten minutes. Rain and river gauges in the catchment measure the inflow that carries pollution, and laboratory samples follow the monitoring calendar and every alert. Each reading carries its time and its quality flags.

   Instruments

   Multi-parameter sondes · Rain gauges · River gauges · Laboratory samples

3. The base node

   A prediction for every beach

   The node runs the short-term pollution model from rainfall, river flow and turbidity, flags low oxygen and algal signals, and publishes a daily prediction for each bathing water, so advice reaches the public before laboratory results do. Nothing is lost when a link drops; the node keeps it.

4. Radio and links

   From the pier to the public

   Sondes on piers and buoys near shore reach a gateway over a low-power link, and the node sends data and predictions over cellular. Predictions appear on beach signs and websites, and alerts reach farms and the authority at once. Each link is chosen for the place, not from a catalogue.

   Links

   LoRaWAN · Public cellular

5. How it works

   From a storm to a beach advisory

   A summer thunderstorm drops heavy rain on the catchment. River flow and turbidity at the estuary rise, and the model predicts a short pollution event at two beaches. Advisories go up that morning; samples taken that day confirm it, and the beaches reopen two days later.

6. From order to operation · Order

   Scope the waters

   The scope reads the authority’s bathing waters, shellfish zones, pollution sources and sample history. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the sonde and gauge plan, the prediction model approach, public information and a price per site and per year. Every assumption in the scope is written down and priced.

   Plan a deployment

7. From order to operation · Survey

   Survey beaches and outfalls

   Crews survey beaches, estuaries and outfalls with the authority: sonde positions, piers and buoy moorings, catchment gauges and gateway coverage. Pollution sources are mapped from the bathing water profiles. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow.

8. From order to operation · Permits

   Consents and public notice

   Maritime and harbour consents are obtained for buoys and piers, land owners approve gauges, and public information at beaches explains the monitoring. Every approval is kept with the site record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.

9. From order to operation · Build

   Build and calibrate

   Sondes are calibrated against standards, antifouling fitted, radios paired, gauges tested, and the gateway and node configured and enrolled with their identities. The kit runs together before shipping. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together.

   Open the Station Builder

10. From order to operation · Install

    Install sondes and gauges

    Crews fix sondes on piers and buoys, install rain and river gauges in the catchment, mount the gateway and node, and connect power and backhaul. Every point is photographed and recorded. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.

11. From order to operation · Commission

    Commission against samples

    Each node proves its identity. Sonde readings are compared with laboratory samples, oxygen with a reference meter, and the prediction model is checked against a season of past samples before predictions are published. Results are signed and kept with the site record.

12. From order to operation · Operate

    Predict and warn

    Authorities see water quality live and a daily prediction for each beach. After heavy rain, bathers are advised against swimming before samples confirm it, low oxygen alerts warn fish farms, and algal signals trigger shellfish testing. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record.

13. From order to operation · Maintain

    Clean, calibrate, validate

    Sondes are cleaned of fouling and recalibrated on the agreed plan, predictions are validated against every sample, models retrained each season, and software updated in rings. Every change is kept with the site record. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.

    Book field services

14. Data products

    For bathers, farms and authorities

    The public and beach managers receive daily bathing water predictions; fish and shellfish farmers receive low oxygen and algal alerts; environment and health authorities receive water quality records; water utilities and regulators receive pollution event reports, each tied to site and time.

    See the data products

15. Evidence

    Managed to the directive

    Bathing waters are managed under the bathing water directive and the recreational water guidelines, oxygen data pass the real-time quality checks, and rain is measured to the instrument guide. Every prediction is validated against samples and kept with its inputs.

    Drawn against

    Directive 2006/7/EC · WHO guidelines on recreational water quality · Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of Dissolved Oxygen Observations · WMO-No. 8

16. What you get

    Ocean and coastal observing

    Moored buoys, profiling floats, tide and wave gauges, coastal radar and AIS reception with quality-controlled feeds. Delivered as managed service and data licence, for ports, coastal agencies, offshore energy, fisheries. Scale: Coastline to basin. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.

    Talk to sales

17. Next step

    Plan coastal and bathing water quality with us

    Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for coastal and bathing water quality. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.

    Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio

01The place and its hazards

Where it runs, and what can go wrong.

Operating contextBathing waters are classified and managed under the bathing water directive, recreational water guidance sets the health framework, and dissolved oxygen and other ocean data are quality-controlled to real-time manuals. Short-term pollution after heavy rain is common and predictable from rainfall and river flows.

Hazards

• Sewer overflows after heavy rain
• Low oxygen that kills fish
• Harmful algal blooms that poison shellfish
• Samples that arrive after the bathers have gone
• Sondes fouled within weeks

02What must be measured

What, where, how often, and under which rules.

Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.

03The observation stack

From one base unit to a network.

The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.

1. 01

   Base unit

   A point: a multi-parameter sonde on a buoy or pier with a low-power radio.

   Build a station →
2. 02

   Site

   A site: sondes at the beach and estuary, rain and river gauges, a gateway and node.

   Plan a site →
3. 03

   Fleet

   Every bathing water and shellfish zone of an authority on one view.

   Managed offers →
4. 04

   Network

   Authorities share water quality and predictions with the public and health agencies through open standards.

   The open protocol →

• 01Water quality sonde
• 02Moored buoy
• 03Compact weather station
• 04Water level gauge
• 05LPWAN endpoint
• 06LoRaWAN gateway
• 07Micro node (Nano)
• 08Cellular modem/router
• 09Solar array

Radio and links

LoRaWAN

Sondes on piers and buoys near shore reach a gateway over a low-power link.

Radio and links

Public cellular

The node sends data and predictions over cellular.

Edge computeThe node runs the short-term pollution model from rainfall, river flow and turbidity, flags low oxygen and algal signals, and publishes a daily prediction for each bathing water.

PowerSondes and buoys run on batteries and small solar panels; the gateway and node run on mains at a harbour office or on solar.

04How it works

From the instrument to the product.

One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.

05From order to operation

Every step, from the first call to a running site.

The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.

1. 01 Order

   Scope the waters

   The scope reads the authority’s bathing waters, shellfish zones, pollution sources and sample history. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the sonde and gauge plan, the prediction model approach, public information and a price per site and per year. Every assumption in the scope is written down and priced. 1

2. 02 Survey

   Survey beaches and outfalls

   Crews survey beaches, estuaries and outfalls with the authority: sonde positions, piers and buoy moorings, catchment gauges and gateway coverage. Pollution sources are mapped from the bathing water profiles. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. 1

3. 03 Permits

   Consents and public notice

   Maritime and harbour consents are obtained for buoys and piers, land owners approve gauges, and public information at beaches explains the monitoring. Every approval is kept with the site record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.

4. 04 Build

   Build and calibrate

   Sondes are calibrated against standards, antifouling fitted, radios paired, gauges tested, and the gateway and node configured and enrolled with their identities. The kit runs together before shipping. Test results travel with the kit to the site. Nothing ships until the whole kit has passed its tests together. 3

5. 05 Install

   Install sondes and gauges

   Crews fix sondes on piers and buoys, install rain and river gauges in the catchment, mount the gateway and node, and connect power and backhaul. Every point is photographed and recorded. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.

6. 06 Commission

   Commission against samples

   Each node proves its identity. Sonde readings are compared with laboratory samples, oxygen with a reference meter, and the prediction model is checked against a season of past samples before predictions are published. Results are signed and kept with the site record. 13

7. 07 Operate

   Predict and warn

   Authorities see water quality live and a daily prediction for each beach. After heavy rain, bathers are advised against swimming before samples confirm it, low oxygen alerts warn fish farms, and algal signals trigger shellfish testing. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 2

8. 08 Maintain

   Clean, calibrate, validate

   Sondes are cleaned of fouling and recalibrated on the agreed plan, predictions are validated against every sample, models retrained each season, and software updated in rings. Every change is kept with the site record. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.

06Data products and integration

What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.

Data products

• Daily bathing water predictionsThe public and beach managers
• Low oxygen and algal alertsFish and shellfish farmers
• Water quality recordsEnvironment and health authorities
• Pollution event reportsWater utilities and regulators

Integration

• Public informationPredictions appear on beach signs and websites.
• SamplingAlerts schedule extra samples.
• UtilitiesOverflow events link to the utility’s records.

Exchanged through OGC SensorThings API, netCDF-CF, MQTT.

07Questions buyers ask

Before you scope it.

Does it replace bacteria samples?

No. Samples classify the water; sensing predicts between them.

How is pollution predicted?

From rainfall, river flow and turbidity, checked against past samples.

What about fouling?

Antifouling and cleaning on schedule keep sondes honest.

Can farms use it?

Yes, for oxygen and algal alerts.

08Resources

The sources behind this page.

Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.

1. 1Directive 2006/7/EC concerning the management of bathing water qualityEuropean Union · 2006
2. 2WHO guidelines on recreational water quality, Volume 1: coastal and fresh watersWorld Health Organization · 2021
3. 3Manual for Real-Time Quality Control of Dissolved Oxygen Observations (QARTOD)U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System
4. 4WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization

09Related

Use cases and solutions.

10Oceans: specialized fields

Other fields of this industry.

Bring us the site.

Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.