Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Instant Text Access To Great Lakes Buoy Data

Aug 8: A new text message service is now available to boaters, fishermen, and others to access the latest weather observations from dozens of buoys and other shoreline stations around the Great Lakes. The text message service accesses the latest observations of wind speed, air temperature, water temperature, and wave height from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and relays it back to the user in a simplified text format. The new service allows for instant access to observations from approximately 40 buoys and 100 shoreline stations from all five Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair from any cell phone with text message capability. The beta service can be accessed by sending a text message to (734) 418-7299 with only the station I.D. in the body of the message. A full list of available stations and a map version are available from the contacts below. Station id's for buoys contain all numbers and shoreline stations begin with a letter. 

    The service is provided free of charge. However, users may be charged a fee by their cell phone provider to send and receive a text message. LimnoTech, an environmental engineering consulting firm located in Ann Arbor, developed the beta service to increase access to marine weather conditions for the Great Lakes boating and fishing community. LimnoTech has been involved with the recent deployment of weather buoys in both St. Joseph and Holland, MI and is working on other projects around the Great Lakes to increase access to real-time observations.
 
    Access a posted release (click here). Access the list of Great Lakes sites (click here). Access the a map version of sites from NDBC (click here).Access the LimnoTech website for more information (click here).
 
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