Texas Automated Buoy
System (TABS)
Ocean Science, Technology and Operations Workforce Workshop
November 10-12, 2008
Norman L. Guinasso Jr., John N. Walpert, Leslie C. Bender
Geochemical and Environmental Research Group
Texas A&M University
•In June of 1990, the supertanker
Mega Borg carrying 41 million gallons
of light Angolan crude exploded and
caught fire at a lightering area 60 NMI
south of Galveston
•5.1 million gallons of oil were
released into the Gulf of Mexico. 50%
of the light crude burned and 25%
evaporated leaving nearly 1.3 million
gallons of oil in the water
•Historical climatology of the area and
local wind data suggested the oil
would be carried south toward Corpus
Christi
•Contrary to the historical data, the
currents were running up coast and
transported the oil northeast to the
Bolivar peninsula with some tar balls
reaching as far as the Louisiana coast
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310 million tons of imported crude oil are transported
through the Gulf of Mexico every year. Over 20% of
that is lightered to smaller tankers for delivery to ports
in Texas. On average 5 tankers/day (10,000 DWT or
larger) call on the port of Houston.
1991 the state of Texas passed the Oil Spill Prevention
and Response Act and named the Texas General Land
Office (TGLO) as the lead agency in responding to and
preventing oil spill damage along the Texas coast
The Coastal Protection Fund was established by state
law in the same year. This law allows the TGLO to
impose a 2 cent/barrel tax on all oil or condensate
passing through Texas ports. Fund is capped at 25
million dollars.
•In the fall of 1994, GERG
responded to a request from
the TGLO to design a system
to provide spill response
managers with near real
time surface current
information
• Data should be a public
resource, made available in
near real time to the public
•All data were to be archived
and accessible over the web
•Three months prior to the deployment of the first TABS buoy,
the M/T Skaubay collided with M/T Berge Banker in the
lightering area south of Galveston releasing approximately
2000 barrels of oil into the Gulf
•TABS program is funded by the state government primarily
through the 2 cent per barrel tax collected by the Coastal
Protection Fund
•TABS is an operations focused program, a science program
and a public resource.
•Data are also used in education, research, commercial and
sport fisheries, search and rescue operations etc.
•GERG involves graduate and undergraduate student workers
in the operation, maintenance and development of TABS
buoys
•Engineering students work with software development,
mechanical engineering and electrical engineering
TABS I buoy. Typically deployed in
depths of 30m or less
2.25m buoy at the Flower Garden
Banks
TABS II Buoy with MET station.
Typically deployed in water depths of
up to 100m
3m buoy with R/V Gyre at site H
The standard sensor component for a TABS II or larger buoy
consists of:
•Aanderaa DCS4100R single point Doppler current sensor
•SBE-37 MicroCat temperature and conductivity sensor or
Aanderaa 3919B conductivity sensor
•Wet Labs ECO-FLNTUS flourometer/turbidity sensor (larger buoys
only)
•Gill Windsonic Anemometer (TABS II) and
•RM Young Anemometer (larger buoys only)
•Rotronics temperature/humidity, Vaisala PTB210 barometer
•Garmin GPS for position, watch circle alarm and system time
•Crossbow IMU Inertial sensor for waves (discus buoys only)
•Other sensors include ADCP’s, spectrophotometers, nutrient
analyzers, DO sensors, flow cytometers, transmissometers, PAR
•Incoming data are disseminated to the TGLO over the
internet via FTP and to the general public via our web
page
•TABS buoys have been given NDBC designates so
current, wave and meteorological data are re-formatted
then uploaded to the NDBC archive
•Data are archived and backed up hourly on two
different servers at different locations both on and off
Texas A&M’s main campus in College Station.
•The website and software are mirrored every hour onto
two different machines located in different buildings in
case of a power or hardware failure
Hurricanes and Tropical Storms to Hit Texas
since 1999
2008: Dolly, Gustav, Ike and Tropical
Storm Eduard
2007: Humberto, Tropical Storm Erin
2005: Rita, Emily
2003: Claudette, Erica, Ivan, Tropical Storms
Bill, Grace, Matthew
2002: Tropical storms, Bertha, Faye
2001: Tropical storm Allison
1999: Hurricane Brett
Buoys Lost to Hurricanes
Buoy K
Buoys N and V
Buoys N and V
Hurricane Bret
Hurricane Claudette
Hurricane Rita, Ike
•2006 designed a 2.25m
buoy due to a need for
greater reserve buoyancy
than a TABS II buoy could
provide
•First two were deployed
on the Flower Garden
Banks in November, 2007,
a third deployed in the
western Gulf last week
•Another has finished its
burn in tests and is
awaiting deployment. We
have an additional 2
currently in fabrication
Hurricane
IKE
GERG Ocean Science Personnel
person
title
Edu.
Description
Norman
Director
PhD
Physical and Chemical Oceanographer, 35 years as seagoing
oceanographer
Leslie
Associate Res. Scientist
PhD
PI , 17 years as Physical Oceanographer
Alexey
Research Associate
PhD
Marine biologist from Ukraine, 20 years experience as seagoing
marine technician
Linwood
Research Associate
MS
MS Oceanography, 16 year experience at GERG, analyst, data
manage web design
Lei
Programmer I
MS
Electrical Engineering, 10 years experience, assistant professor
electrical engineering at Michigan Technical University, engineering
consulting
John
Sr. Marine
Instrumentation
Specialist
BS
FIT Oceanographic Technology, 28 years experience, Canadian
Fisheries & Oceans, oceanographic consulting companies, buoy
fabrication & design, supervisor of GERG ocean technical group
Erik
Research Instrumentation
Specialist
BS
10 years experience, nutrient analyst, oxygen, navigation
Ronnie
Machinist II
BS
BS Mechanical Engineering, 30 years experience as marine tech
technician, coring operations, capable machinist
Andrew
Electronics Tech II
AS
7 years US Navy avionics/electronics, 2 years Northrup Grumman as
avionics repair instructor, 3 years experience as seagoing ET
Edward
Electronics Tech II
AA
25 years experience, 23 as a seagoing ET
Martin
Welder
HS
12 years experience at seagoing marine tech, coring, winch
operations, capable welder
Paul
Research Instr. Specialist
HS
20 years offshore experience with seismic exploration, gravity/piston
cores, CTD operations, current meters, buoy maintenance
Willie
Electronics Tech II
HS
30 years experience, US Maine Core electronics training, Metrology
Tech with S. Texas Nuclear Power Plant, Lockheed Martin Missile &
Space, Aerotek (BF Goodrich)
Future Plans
•To sustain operations at, at
least the current level of funding
and seek out opportunities to
provide additional sensor
support (ADCP’s on all buoys)
•To design a small quick
response buoy to profile near
bottom currents as well as
measure near surface currents,
directional waves and winds
•To redesign the TABS I to take
advantage of newer electronics
and make it software compatible
with other buoys