We recently deployed a GoPro Hero 3 camera and two RBR D|wave gages to study boat wakes and boat traffic at a site on West Fowl River (AL) over the Labor Day weekend. The GoPro is set to capture photos every 10 s using the time lapse mode. It is wired to an external battery using the LongShot battery elimination system. The wave gages were configured independently such that one is sampling continuously and the other is processing bursts of waves every five minutes. These two sampling schemes will allow us to study the boat wake signatures in great detail (continuous sampling) and also in summary form (wave bursts). The camera system should allow us to match boat wake signatures with the vessels that generated them. While not perfect, we may also be able to estimate boat size and speed from the time lapse photos.
Here is a time lapse video (~30 seconds) of the installation at our study site…
Leave a Reply