Monitoring

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We currently monitor surf breaks in 3 different ways:  Automated camera systems; hydrographic data collection; and, surfer location. The intent and an ongoing aim of the ANZASR is to maintain existing monitoring programs and expand on the monitoring network.       

 

Automated camera systems collect images of the same area, or field of view, of a surf break every hour, every day, all year long. The images are processed onsite to provide us with image products that tell us about how the surf break is changing in both space and time. By surveying the land in the field of view of a camera we work out where each pixel is in real space. Knowing where each pixel is geographically allows us to make real measurements from each image. Using this we can quantitatively track how a surf break changes in both space and time.  

 

Using high accuracy echo sounders and GPS systems we collect thousands collocated depth of soundings. These depth soundings, combined with topographic survey data, provide the necessary information to build terrain maps of the seafloor and beach/coast area. This data allows us to understand how and why surf breaks function in the way they do. By repeating surveys we can understand how the seafloor changes and what this means for surfing wave quality.   

 

Tracking the ride of a surfer by GPS provides many research avenues, from user numbers to length of ride. This has been successfully achieved by using surf-focused GPS consumer products, conventional handheld GPS and now the focus is shifting to internally developed, high resolution, accurate tracking devices.