DATA ACQUISITION AND ARCHIVING

Computers installed on the towers log observations locally, ensuring no data loss in the event of T1-microwave communications problems. Data is sampled at 6 minute intervals. Hourly data transfer and processing is automated. Perl scripts are used to call the tower computers and transfer raw data files. Automated processing occurs via UNIX Perl and Awk scripts and MATLAB routines. Error checking is performed, derived quantities (i.e., salinity) are calculated, and observations are appended to monthly files in a database of processed observations. Meteorological and wave data are formatted and sent to the National Weather Service once an hour. The SABSOON website is updated hourly; Perl and MATLAB scripts create a HTML data table and plots that are pushed to the web server. Video clips and still images of the artificial reef system are updated daily on the "FISH WATCH" page.