Friday 14 March 2008

MEDIA RELEASE

Wave buoy back online

The Bureau of Meteorology is pleased to announce that after an extended outage observations from the Cape du Couedic wave buoy are once again available from the Bureau's web site at www.bom.gov.au/weather/sa/observations.shtml

The Wave Rider Buoy is the only permanent, publicly available wave recording device in South Australia. It is located southwest of Kangaroo Island near Cape du Couedic. The information from the buoy has not been available since the base station receiver was totally destroyed by the Kangaroo Island bushfires in December 2007. The long delay in replacing the base station was initially caused by inability to access the site followed by parts delivery delays and the need to install a new communications system.

Regional Director of the South Australian Regional Office, Mr Andrew Watson, praised the dedicated work of Engineering Staff in making the system operational again and noted that: "The return of the information will be well received by the many boaties, fishermen and surfers who prize the data." He also noted that "Forecasters will also welcome the return of the only wave buoy data for South Australia as it is an important piece of the puzzle that helps us better forecast marine conditions."

For Media Assistance contact: Paul Lainio 08 8366 2640

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