The Bligh Island Shipwreck response has been aided by the installation of weather stations by Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists. In late December, Institute of Ocean Sciences staff spent several days equipping three aquaculture facilities in Nootka Sound with weather stations. Winds in mountainous nearshore regions are often highly variable, and these stations provide critical local measurements to help predict oil movement and support the safety of salvage operations and personnel. Information coming from these installations is already being used to support and guide oil recovery operations, and real time weather data is now available and accessible through the smart phone application and website.
Additionally, a Viking buoy was dispatched to Nootka Sound and was deployed by the CCGS John P. Tully last week. The Viking buoy is an instrument that will measure local currents and weather, and transmit these data to responders in near real-time. This information is critical for predicting the movement of spilled oil and planning salvage operations.
The weather data is accessible through either the Davis Instrument mobile phone app (iOS and Android) or through their Davis WeatherLink website. These applications and website are operated and maintained by Davis, the manufacture of the weather stations.
Android version: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.davisinstruments.weatherlink
iOS version: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weatherlink-2-0/id1304504954?mt=8
Davis website: https://www.weatherlink.com/