Download MILOS 500

Marit Finne
Editor-in-Chief
Vaisala News
Vaisala Helsinki
Finland
The R/V Aranda in the drifting marginal sea ice zone in the Weddell Sea. Vaisala’s radiosonde equipment and weather
station are used for marine meteorological research on board the Aranda. Photo courtesy: FINNARP/Jouko
Launiainen.
Two-thirds of the
earth is covered by
oceans, home to an
abundance of life and
many unique ecosystems. In order to
understand the sea, we
need information
about it. In Finland,
this work is done by
the Finnish Institute
of Marine Research.
The Institute uses
Vaisala’s MILOS 500
data collection systems to measure the
sea water level at their
thirteen stations along
the Finnish coast.
From the left:
Osmo Korhonen,
Hannu Vuori
(both from FIMR)
with Markku
Sinkkonen and
Hannu Kokko
(both from
Vaisala).
22 147/1998
MILOS 500
Data Collection
System Supports
Marine Research
T
he Finnish Institute
of Marine Research
(FIMR), located in
Helsinki, carries out
research in the fields of physical, biological and chemical
oceanography. Its main area of
interest is the Baltic Sea.
FIMR upgrades its
water level stations
In late 1994, FIMR began upgrading its entire network of
water level stations with digital
equipment. All 13 water level
stations were equipped with
Vaisala’s MILOS 500-based
data collection system by the
end of 1997. The new measuring system is very flexible. In
addition to water level data, other
measurement parameters, including the surface temperature of
the water, are easy to add.
Mr. Osmo Korhonen, Head
of the Field and Service Group
at FIMR, was one of the key
people behind the Institute’s
selection of Vaisala’s MILOS
500 equipment. The system
was installed at the water level
station in Helsinki in 1994.
This station has a long history.
Measurements were first made
here as far back as 1904. The
day Vaisala News visited, Mr.
Korhonen explained the observations made at the station. As
he reported, the Institute has
been very satisfied with the reliable operation of the MILOS
500 equipment.
During the installation stage,
FIMR designed a special access
and configured their own
equipment to allow integration
with the new data collection
system. The observation data is
collected and saved in the
memory, which has sufficient
capacity for one year of measurement data (observations
once every minute). The sea
level measurements are accurate to within one millimeter.
The measurement data is sent
every hour via telephone lines
to a computer at FIMR’s central office. The same real-time
data is also available to the public through a phone service.
The Finnish Institute of
Marine Research also carries
out advanced research on wave
action. Their high-level expertise has many practical applications. Water level research is
mainly used for improving
safety at sea and supporting the
construction of waterways, harbors and coastal buildings.
Osmo Korhonen (FIMR) describes
the Vaisala MILOS 500 data
collection system used for water
level measurements at the Helsinki
station.
Leif Granholm, M.Sc.
Senior Consultant
Tekla Oy
Helsinki, Finland
Falling water level
along the Finnish coast
As many sailors and boaters
have noticed, the water level
along the Finnish coast has fallen during the past two years.
The sea level was especially low
in 1996, when the annual mean
level for the year set a new
record. In these conditions,
shallow water can pose a safety
threat for boaters.
In the longer term, however,
the water level of the Baltic Sea
has been exceptionally high in
the past few years, so the figures for 1996 did not have a
major impact on the mean values. The higher than normal
sea levels in the Baltic probably
stem from changes in wind
conditions on the Atlantic, and
especially in the strait of Denmark. Because the strait is very
narrow, the water level can be
up to 50 cm above or below the
surface of the Baltic, depending on the wind conditions.
Determining the theoretical mean water level
The annual mean sea level is
also one of FIMR’s research
areas. The theoretical mean
water level is a defined forecast
of the long-term mean water
level value. Both the normal
upheave of the earth and the
slow rise in sea level are taken
into account in the calculation
of this value, which has a number of practical applications.
The theoretical mean water
level is not constant, but varies
from year to year.
These water level values are
necessary for planning and
constructing water channels
and harbors, for example. The
theoretical mean water level is
also utilized to determine the
actual position of the coastline
and the boundaries of Finnish
territorial waters. Statistical applications are another impor■
tant use.
Vaisala’s wind monitoring system
in front of the emergency exit in a
Helsinki underground station.
Wind data improves safety in underground stations:
A Vital Tool for Fire and
Rescue Operations
A fire or the release of
toxic gases in underground tunnel systems
is a frightening scenario
for all fire and rescue
services. In case of such
an event, the primary
concern is the safe evacuation of the people in
the tunnel. To make
emergency management
easier, Helsinki City
Transport has purchased
a new wind monitoring
system for its underground stations. Vaisala
environmental sensors
are a critical component
of this system.
F
ire fighting and rescue operations are a
difficult and dangerous challenge in tunnels and underground metro
stations. Accurate measurements
of wind direction and speed can
play a key role in the safe outcome of these efforts. To provide this information, a consortium of Finnish companies has
developed a system to track
and monitor wind conditions.
The Tekla Information System
was installed in the underground stations in Helsinki,
Finland, in December 1997.
The system can also be used at
mines, chemical plants, harbors and railway stations.
The environmental monitoring system that Vaisala is supplying for the new wind monitor contains sensors, as well as
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