A High-Speed, Wireless Network for Ship-to-Ship and Ship-to-Shore Data Exchange

Abstract

Wireless networking equipment was installed on three research vessels and at three shore stations during the 1998 Thin Layers Experiment in East Sound, Washington. This wireless network provided high-speed data communication between scientists on separate vessels and permitted rapid transfer of data from vessels and from moored instruments to a common file server at one of the shore stations. This server was connected, via wireless link, to a local Internet service provider, thus permitting continuous Internet access from each vessel and each shore station. The wireless network used 900-MHz and 2.4-GHz spread spectrum systems and provided throughput comparable to T1 lines. Omnidirectional antennas were used between vessels and shore stations, providing communications at ranges up to 12 km. Such systems provide the capability for rapid data exchange during coordinated field operations and give investigators on separate vessels the opportunity to adapt sampling protocols to rapidly evolving conditions observed a few kilometers away.