Abu Dhabi: Wave heights and tide patterns off the emirate of Abu Dhabi's 400km coastline will soon be rigorously monitored as part of an ongoing municipal project, a senior municipal official said in the capital yesterday.
In its initial phases, the Dh2 million project involves the construction of 10 permanent coastal weather observatories, Yousuf Al Marzouqi, director of the Spatial Data Division at the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, told Gulf News.
Once constructed, these stations will be used to measure wave height, seabed terrain and weather data, such as wind speed and atmospheric pressure, in a bid to confirm and continuously observe the mean sea level.
"This means sea level is especially important for construction projects, because most structures need to be placed above it to avoid flooding. In addition, knowing this level is also important to enable the flow of any liquid through a large pipe or channel," Al Marzouqi explained.
"The stations will also collect important data on coastal erosion, based on which we will issue permits for any coastal construction, and the data will be provided to authorities like the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi so that they can make conservation decisions," he added.
The project was initiated in October 2010, and the construction of weather stations in areas like Ghantoot, Sila and Zayed Port, is expected to be complete by year-end.
"However, the lengthy coastline and the presence of more than 20 islands in the waters of the emirate means that it has been a challenge to choose the location of the weather stations. This also explains the large scale of the project," Al Marzouqi said.
"By mid-2012, we will set up the stations to monitor the relevant data," he added.
Weather predictions
In addition to having useful environmental applications, the data collected at the stations is expected to assist the National Centre for Meteorology and Seismology in its weather predictions. Marine navigation will also benefit as a result of this initiative.
"We plan to make the information available to authorities like the Abu Dhabi Ports Company so that ships can use weather data for navigation purposes and coastal security can be heightened," Al Marzouqi said.
