AXYS Technologies deployed a buoy in October, 2009 at Race Rocks to test the wind profile. Data from this buoy is available at:

http://data.axystechnologies.com/AXYSWebView/WEBVIEW/webview.aspx
Username: windtrial
Password: axyswind
The left hand window shows the station, which if you click on will expand out to show the messages (metocean and Waves) and if you click the + beside these you will get the individual data parameters which you can plot into a graph by selecting the checkbox of the parameter you want to graph and then clicking the Graph icon at the top of that window.

You can also see a table of the data by simply clicking on the message (click on the 1 MetOcean name and a table will appear on the RHS window with all the data)

Following is a draft assignment which has been written by Adam Harding ( PC 2009) Students may find useful for an exercise on statistical analysis.

1. Describe the mean, median and the mode for the wind data

2. Create a histogram for the wind speed. Is it normally distributed? What is the standard deviation of the data (compute by hand). Is this model a reliable predictor of wind overall? Explain.

3. Use a linear regression model to explain if there is a correlation between wind speed and wave height.

4. Compare the data from the Race Rocks installation with the wind and wave buoys for Vancouver Island found on:  http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/weatherConditions_e.html?mapID=03&siteID=07003

a) How and why do the conditions differ?

b) Compare the trends with historic wind speed for the area. Do the trends differ? Why?

c) Explain the wind trends around Vancouver Island in terms of global wind patterns. 

5. Explain the various abiotic factors that act upon intertidal ecosystems. 

6. Using the explanations developed above, explain—in under 600 words—how changing weather patterns due to global warming may affect the intertidal ecosystem at Race Rocks in the long term.

7. Thinking further: why is protecting intertidal ecosystems important to human societies? Is this a good rationale for acting against climate change?

Return to the AXYS TECHNOLOGIES Buoy Deployment Page.