Design and Deployment of a Wireless Sensor Network for the Mar Menor Coastal Observation

The Coastal Ocean Observation System of Murcia Region (OOCMUR) was established in 2008 as a major scientific and technological infrastructure in Spain with the main objective of studying the impact of global climate change in the Mediterranean. The coastal lagoon of Mar Menor in southeast Spain was chosen as the first region to be monitored because it is one of the most hypersaline coastal lagoons in the Mediterranean, with a limited exchange of water with the open sea, and it is the largest in Europe. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) offer an efficient and innovative solution for oceanographic monitoring, allowing a higher density sensor deployment, at a lower cost. This paper presents the design of an ad hoc WSN system and a control software for Mar Menor monitoring using a buoy structure with sensors, energy harvesting, and communications platform. The study focuses on the oceanographic interest of the selected marine area, details of network deployment, the custom-designed sensor nodes, and the results of system operation.