SERVICES of MétéoMer

MétéoMer SUPPLIES THE METOCEAN PARAMETERS YOU REQUIRE for

Real time assistance to all maritime operations

Maritime weather and swell forecasting :

The forecasts we supply are elaborated from information that is received in our premises :

- by special connection with european models (ECMWF), ARPEGE, MRF, AVN, world-wide synoptic observations every 3 hours for analyses.
- by use of satellite data borne by METEOSAT (image each ½ hour) and QUICKSCAT (wind measurements twice daily).

The information we provide are directly useful to the operations manager; we are at his disposal 24h/24.

Our service includes :

  • meteorological watch 24h/24
  • telephone information
  • amendment service in case of a sudden change in the weather

Offshore, harbour works, etc….

Our reports are adapted to each specific contract and are generally sent twice a day (at 07 and 16 UTC)

Examples of a weather reports
Example of a wind field

Routing

- Reports are sent before departure, giving the general situation and evolution
- For routes in perturbed areas, reports are issued twice a day (08 and 16 UTC)
- for routes in stable areas one report is issued around 10UTC

Example of a weather report during route (perturbed area)

References

Operational metocean studies

  • World climate atlas using wind and waves satellite measurements : CLIOSat
    - CLIOSat on-line service for immediate answer to your specific need
    - CLIOSat software for reliable statistics for any part of the world
  • construction of satellite metocean data sets on any specific open sea or nearshore location,
  • use of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) images for :
    - the controlled modelisation of waves propagations from the open sea to a nearshore location,
    - the analysis of internal waves, current fronts and local oceanic circulation.
  • analysis of metocean data and prediction of design parameters, especially from GEOSAT, ERS and TOPEX-POSEÏDON satellite measurements,
  • determining environmental loads in the three main domains of structural engineering - static behaviour, fatigue loading and dynamic responses (average and extreme directional wave spectra),
  • hindcast studies of storms, specific or typical events,
  • preparation of shipping routes and maritime operations : optimisation of routes and operations start-up, determination of parameters defining ship design, construction of temporal series of wind and wave parameters for the calculation of workable periods according to operational thresholds,
  • determination of local metocean parameters (wind, sea state and current) for hindcast or real time assistance to marine pollution or accidental loss of floating structures.

Example of qualified wind fields
Example of prediction of extreme parameters distribution

References

In situ measurement

Monitoring of metocean parameters : waves, current, tide, wind, ... (equipment)

Swell measurement

A DATAWELL Waverider buoy is moored near the area for a correct representation. Data recording is continuous with a 1.28 Hz sampling frequency. Every ½ hour, a spectral analysis provide waves parameters that are directly sent to our office for analysis. The operations manager will have also at his disposal a "wave per wave" analysis to determine the features of the sea state. Wave parameters are compared with predicted ones and further calibrations with prediction models are performed. The receiving system include the acquisition and processing softwares W@ves21 and SeaSaw.

Examples of recording : Comparison between predicted and observed Hs values
Water level measurement

VALEPORT 740 Tide gauge : the system is a sophisticated data acquisition designed for the measurement of water levels on sites where a fixed structure is available. The system is supplied with a specific datalog Windows software TideLog. During the operations, data issued from the system will be available in real time.

Examples of recording : Comparison between predicted tidal values and observed tidal values

 
Current measurement

The VALEPORT 308 measures the vector averaged velocity over an averaging period. It is both self recording and direct reading system supplied with the the Windows Datalog software. The mean values of speed, direction and pressure are archived every 5 minutes and displayed in real time in a numerical and graphical format.

Examples of a recording : Example of current magnitude and direction

 
Wind measurement

The Vaisala wind station is composed of :

  • an aerial sensor measuring wind speed and direction as well as the atmospheric pressure. It will be installed on the deck in an open space so that the measured values can be clearly representative of the local conditions.
  • a main unit connected to a computer equiped with MeteoCenter software.

Examples of a recording : Example of wind velocity and direction

References

Motion and attitude measurements
Monitoring of barge motion

Ship motion during towing

An OCTANS-III is installed on the barge.and the receiving system on the towing ship. The data are transmitted via a telemetry system. The time series of the ship movements (heave, surge, sway, roll, pitch and heading) are displayed and archived on a PC/Windows using the Barge-A3 software.

Barge motion during installation

Two OCTANS-III and the monitoring system are installed in the control room on the barge. The motion parameters are calculated at the location of the topsides legs. The time series of the ship movements (heave, surge, sway, roll, pitch and heading) are displayed and archived on a PC/Windows using the Barge-A3 software.

 

References

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