Abstract
Waves have profound effects on coastal geomorphology, but the understanding of wave climate effects on coastal ecology is limited due, in part, to the high cost of commercial wave gauges. High-cost gauges also limit the scope of coastal wave models and the ability of coastal land managers to design effective restoration, conservation and enhancement projects. To address these limitations, we built wave gauges using Arduino microcontrollers and accessories and tested their performance alongside commercial gauges (RBR Solo D 3 loggers) in a wave flume at the University of South Alabama. Results of that testing indicated agreement between the gauges was excellent in all wave channel tests with mean differences between pressure readings consistently near zero and with 95% of all differences within 1 cm of static water depth. While these gauges performed well, they were limited by their battery life (5 days measuring at 10Hz). We addressed this issue by utilizing a simpler microcontroller (Adafruit Feather 32u4 Adalogger) and modified operational coding to extend the battery life to 15 days with a smaller battery. The ability to use a smaller battery also allowed the size of the gauge housing to be reduced. A cheaper microcontroller, battery, and housing led to a decrease in DIY gauge parts cost from $300 to $160, which is 10-14x less than their commercial counterparts. Paired field deployments of the old and new DIY wave gauges in Back Bay, MS indicated that the two gauge types performed similarly with no discernable differences. Additionally, to make wave measurements as accessible as possible, we created a website (http://coastal.msstate.edu/waves) to house the parts list, operational code, how-to videos, and other materials related to the wave gauges.
