Re-connecting the Honiara tide gauge station

The team at the Solomon Islands Met office have provided support in country to ensure the tide gauge in Honiara is fully operational recording crucial data on oceans observation and monitoring, in light of COVID19 travel restrictions.

Earlier this year, the Honiara wharf extension project was underway but the work came to a standstill when the contractors had to return to Australia before the COVID 19 lockdown in March. 

The mains power of the tide station was removed during the construction and unfortunately, in the process of leaving the site, the contractors have not returned the mains power back to our equipment, so the station has been operating for some time on the station’s solar charging system.  

The solar PV generated electricity worked until recently when large tropical storms and TC Harold  caused reduced charging times for the storage batteries causing power outage to the tide station.

The Met Technical Officer, Mr Barnabas Tahoo, discussed the option of installing a temporary extension lead from a nearby shed to the tide station with the Tech Officers from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which was approved. He recently completed the installation of the temporary power lead to the tide station.

Thanks to this local support, the Honiara tide gauge station is now operational again on mains power.

The station in Honiara is part of a network of infrastructure supported by the Pacific Sea Level and Geodetic Monitoring Project, operating under the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac).