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Environmental Monitoring Systems – Terminology, Sensors, and System Presentation

A practical explanation of system terminology, sensors, and why similar systems may look different

Purpose

Environmental monitoring systems are often referred to using different names depending on application, industry, or regulatory context. While these systems may appear different to users, they frequently share the same underlying sensors and software.

This article explains common terminology, typical sensor types, and why system presentation may vary even when the core system is the same.

Common System Terminology

Several terms are commonly used to describe environmental monitoring systems. These terms often overlap and may describe different perspectives on the same underlying system.

  • Weather System is a general term used to describe a system that measures meteorological conditions such as wind, temperature, pressure, precipitation, and visibility. The term is typically used in an operational context without implying a specific regulatory scope.

  • Metocean System refers to a system that combines meteorological and oceanographic measurements. In addition to weather parameters, a metocean system may include wave, sea state, current, and motion-related measurements. This term is widely used in offshore and marine environments.

  • Environmental Monitoring System (EMS) describes how environmental data is used rather than which sensors are installed. An EMS typically supports operational awareness, logging, reporting, and documentation of environmental conditions.

  • Helideck Monitoring System (HMS) is a specialised application of environmental monitoring used to support aviation operations on offshore installations. An HMS focuses on weather and motion information relevant to helideck availability, operational decision-making, and documentation.

  • Automatic Weather Observing System (AWOS) is a term commonly used in aviation to describe an automated system that measures and reports weather conditions. In offshore environments, AWOS may refer to a weather or metocean system configured for aviation-related use.

Typical Sensor Types

Environmental monitoring systems may include a combination of meteorological and motion-related sensors, depending on the application.

Meteorological sensors typically measure parameters such as wind speed and direction, air temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, precipitation, and visibility.

Motion and oceanographic sensors may measure vessel motion, wave conditions, sea state, or related parameters. On floating installations, motion sensors are particularly important, as environmental data must be interpreted in relation to platform movement.

The exact selection and placement of sensors depend on the installation, operating environment, and project scope.

Shared Sensors and Software Platforms

In many cases, systems described as Weather Systems, Metocean Systems, EMS, HMS, or AWOS use the same underlying sensors and the same software platform, such as DADAS.

The core functions of data acquisition, processing, and logging are therefore often identical across different system types.

Differences between systems are typically not related to sensor hardware or core software functionality, but to how data is calculated, presented, scaled, and documented for a specific operational or regulatory context.

Differences in System Presentation

System presentation may vary depending on operational and regulatory requirements.

For systems supporting aviation operations, such as HMS, display layouts, terminology, alarms, and units are often adapted to meet aviation-related expectations. This may include the use of units such as knots or degrees per second and dedicated aviation-focused screens.

For other environmental or metocean applications, the same data may be presented using units such as metres per second, with screen layouts focused on general operational or environmental monitoring.

These differences reflect how data is displayed and interpreted for a specific use case. They do not indicate different sensors or fundamentally different systems.

Relationship to EMS and HMS

The same physical system may support both EMS and HMS functions.

In an EMS context, environmental data is typically used for operational awareness, logging, and reporting. In an HMS context, selected data is presented in a form suitable for aviation operations and documentation.

While EMS and HMS serve different operational purposes, both rely on accurate, reliable environmental sensor data.

Project-Specific Configuration

All WISE Group systems are delivered and configured for a specific project and installation. System configuration, presentation, units, and acceptance criteria are therefore defined as part of the project scope and applicable requirements.

Detailed behaviour, screen layouts, and system settings are described in project-specific documentation.

Key Takeaway

Environmental monitoring systems may be known by many different names, but they often share the same sensors and software platform. Differences between systems are usually related to how data is presented and used, rather than to the underlying hardware or core functionality.

Understanding this helps align expectations, supports correct system use, and avoids confusion across projects and operational contexts.