Monitoring systems › MetOcean and Weather Monitoring

MetOcean and weather monitoring

Also specified and supplied as an Environmental Monitoring System (EMS) — one system in three configurations: meteorological, oceanographic, or the two combined.

Every offshore operation has weather and sea state thresholds. WISE Group delivers Environmental Monitoring Systems that measure those conditions accurately, so your teams have the data they need, at the moment the call has to be made.

One system, three configurations

What a specification calls a MetOcean system, a weather monitoring system or an Environmental Monitoring System is the same system in different configurations. Which one applies is decided by what has to be measured, not by what it is called.

Meteorological

Wind, air temperature, humidity, pressure, visibility, cloud base, precipitation and solar radiation, measured at the asset. This is the configuration most often asked for as a weather station.

Oceanographic

Waves, currents through the water column, tide and water temperature — the conditions that bear on mooring integrity, riser management and marine operations.

Combined

Both, delivered as one system: one display, one data record, and one interface to the rest of the asset. Most offshore scopes end up here.

The name arrives with the specification

These are not our house styles. Each of them has reached us inside a specification document that our customer had themselves been handed. If the system you are specifying is called any of the following, this is the page you want:

Metocean System · Meteocean System · Meteo System · Meteorological System · Meteorological Observation · MET System · TEN MET System · Weather Monitoring System (WMS) · Weather Station · Atmospheric and Weather Station Package · Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS) · Environmental Monitoring System (EMS) · EMMS · OMTS

Been handed a name that is not on the list? Send us the specification and we will tell you which configuration it describes and which parameters it asks for.

Understanding your environment

Every offshore operation has a weather threshold. The wind speed that stops a crane lift. The wave height that holds a crew transfer vessel alongside. The sea state that determines whether a diving team enters the water. When conditions are close to the limit, your teams need more than a gut feeling — they need measured, site-specific data, presented clearly at the moment the call has to be made.

A WISE Group Environmental Monitoring System measures environmental conditions across your site and delivers that data — clearly, continuously, and in real time — to the people who need it. It does not make the call. Your people do. What it gives them is the information to make that call with confidence: current readings, trend visualisation, and configurable threshold alerts, all in a single integrated interface.

Helideck operations draw on the same environmental sensor network, but calculations and display requirements are governed by CAP 437 and local aviation authority regulations. WISE Group's Helideck Monitoring System (HMS) handles this as a dedicated application — using the same installed sensors, but presenting the certified parameters your aviation team and pilots need.

Our systems are modular by design — for Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, drillships, fixed platforms, and renewables support operations. Start with a core sensor suite and expand as your operational requirements evolve, adding sensors, inputs, and outputs without rebuilding from scratch.

Atmospheric Monitoring

Meteorological Sensor Suite

Our meteorological packages capture the full range of atmospheric parameters that govern day-to-day operations and emergency decision-making on an FPSO. Sensors are selected and positioned to meet class society and operator requirements, with redundancy built in from the outset.

Wind Speed & Direction

Capturing accurate wind data on an FPSO is more complex than it sounds: deck structures, flare booms, and the vessel's own superstructure all distort the local flow. We select and position sensors carefully to minimise these effects and, where necessary, apply correction algorithms.

  • Mechanical sensors — cup and propeller types with marine durability and options certified to the ATEX (Atmosphères Explosibles) hazardous area directives
  • Ultrasonic anemometers — maintenance-free, no moving parts, reliable in all conditions
  • Wind profiling via LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for vertical wind structure assessment
  • True wind and relative wind computation
  • Gust detection and threshold alarming

Air Temperature & Humidity

High-accuracy temperature and humidity sensors in properly ventilated radiation shields — including ATEX-rated versions for hazardous area installation.

  • Shielded enclosures designed for offshore conditions
  • ATEX versions available for hazardous zone installation
  • Dewpoint and wet-bulb temperature derivation
  • Heat stress index calculation for personnel safety

Barometric Pressure

High-accuracy barometric sensors optimised for offshore use, with pressure chokes to reduce wind-induced measurement artefacts — a common source of error in exposed installations.

  • Optimised for offshore mounting configurations
  • Pressure choke design reduces wind measurement artefacts
  • Pressure tendency monitoring for approaching weather detection
  • Station-level and sea-level pressure derivation

Rain & Solar Sensors

Rain and solar sensors that integrate as add-on capabilities within a complete EMS package, supporting environmental reporting and squall detection workflows.

  • Precipitation rate and accumulation logging
  • Present-weather classification (rain, drizzle, snow)
  • Solar irradiance measurement for environmental and thermal assessments
  • Integration with squall detection alerting

Visibility & Cloud Base

Optical and forward-scatter visibility sensors with measurement ranges up to 100 km, alongside cloud-base LIDAR compliant with CAP 437 (the UK Civil Aviation Authority's standard for offshore helideck operations) and aviation guidelines — essential for helideck safety management.

  • Forward scatter sensors with ranges up to 100 km
  • Cloud base LIDAR compliant with CAP 437 and aviation standards
  • Configurable threshold alarms for helicopter operations
  • Present weather discrimination (fog, haze, precipitation)

Weather Radar

High-resolution marine weather radar systems from Furuno, modified and integrated for EMS and squall alert applications — giving operations teams a real-time picture of weather activity at range.

  • Furuno radar systems tuned for EMS integration
  • Real-time weather picture at operational range
  • Foundation for the Squall Warning System
  • Supports both operational alerting and meteorological forecasting

Subsea & Ocean Column Monitoring

Oceanographic Sensor Systems

Understanding what is happening in the water column around an FPSO — from surface currents to near-bed conditions — is critical for mooring integrity, riser management, anchor handling, and subsea operational planning. WISE Group supplies and integrates a comprehensive range of oceanographic instruments for these demands.

Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP)

ADCPs measure current speed and direction through the full water column — from near-surface to near-bottom — and are the backbone of any FPSO oceanographic monitoring system. WISE Group supplies ADCPs from leading manufacturers and integrates them into the wider EMS.

  • Full-depth current profiling at configurable bin sizes
  • Wave height and direction capability on selected systems
  • Hull-mounted, mooring-mounted, and lander configurations
  • Suitable for deepwater deployments in excess of 1,000 m
  • Deployed safely via WISE Group LARS systems

Acoustic Current Meters (ACM)

Single-point acoustic current meters deployed at specific depths for precise point measurements — particularly relevant for near-structure flow monitoring, riser environments, and drag anchor assessments.

  • Point measurement at any target depth
  • Low-drag mooring designs for deepwater use
  • Internal data logging with LARS-assisted servicing

Motion Monitoring

Motion Sensors

Motion monitoring is a critical component of any FPSO EMS — providing the vessel motion data that underpins helideck safety assessments, dynamic positioning support, and operational decision-making. WISE Group integrates motion sensors within the same centralised data environment as all other EMS inputs.

WISE AIM Motion Sensor

WISE Group's own proprietary motion sensor, the AIM, is built on a multi-IMU architecture with high-fidelity accelerometers and tilt sensors. It delivers class-leading performance for structural monitoring, vessel motion tracking, and helideck safety — and is embedded across many of our offshore systems.

  • Multi-IMU architecture for high-fidelity measurements
  • Six degrees of freedom motion tracking
  • Helideck motion monitoring to CAP 437 requirements
  • Structural and vessel motion applications
  • Trusted by offshore wind developers and energy operators worldwide

IMUs & Inclinometers

Industry-standard inertial measurement units (IMUs) and inclinometers for dynamic positioning, helideck safety, and vessel motion reference applications, integrated within the WISE Group EMS framework.

  • Motion reference units for dynamic positioning support
  • Helideck landing aid integration
  • Tilt and inclination monitoring for structural assessments

Deployment Systems

LARS — Launch and Recovery Systems

Deploying and recovering oceanographic instruments from an operational FPSO is a significant safety and logistical challenge. WISE Group's Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) are specifically engineered for this purpose — enabling safe overboard deployment and retrieval of current profilers (ADCPs), Acoustic Current Meters (ACMs), and other oceanographic instruments from working offshore vessels.

All LARS models are built with AISI 316 stainless steel for long-term performance in corrosive marine environments, and are designed to comply with DNV (Det Norske Veritas) lifting appliance standards and ATEX directives. Hydraulic-operated winches deliver smooth, controlled deployment to specified depths, whilst crash frames and hydraulic fail-safe systems protect both personnel and equipment.

Every model is available in both Ex (ATEX Zone 2) and non-Ex configurations, ensuring compatibility with hazardous area requirements on FPSOs and other offshore facilities.

  • AISI 316 stainless steel construction for marine durability
  • DNV lifting appliance standards compliance
  • ATEX Zone 2 and non-Ex configurations available
  • Hydraulic-operated winches for precise depth control
  • Hydraulic fail-safe systems and crash frame protection
  • Designed for ADCP and ACM deployment and recovery
  • Minimises downtime for sensor cleaning and maintenance
  • Adaptable to FPSO deck layouts and access configurations

LARS Lite

Compact Deployment System

A lightweight, space-efficient solution for smaller vessels and environments where deck space is at a premium. Ideal for nearshore and shallow-water deployments.

LARS 2.0

Versatile Offshore System

Designed for robust, reliable performance in harsh offshore environments. The standard choice for FPSO applications — versatile and fully ATEX-capable.

LARS 2.0 (1500)

High-Capacity System

An enhanced lifting capacity variant for more demanding deepwater operations, where heavier instrument payloads or greater deployment depths are required. Learn more about LARS deployment systems →

Data Management & Integration

Turning sensor data into operational intelligence

Sensors alone do not improve decisions — the value lies in how data is collected, managed, displayed, and distributed. WISE Group's own DADAS software platform sits at the heart of our EMS, transforming raw measurements into actionable information for crews and onshore teams alike.

DADAS — Data Acquisition, Display & Analysis Software

The DADAS platform is the data management backbone of our Environmental Monitoring Systems. It handles data acquisition from all sensor inputs, manages display configurations, supports historical analytics, and enables seamless data sharing between local and remote users. Learn more about DADAS →

Display

User-Configurable Data Displays

Display configurations are crafted to individual client requirements — from graphical real-time readouts to trend charts and historical analytics. Bridge, control room, and Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) workstation layouts all configurable.

Access

Local & Remote Data Access

Data reaches users wherever they are — via data lines, email, web pages, and satellite links to shore-based meteorological and operational support teams. Remote monitoring enables 24/7 expert support.

Alarms

Operational Limit Monitoring

Environmental parameters are continuously compared against configurable operational thresholds for specific activities: helicopter operations, crane lifts, marine transfers, diving, and more.

History

Long-Term Data Logging

Continuous data archiving supports regulatory environmental reporting, incident investigation, metocean baseline studies, and the development of site-specific environmental design criteria.

Integration

Seamless System Integration

EMS data feeds directly into Helideck Monitoring Systems, Mooring Line Monitoring Systems, Structural Stress Monitoring Systems, and Current Profiler Systems — eliminating data duplication and gaps.

Reporting

METAR, SYNOP & Environmental Reports

Automatic generation of METAR (METeorological Aerodrome Report) and SYNOP (SYNOPtic weather observation) reports, alongside environmental compliance data outputs to meet regulatory reporting obligations.

Why WISE Group

A complete system, built around your operation

An environmental decision support system is only as useful as the picture it paints. When all your data — weather, sea state, currents, motion, squall alerts — flows into a single integrated platform, your operators see one coherent, real-time picture of conditions across the site. We build that picture, and we stay with you to keep it accurate throughout the life of your asset.

One integrated system

All your environmental data in one place — meteorological sensors, oceanographic instruments, motion monitoring, LARS, squall warning, and DADAS software — designed to work together from the outset. No fragmented feeds, no data silos.

Tailored to your operation

Every installation is different. We configure displays, thresholds, and alert logic to match the way your team works — whether that is a deepwater FPSO, a drillship, a fixed platform, or a renewables service operation.

Own technology across the system

The WISE AIM motion sensor and DADAS software platform are WISE Group developments. That gives us deeper integration capability and product knowledge no reseller can match.

Connects to your wider systems

Environmental data should not sit in isolation. We integrate with ICSS (Integrated Control and Safety Systems), berthing aids, dynamic positioning, vessel management, and regulatory environmental reporting outputs.

Offshore-proven hardware

Every sensor is selected for its actual performance in the environment it will operate in — ATEX hazardous areas, tropical deepwater, corrosive marine atmospheres. Rated for the real world, not just the data sheet.

Here for the long term

We provide lifecycle services from commissioning through to end of field life — calibration, preventive maintenance, offshore service engineers, and fast-track spare parts. We are here for the people who have to make the call when conditions are marginal.

Options within a MetOcean scope

Some parts of a MetOcean delivery are options within the system rather than systems bought on their own. Both have their own pages for the detail.

Squall warning

Detection and warning of approaching squalls, supplied as an option within a MetOcean scope where the operation needs advance notice of a rapid change in conditions. More on squall warning →

MET Translator Display

Presents measured meteorological data in the form the people using it need, rather than as raw instrument output. More on the MET Translator Display →

Where to next

The Environmental Monitoring System sits in MetOcean and Weather Monitoring, one of six monitoring areas WISE Group delivers.

Related systems: Weather Stations · Squall Warning System · Forecasting Weather Systems · WISE Doppler Current Log System · Helideck Monitoring System

Also useful: Sensors and instruments · DADAS software · Service and support

Interested in Our Advanced Monitoring Solutions?

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