Coastal Resilience with Spotter: A Practical 101 Guide
Coastal Resilience with Spotter: A Practical 101 Guide
Coastal adaptation faces many challenges but one critical barrier is localized data. Learn how continuous observations transform resilience planning from reactive to strategic.
Dan Breyre
Jan 23, 2026
What Spotter Measures
Spotter is a modular platform. The buoy provides surface measurements, and the Smart Mooring lets you add sensors below the surface. Together they cover the key parameters needed for coastal resilience.
Surface measurements using the Spotter buoy
- Waves and full directional wave spectra: Used for storm tracking, climate modeling, and wave-based thresholds.
- Wind (derived from wave data): Helps characterize local storm behavior and support marine operations.
- Sea surface temperature: Tracks marine heat events and supports ecological assessments.
- Atmospheric pressure: Supports storm tracking and more accurate water level measurements when combined with subsurface pressure.
Underwater measurements using Spotter with Smart Mooring
- Water level: Tracks tides, storm surge, and coastal flood risks.
- Currents: Measures subsurface flow used in dynamics modeling, operations windows, and impact assessments.
- Temperature: Shows vertical stratification for marine heat stress for ecological assessments.
- Water quality: Monitors ecosystem conditions and project performance.
- Acoustics: Measures underwater sound for compliance and activity detection.
What You Can Do with Spotter
- Tracking how wave and water levels are changing over time at priority sites.
- Updating flood and hazard maps with measured surge, wave, and water level behavior.
- Setting site-specific closure thresholds for roads, beaches, and waterfront assets.
- Evaluating performance of nature-based and engineered shoreline protection over multiple seasons and events.
- Improving hydrodynamic and ecological models with sustained observations, not just short deployment campaigns.
- Building stronger grant applications that cite local multi-year data instead of regional averages or assumptions.
Three Real Examples of How You Can Use Spotter for Coastal Resilience
1. Updating Flood Maps and Freeboard Requirements
- Sample Spotter setup: One Spotter measuring waves and water level at an exposed shoreline.
- Results: Informed flood extents and elevation requirements; identified model bias under certain storm classes.
2. Setting Reliable Closure Thresholds for Roads and Beaches
- Spotter setup: Two Spotters measuring waves, water level, and currents at known impact sites.
- Results: Evidence-based refinement of existing closure criteria; better public communication using objective site-specific data.
3. Measuring the Performance of Nature-Based Shoreline Projects
- Spotter setup: One Spotter measuring waves, currents, and water quality seaward of a project.
- Results: Supporting hydrodynamic and long-term environmental context for project monitoring; strengthens permitting, renewal, and future funding.
How Coastal Authorities and Regional Programs Can Use the Spotter Platform
- Improve regional hazard and flood mapping: Use Spotter observations at strategically selected reference sites.
- Prioritize and score resilience projects: Incorporate Spotter-derived exposure data.
- Support permitting and project reviews: Use measured waves, water levels, currents, and water quality.
- Track performance of publicly-funded projects: Deploy Spotters at sites that receive funds to monitor performance over the full project life.
How Port Authorities Use Spotter
- Support navigation and berthing decisions: Use real-time wave and water level data at harbor entrances, channels, and berths.
- Define and refine operational thresholds: Support environmentally-informed refinement of locally applied operational guidance.
- Plan and test infrastructure upgrades: Use Spotter data to inform design planning for storm conditions post-construction.
Why Choose Spotter
- Local data where decisions happen: Measurements come from the exact shorelines, channels, and project sites.
- Baseline records for long-term planning: Continuous, multi-year time series.
- High reliability during important events: Spotter is designed to keep sending data during rough conditions.
- Flexible sensor configurations on a single platform: The same Spotter can carry different combinations of sensors over time.
- Easy deployment and low maintenance: Spotter is small and lightweight; field teams can deploy it from small boats or by hand.
- Affordable compared to traditional monitoring approaches: Agencies can cover more sites within the same budget.
- A cloud platform for real-time access: Data streams into a shared workspace for collaboration.
Get in touch with our team to learn more about how you can use Spotter for your use case.