National Data Buoy Center
Encyclopedia
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
's (NOAA) National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
(NWS). NDBC designs, develops, operates, and maintains a network of data collecting buoys and coastal stations.
Operations
NDBC employs engineerEngineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s, meteorologists, oceanographers, computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
s, and other professionals.
NDBC provides hourly observations from a network of about 90 buoys and 60 Coastal Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) stations to help meet these needs. All stations measure wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
speed, direction, and gust; atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
; and air temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
. In addition, all buoy
Weather buoy
Weather buoys are instruments which collect weather and ocean data within the world's oceans, as well as aiding during emergency response to chemical spills, legal proceedings, and engineering design. Moored buoys have been in used since 1951, while drifting buoys have been used since 1979...
stations, and some C-MAN stations, measure sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature is the water temperature close to the oceans surface. The exact meaning of surface varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air masses in the Earth's atmosphere are highly modified by sea surface temperatures within a...
and wave
Ocean surface wave
In fluid dynamics, wind waves or, more precisely, wind-generated waves are surface waves that occur on the free surface of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals or even on small puddles and ponds. They usually result from the wind blowing over a vast enough stretch of fluid surface. Waves in the...
height and period. Conductivity and water current are measured at selected stations.
A new task is the operation of the DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis
Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis
The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis system is a component of an enhanced tsunami warning system.- Stations :...
) buoys. DART is a fleet of tsunami detecting buoys.
Another task adopted in 2005 is TAO (Tropical Atmosphere Ocean project) buoys. TAO is a fleet of over 50 buoys moored in the Pacific Ocean. These buoys are designed to help detect and predict El Niño
El Niño-Southern Oscillation
El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years...
and La Niña
La Niña
La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C...
.
All buoys and many C-MAN stations located in offshore areas operate on marine batteries which are charged by solar cell
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
s. Sensors are calibrated in wind tunnels or environmental chambers, and later tested with the onboard station microprocessors, called payloads, on test stands at the outside sensor test facility. Final calibration and testing of the completed buoy systems are accomplished in the onsite canal. All buoys are serviced about every two years for routine maintenance and to install newly calibrated sensors.
The observations from moored buoys and C-MAN stations are transmitted hourly through NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite
The Geostationary Satellite system, operated by the United States National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service , supports weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research. Spacecraft and ground-based elements of the system work together to provide a continuous...
s (GOES) to a ground receiving facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, operated by the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). Additionally, some buoys and C-MAN stations may use the Iridium satellite system to transmit data. The data is recorded and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center
National Oceanographic Data Center
The National Oceanographic Data Center is one of the national environmental data centers operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The main NODC facility is located in Silver Spring, Maryland and is made up of five divisions...
.
Through a Memorandum of Agreement, the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
(USCG) remains a critically important partner to NDBC, supplying transportation for buoy deployments, retrievals, and other maintenance.
History
The National Data Buoy Development Program (NDBDP), created in 1967, was placed under the control of the USCG.In 1970, NOAA was formed and the NOAA Data Buoy Office (NDBO) was created within the National Ocean Service (NOS) and located in Mississippi. In 1982, the NDBO was renamed NDBC and was placed under NOAA's NWS.
The first buoys deployed by NDBC were the large 12-m discus hulls constructed of steel. These were generally deployed in deep water off the U.S. East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
By 1979, 16 stations were deployed in the Pacific, 7 in the Atlantic, and 3 in the Gulf of Mexico. Eight more stations were deployed in the Great Lakes after 1979.
In 1995, development of the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis
Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis
The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis system is a component of an enhanced tsunami warning system.- Stations :...
(DART) system began, with deployment beginning in 2000. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and its subsequent tsunamis, additional dart buoys were deployed.
Location
NDBC's main office is located in southern Mississippi at the John C. Stennis Space CenterJohn C. Stennis Space Center
The John C. Stennis Space Center , located in Hancock County, Mississippi, at the Mississippi-Louisiana border, is NASA's largest rocket engine test facility.- History :...
, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) facility. This site was chosen because it contains an excellent pre-existing industrial facility which is adjacent to a canal with deep-water access to the Gulf of Mexico. Other offices are located in Sterling, Virginia.
External links
- NDBC Website
- NDBC Buoy 42003 closest to the Loop CurrentLoop CurrentA parent to the Florida Current, the Loop Current is a warm ocean current in the Gulf of Mexico that flows northward between Cuba and the Yucatán peninsula, moves north into the Gulf of Mexico, loops east and south before exiting to the east through the Florida Straits and joining the Gulf Stream.A...