Buoy Network

A buoy network is a coordinated array of moored or drifting buoys reporting ocean and atmospheric data on a shared schedule and format. Moored arrays such as NOAA’s NDBC stations and the tropical TAO/TRITON and PIRATA moorings fix observation points for wind, sea surface temperature, sea level pressure, and wave spectra; drifting arrays such as the Global Drifter Program track surface currents. Data flow over Iridium or the Argos system onto the WMO Global Telecommunication System within an hour, feeding numerical weather prediction and operational forecasts. Networks deliver the spatial coverage no single buoy can, with redundancy that keeps the record continuous when one station fails.