The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the The National Weather Service ( NWS) once known as the Weather Bureau is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NDBC designs, develops, operates, and maintains a network of data collecting buoys and coastal stations.
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Operations
NDBC employs engineers, meteorologists, oceanographers, computer scientists, and other professionals. An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary Oceanography (from the greek words Ωκεανός meaning Ocean and γράφω meaning to write also called oceanology or A computer scientist is a person that has acquired knowledge of Computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application
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. The Coastal-Marine Automated Network ( C-MAN) is a Meteorological observation network along the coastal United States All stations measure wind speed, direction, and gust; atmospheric pressure; and air temperature. Wind is the flow of Air or other Gases that compose an Atmosphere (including but not limited to the Earth's) Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature In addition, all buoy stations, and some C-MAN stations, measure sea surface temperature and wave height and period. Weather buoys are instruments which collect Weather and Ocean data within the world's oceans Sea surface temperature (SST is the water Temperature close to the surface Ocean surface waves are Surface waves that occur on the Free surface of the Ocean. 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) buoys. The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART system is a component of an enhanced Tsunami warning system. 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 Nino and La Nina
All buoys and many C-MAN stations located in offshore areas operate on marine batteries which are charged by solar cells. A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts Solar energy into Electricity by the photovoltaic effect. 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 Satellites (GOES) to a ground receiving facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, operated by the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (or GOES) program is a key element in United States' National Weather Service (NWS operations Wallops Island is a 6 Square mile (155 Km²) island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the Eastern seaboard Additionally, some buoys and C-MAN stations may use the Iridium satellite system to transmit data. The Iridium Satellite constellation is a system of 66 active communication Satellites with spares in orbit and on the ground The data is recorded and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center. The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC manages the acquisition ingest processing quality control and long-term preservation of oceanographic Data.
Through a Memorandum of Agreement, the United States Coast Guard (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. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world
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.
Location
NDBC's main office is located in southern Mississippi at the John C. Stennis Space Center, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) facility. The John C Stennis Space Center (or SSC) located in Hancock County Mississippi at the Mississippi / Louisiana border is NASA 's largest The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program 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.
Source
Text in this article was almost entirely taken from the NDBC website.
See also
External links
- NDBC Website
- NDBC Buoy 42003 closest to the Loop Current
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