Drifting buoy data collected by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) in oceans world-wide from 1984-05-01 to 1998-10-27

This collection contains drifting buoy data collected from May 1984 through October 1998 from buoys deployed by the National Data Buoy Center, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. Some of the data were collected as part of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) project. The data were processed by NODC and are currently available in NODC F156 Drifting Buoy file format.

Drifters are expendable systems launched from ships or aircraft into specific ocean areas. As they drift in response to ocean currents and winds, they make measurements of the atmospheric pressure, air and sea temperature, wind speed, and wind direction.

The F156 format is used for time series data on ocean circulation determined by the tracking of drifting buoys, drogues, or other instrumented devices as they are carried with the flow. Movement is reported as point-to-point geographic locations determined by shore-based, surface ship, aircraft, or satellite observations. Data from both ocean currents and ice movement can be reported in this format over time periods ranging from minutes to months. Directions and speeds between individual observations may be computed from these data and presented in graphic or summary listing form to provide information on circulation patterns and mass transport in offshore and near-shore regions. Platform name (for platform acquiring data or deploying device), drogue characteristics, start and end positions and times, and observation frequency (if constant time interval) are reported for each series of observation. Other surface meteorological or oceanographic parameters (e.g., water temperature and salinity, air temperature and pressure, wind, waves) and subsurface data (depth, pressure, temperature) may also be reported. Text records may be used to report general comments or to describe individual drogue observations.

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Organization: Ocean Data Partners