Glenn D.
Hamilton
National Data Buoy
Center Programs
Abstract
The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) operates ocean and coastal
buoys and coastal land stations that report hourly through the Geo-
stationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system. In
addition, NDBC maintains drifting-buoy networks that report
through the polar-orbiting TIROS-N satellites. To disseminate in-
formation on these systems that provide vital environmental reports
from data-sparse marine areas, the data-acquisition systems, net-
works, monitoring capabilities, data processing and distribution,
data quality and availability, and future programs are discussed.
1. Introduction
As part of the National Weather Service (NWS), the National
Data Buoy Center (NDBC) develops and operates auto-
mated data-acquisition systems near the coast and in the
deep ocean to provide real-time environmental observations
in data-sparse areas. An earlier description of NDBC pro-
grams was provided by Hamilton (1980). (At that time,
NDBC was designated the NOAA Data Buoy Office.) Since
that time, new programs have become operational and the
number of observations from NDBC stations has increased
about 450 percent; from 141 000 to over 600 000 messages per
year. This article furnishes updated information about the
varied activities of NDBC.
2. Moored-buoy network
There are a total of 49 buoys in the moored-buoy network
shown in Fig. 1. Of these, 20 are offshore (greater than 150
km), including four around Hawaii funded permanently to
support NWS, and a buoy in the Bering Sea sponsored by the
National Ocean Service (NOS) and the Alaskan Oil and Gas
Association (AOGA). Data from these offshore buoys are
vital for the detection of intensity and movement of storms
and provide important observations for analysis of pressure
and wind fields for numerical weather prediction.
There are 29 buoys in nearshore areas, including the Great
Lakes. They include buoys supporting Minerals Manage-
ment Service (MMS) studies off the California coast. Large
Navigational Buoys (LNBs) of the Coastal-Marine Auto-
mated Network (C-MAN), a buoy off Southern California
funded by the U.S. Navy and MMS, and several NDBC engi-
neering-development buoys. Reports from the nearshore
buoys are of greatest importance for nowcasting and warn-
ings and forecasts for small craft. Observations from both off-
shore and nearshore buoys are used for verification of ma-
rine forecasts.
© 1986 American Meteorological Society
Bulletin American Meteorological Society
National Data Buoy Center
NSTL, MS 39529
FIG. 1. NDBC buoy locations.
The 12-meter-diameter discus buoys, previously deployed
in severe environment areas, are slowly being replaced by six-
meter, boat-shaped, NOMAD (Navy Oceanographic and
Meteorological Automatic Device) hulls. This decision was
made after a test in the northeast Pacific showed the NO-
MAD's capability to survive a severe environment and ac-
quire reliable and accurate data. During Hurricane Gloria in
September 1985, a NOMAD recorded a 14.3-meter signifi-
cant-wave height. Other important factors influencing the de-
cision were the NOMAD's cost of refurbishment and its rela-
tive ease of land and sea transportation.
However, a 12-meter discus was selected as the most viable
hull for the NOS/AOGA buoy in the Bering Sea because of
the severe icing conditions that exist there. The buoy was de-
ployed in September 1985. In addition, a 12-meter discus hull
was deployed in Central Lake Superior in November 1985 to
test the feasibility of providing year-round environmental
observations in the Great Lakes. NOMAD buoys are nor-
mally retrieved from the Great Lakes before the onset of the
ice season.
To reduce the cost of deploying a buoy in less-severe envi-
ronments, NDBC has developed a small, low-cost, 3-meter-
diameter discus buoy that was initially designed by the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This buoy uses the
same electronics payload and sensors as the larger buoys and
C-MAN sites, but the anemometers are located at the 5-
meter level rather than the 10-meter level of the larger discus
buoys.
The 3-meter buoy was deployed and tested and its data
compared to that of the adjacent LNB at the Columbia River
Bar, Oregon. The buoy was judged operational and has been
deployed at two locations for the Tropical Ocean and Global
Atmosphere (TOGA) research program in the Southern
Hemisphere and at one location in the Great Lakes. A 3-
411
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412 Vol. 67, No. 4, April 1986

meter buoy was deployed on a test basis in the Alenuihaha

Channel, Hawaii, in November 1985. It is planned to gradu-
ally replace the NOMAD buoys in the Great Lakes with
three-meter buoys.

3. Coastal-Marine Automated Network (C-MAN)

In response to the need for more coastal observations, the C-

MAN program was established in 1981 by NWS. The existing
network of 48 stations, shown in Fig. 2, includes nine USCG
offshore platforms, 17 USCG lighthouses, 10 beach areas,
and three public fishing piers. In addition, eight LNB's and
one Exposed Location Buoy (ELB) form part of the C-MAN
program. A typical C-MAN site is shown in Fig. 3. In addi-
tion to C-MAN data, NDBC receives and quality controls
weather observations from two automatic stations main-
tained by Exxon and located on islands in the Bering Sea.
A new electronics payload, the Data Acquisition Control
and Telemetry (DACT) system, was developed for C-MAN.
The DACT is an automated, self-timed system that processes
the data into geophysical units and transmits a World Mete-
orological Organization (WMO) code form FM 12-VII
ASCII message via satellite through the GOES system. Cer-
tain selected C-MAN sites can be accessed via telephone land-
line to receive the latest observation, which is updated every
15 minutes. The basic DACT system capabilities are listed in
Table 1. The DACT has spare channels for expansion, and
some sites have the capability to measure other parameters FIG. 3. A typical C-MAN site; here, on the Isles of Shoals
such as waves, water temperature, tides, and precipitation. in New Hampshire.

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Bulletin American Meteorological Society 413

TABLE 1. DACT payload data.

Minimum
Parameter Reporting averaging Total system
(Note 1) Reporting range resolution period accuracy
Wind speed 0-120 kn 1 kn 2 min ±2 kn or 5%
(Note 2) (Note 3) (Note 4)
Wind direction 0°-360° 10° 2 min + 15°True(+10° Desired)
Peak wind gust 0-160 kn 1 kn (Note 5) +2 kn or 5%
Air temperature -40° to +50°C 0.5°C 1 min + 1°C
Barometric pressure 900-1100 mb 0.2 mb 2 min ±1 mb
Significant-wave 0 to 49 m 0.5 m (Note 7) +0.5 m
height (Note 6)
Wave period 2.5 to 35 sec 1 sec (Note 7) + 1 sec
Wave spectra 0.01 to 0.5 Hz 0.01 Hz (Note 7) —

(Note 8)
Surface water - 6 ° to +40°C 0.5°C 1 min +1°C
temperature
Tide level 0 to 99.99 ft 0.01 ft (Note 11)
Precipitation 0 to 999 mm 1 mm (Note 9) +0.2 in. or 4%
Dew point -31° to +86° F 1°F 1 min -31° to —11°F: ±4°F
-10° to 29°F: +3°F
+30° to 86°F: +2°F
Visibility* 0 to 8 statute mi (Note 10) 2 min 0 to 3 mi: +10%
3 to 8 mi: +1 mi
* Growth Capability
Notes: 1. All parameters are sampled at a rate > 1 Hz. Land stations normally report in English units and buoys in metric. 2. Reported wind
speed is a scalar average. Wind direction is a unit vector average. 3. Selectable for m • s" , 4. Averaging period is selectable from 1-10 minutes
1

(fixed stations - 2 minutes, buoys - 8 minutes). 5. Reported peak wind gust is the highest 5-sec average taken during the wind speed averaging
period. 6. Range 0 to 49 m for buoys. Range on fixed stations is site specific. 7. Selectable for 10-, 15-, 20-, or 25-minute period. 8. Computed at
NMC. 9. Reset to zero at 0000,0600,1200,1800 GMT. 10. Reportable values: 0,1/16,1/8,3/16,1/4,3/8, 1/2,5/8,3/4,7/8,1,1-1/8,1-1/4,
1-1/2, 1-5/8, 1-3/4, 1-7/8, 2, 2-1/4, 2-1/2, 2-3/4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8+ statute miles. 11. To be done.

Dew-point and visibility measurements are planned future
expansions depending on the results of field tests and evalua-
tions during fiscal years 1986-1987.
The DACT sensor-sampling technique is similar to earlier
payloads, except that the atmospheric parameters are aver-
aged for two minutes for land stations. The averaging period
is selectable in the DACT, and when the payload is used on a
buoy, an eight-minute sampling period is normally selected
for winds. Present C-MAN sites are being retrofitted with
hybrid solar/battery power systems.
4. Drifting buoys
The First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) demonstrated
the scientific value of drifting buoys and their importance for
real-time weather forecasting. Additional capabilities have
since been developed for drifting buoys. Wind speed was
proved to be an operationally valid measurement in tests in
the northeast Pacific in 1980 and 1981 and by buoys air-
dropped into Hurricane Josephine in October 1984. Develop-
ment of subsurface-temperature measurement capability
was successful, and thermistor lines to a 200-meter depth
were used on the drifters in Hurricane Josephine and in other
experiments. Wind-direction capability is being tested on
buoys deployed in the western Atlantic and near Hawaii (see
below).
Drifting buoys are playing an important role in the TOGA
research program launched on 1 January 1985. TOGA is a
10-year study of regional climatic variations and of the El
Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). One of the United
States' major contributions is the deployment of approxi-
mately 70 drifting buoys that will increase the observational
coverage of the Southern Hemisphere. NDBC has the re-
sponsibility of procuring the buoy hardware, performing lo-
gistics planning and buoy deployment, and archiving the
data. The reliability of the TOGA drifters has been higher
than in FGGE, and the network performance is operating at
over 90 percent efficiency. The buoys are providing invalua-
ble information on currents, winds, and temperatures in the
ENSO region.
With the imagery outage of GOES-East, there has been a
lack of satellite coverge in the western Atlantic and the Ha-
waiian areas. To alleviate this situation during the hurricane
season, six drifting buoys were air deployed by Air Force
C-141 aircraft in August 1985—four buoys in low-latitude
western Atlantic locations and two drifters southeast of Ha-
waii. These buoys are providing valuable information on
tropical weather systems, and a wind-direction measurement
capability is being tested on three of them.
NDBC is in the initial stages of a program to develop a min-
iaturized drifting buoy, or minidrifter, for meteorological
and oceanographic data acquisition. Designed for deployment
from standard aircraft launch tubes, the minidrifter will ex-
pand mechanically to achieve a proper platform and sensor
configuration once in the water. The first version is planned
to measure subsurface temperatures and surface meteorolog-
ical parameters (air temperature, barometric pressure, wind
speed, and sea-surface temperature) and report via the Argos
System on the TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites. Antici-
pated life span in the field will be 90 to 120 days, versus one
year or more for the standard, full-size, drifting buoys.
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414
5. Data transmission, processing,
and dissemination
Observations from NDBC stations are transmitted hourly
through the GOES system to the command and data-acquisi-
tion site at Wallops Island, Virginia. Data are relayed to the
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information
Service (NESDIS). The National Meteorological Center
(NMC) receives the data from NESDIS, processes them, per-
forms real-time gross-error checks for range and time-conti-
nuity limits, and encodes the buoy data into WMO message
format FM 13 VII. The messages are transmitted hourly over
NWS communication circuits, including the Automation of
Field Operations and Services (AFOS) network, and to
NDBC. Spectral wave data are put into a United States for-
mat message and transmitted every three hours.
Drifting-buoy data are transmitted through the polar-
orbiting TIROS-N satellites, processed at Service Argos in
Toulouse, France, and entered into the Global Telecommu-
nication System (GTS) at the Paris hub in WMO DRIBU
format (FM 14-VIII).
6. Data quality
Moored-buoy and C-MAN data are received at NDBC in
raw form from NESDIS, processed, and compared with the
messages transmitted from NMC. Drifting-buoy data are re-
ceived from the GTS via NMC. At NDBC, observations
from each station are quality checked every day. The number
of data-acquisition systems has grown in the last five years
from 22 to 150. With the tremendous increase in data, more-
extensive automated techniques were developed at NDBC in
order to adequately quality control the data. More-stringent
automated quality checks than at NMC test for range and
time-continuity limits and differences between redundant
sensors, and suspicious data are flagged. Color graphics,
such as line plots, scatterplots, and contour maps, are pro-
duced on demand by data-quality analysts in response to the
flagged data. Time-series plots and wave-spectra curves help
analysts distinguish between true sensor or system failure
and legitimate data in near real time (Gilhousen, 1984). Data
from nearby stations can be plotted to aid in this compari-
son. Through the NDBC computer center, a data base at
NMC is maintained, and data from the best sensor is selected
for transmission. Sensor drift is corrected by scaling parame-
ters in the NMC data base to ensure that accurate data are
released.
Every month the validated data are forwarded to the Na-
tional Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the National Oce-
anographic Data Center (NODC). Over 90 percent of all
possible data that can be collected from NDBC stations are
routinely received in real time and archived. NDBC data can
be obtained from NCDC or NODC. Spectral wave data can
only be ordered from NODC.
NDBC is processing TOGA drifting-buoy DRIBU reports
and performing gross-error checks for archive purposes.
Plans are being developed to quality-control drifting-buoy
data in the same manner as other systems. Service Argos will
establish a United States processing center in 1986. This will
Vol. 67, No. 4, April 1986
simplify maintaining a real-time drifting-buoy data base for
quality-control purposes.
Of special interest is the quality of NDBC winds in com-
parison to other marine measurement systems. The 10- and
12-meter discus buoys measure wind speed and direction at a
10-meter height above sea level, the NOMAD and three-me-
ter buoy winds are taken at the five-meter level, and drifting-
buoys winds are measured at the one-meter level. C-MAN sen-
sor heights vary depending on the site; maximum exposure is
the governing criterion. The buoys normally average the
winds over a time period of about eight minutes to filter out
buoy motion. The different heights of measurement and rela-
tively long averaging time on the buoys can create some con-
fusion among users with respect to winds observed by other
means, say from ships (both visually and by anemometers),
since these are essentially very short or instantaneous samples.
Winds can be extrapolated to a common height, but it is the
present WMO policy not to do so.
7. Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)
In 1981 NWS embarked on a program to provide an ASOS to
be used at airports nationwide. The purpose of the ASOS pro-
gram is to automate the measurement and reporting of me-
teorological parameters that are currently being observed
and reported manually by weather observers at principal
NWS locations. The intent is to reduce the labor-intensive
work of the observer, allowing redirection of staff time to
other services.
A typical ASOS airport layout consists of sensors and
equipment located at the Center Field Zone, the Touchdown
Zone, and the Operations Building. Parameters measured at
Center Field include wind speed and direction, dew point,
temperature, precipitation occurrence and accumulation,
freezing-rain occurrence, lightning occurrence, and present
weather. Touchdown Zone parameters include cloud height
and visibility. Barometric pressure is measured at the Opera-
tions Building. Data are collected at the Center Field Zone,
the Touchdown Zone, and the Operations Building and trans-
mitted to an Acquisition and Control Unit (ACU) in the Op-
erations Office, where it is processed automatically and aug-
mented and/or corrected manually by the observer if
required. The ACU then reports the data automatically on
the AFOS communications network. The system displays in-
formation locally using a printer and a video display unit, or
remotely via dial-in telephone. Data acquired automatically
or entered manually are archived for future reference.
NDBC designed the specifications and acquired 14 ASOS
systems for the demonstration phase. Six of these systems are
being operated as a mininetwork in the state of Kansas to
evaluate and improve system performance and to assess ob-
server and user acceptance. Four systems will be used as cli-
matic test beds to evaluate sensor and system performance in
semitropical, coastal, and northern climates. One system will
be operated by the FAA over a two-year period to assess the
system's capability to support FAA operations. The result-
ing evaluations and assessments will be used as the basis for
the performance specification of the NWS production-sys-
tem procurement scheduled to start in 1986.
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Bulletin American Meteorological Society
8. Technology development
NDBC has developed an operational capability for measur-
ing directional wave spectra and has a 10-meter-diameter dis-
cus buoy measuring directional wave spectra off Southern
California, approximately 185 kilometers southwest of Los
Angeles. In addition to one-dimensional spectra, period, and
significant-wave height, the directional system provides the
mean wave direction for each frequency reported.
A program has been initiated to measure significant-wave
height, period, and nondirectional spectra from drifting
buoys. Design studies have shown the concept using an ac-
celerometer to be feasible, and the hardware will be procured
and tested during 1986.
NDBC has been cooperating with the NOAA Wave Prop-
agation Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, to develop, engi-
neer, and acquire perhaps some 30 "wind-profilers" for im-
plementation of a network to measure upper-air winds in the
announcements1
National Science Week 1986 Scheduled
A joint resolution has been introduced in Congress that des-
ignates 11-17 May 1986 as National Science Week. The ob-
jective of having an official science week is to focus the na-
tion's attention on the importance of science and technology.
According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), which
coordinates the week's activities, this joint resolution points
out the vital role science and technology play in improving
the quality of life. The resolution also acknowledges the na-
tion's growing rate of scientific discovery and technological
innovation. While the National Science Week '86 is structured
to reach many segments of the general public, its primary aim
is to communicate with young students who have an interest
in science.
The first national science week took place in 1985 and in-
cluded special exhibits, lectures, student and teacher awards,
and workshops.
meetings of interest
11-13 June 1986. The Third Canadian Conference on Marine
Geotechnical Engineering will be held on 11-13 June 1986 in
St. John's, Newfoundland. The objective of the conference will
be to provide a forum for technical information exchange on
offshore geotechnology. In addition to technical sessions, the
conference will feature keynote speakers, poster sessions, and
technical exhibits. The conference will be divided into 13 ses-
sions: Canadian east coast (two sessions), foundation behavior,
in situ measurements, Canadian Beaufort Sea, Beaufort Sea
1 Notice of registration deadlines for meetings, workshops,
and seminars, deadlines for submittal of abstracts or papers to
be presented at meetings, and deadlines for grants, proposals,
awards, nominations, and fellowships must be received at least
three months before deadline dates.—News Ed.
415
Colorado-Kansas-Oklahoma area by 1990. The "profilers"
are designed to automatically measure winds from 500 to
16250 meters in all weather conditions.
Other developmental projects are under way in the follow-
ing areas: 1) atmospheric humidity in marine regions; 2) solar
radiation; 3) precipitation at sea; and 4) reliable, lower-cost
electronic payloads.
References
Gilhousen, D. B., 1985: Using Graphics to Monitor Buoy Data, In-
ternational Conference on Interactive Information and Processing
Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, Preprint
Volume, American Meteorological Society, 201-203.
Hamilton, G. D., 1980: NOAA Buoy Office Programs. Bull. Amer.
Meteor. Soc., 61, 1012-1017. •
structures, ice/seabed interaction, seabed stability, foundation
analysis, site investigation, soil properties (two sessions), and
geotechnical codes and regulations—panel discussion. For more
information, contact the Third Canadian Conference on Ma-
rine Geotechnical Engineering, C-CORE, Memorial Univer-
sity of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada NF AlB 3X5; tele-
phone (709) 737-8354.
29 September-3 October 1986. The International Symposium
on Drought: Prediction, Detection, Impacts Assessment, and
Response will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
from 20 September to 3 October 1986. The symposium par-
ticipants will explore ways to improve the international ca-
pacity to respond to drought.
A distinguished number of international experts will present
papers addressing the physical and societal implications of
drought, both in developing and developed nations, on a variety
of spatial scales, from the farm level to supernational regions.
The symposium's objectives will be to facilitate the inter-
change of ideas between scientists and decision makers, to
identify research needs, and to review the need for and devel-
opment of effective drought response in an international arena.
Conference organizers include D. A. Wilhite and N. J. Ro-
senberg of the Center for Agricultural Meteorology and Cli-
matology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and W. E. Easter-
ling and P. J. Lamb of the Climate and Meteorology Section of
the Illinois State Water Survey.
For additional information, contact either Donald Wilhite,
241 L. W. Chase Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
68583-0728, or William Easterling, Illinois State Water Survey,
2204 Griffith Dr., Champaign, IL 61820; telephone (217) 333-
5380.
(icontinued on page 421)
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