NODC Standard Product: NOAA Marine environmental buoy database 1993 with Updates (22 disc set) (NCEI Accession 0095199)

This set of CD-ROMs holds marine meteorological, oceanographic, and wave spectra data collected by moored buoys and C-MAN (Coastal-Marine Automated Network) stations operated by the NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). C-MAN stations are located at coastal and near-shore sites on piers, offshore towers, lighthouses, and beaches. The NDBC buoys began reporting in the early 1970s and the NODC archive holds data from February 1970. The first C-MAN stations became operational in March 1983, and the NODC archive of C-MAN data begins in 1985. These discs hold data through July 1992, with annual update discs for 1993, 1994, and 1995. The data are stored in the NODC Standard Format Meteorology, Oceanography and Wave Spectra from Buoys (F291) data format.

Principal measured parameters reported by both moored buoys and C-MAN stations include air temperature and pressure, wind speed and direction, wind gust, and sea surface temperature. The buoys (and a few C-MAN stations located on offshore platforms) also report wave data, which usually include wave height, wave period, and wave spectra. Since the late 1980s, some buoys have reported directional wave spectra. Data files for each buoy or C-MAN station are arranged chronologically in directories by their station identifier. Each file contains data for one month for that buoy or station. These discs are organized by ocean area and provide data for the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Great Lakes, central and western Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean above 50N, and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Additional recent buoy data (not currently available on CD or DVD) can be accessed using the NOAA Marine Environmental Buoy Database website.