MARINE OBSERVATION SOURCE · S005
NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC)
Discover marine observations available through NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), including parameters, platforms, spatial and temporal coverage, metadata, and access methods.
- Operator
- NOAA NDBC
- Role
- Observation network + archive
- Platforms
- Moored buoys; drifting buoys; C-MAN/coastal stations; partner platforms
- Observed variables
- Wind; pressure; air temperature; humidity/dew point; SST; wave height/period/direction; spectra; currents; oceanographic variables; tide; solar radiation
- Spatial coverage
- Primarily U.S. waters plus partner stations distributed more broadly
- Period
- Station-dependent; many records from 1970s-present
- Depth coverage
- Surface; sensor-specific subsurface; ADCP profiles where present
- QC and data mode
- Automated QC for real time; post-processed historical archive
- Access method
- Realtime files: /data/realtime2/{station}.{type}; historical directories by data type/year; DODS for NetCDF
- Indexed download targets
- 34
Canonical parameters
- Sea-level / barometric pressure
air_pressure_at_sea_level - Air temperature
air_temperature - Chlorophyll-a concentration
chlorophyll_a - Ocean-current direction
current_direction_to - Ocean-current speed
current_speed - Dew-point temperature
dew_point_temperature - Dissolved oxygen concentration
dissolved_oxygen - Dominant wave period
dominant_wave_period - Sea-water conductivity
electrical_conductivity - Longwave radiation
longwave_radiation - Mean wave direction
mean_wave_direction_from - Mean wave period
mean_wave_period - Oxygen saturation
oxygen_saturation - pH
ph - Practical salinity
practical_salinity - Primary-swell direction
primary_swell_direction_from - Primary-swell period
primary_swell_period - Primary-swell significant height
primary_swell_significant_height - Observation depth
sample_depth - Sea-surface temperature
sea_surface_temperature - Sea-water temperature
sea_water_temperature - Secondary-swell direction
secondary_swell_direction_from - Secondary-swell period
secondary_swell_period - Secondary-swell significant height
secondary_swell_significant_height - Shortwave radiation
shortwave_radiation - Significant wave height
significant_wave_height - Turbidity
turbidity - Visibility
visibility - Wind direction
wind_direction_from - Wind gust
wind_gust - Wind speed
wind_speed - Wind-wave direction
wind_wave_direction_from - Wind-wave period
wind_wave_period - Wind-wave significant height
wind_wave_significant_height
Discovery and access
Best strategy: ingest station_table.txt as metadata, then index per-station file availability by datatype/year.