Bombora - Surf, Sail, and Ocean Forecasting iPhone App » Oceanography

Oceanography

Kerry — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:30:59 +0000

NOAA maintains a network of buoys, tidal stations and satellite measurements...

Weather forecasting services provided by institutions like NOAA and Scripps are the core of Bombora. Data provided by these agencies are essential to the operation of Bombora as well as many other surf and marine forecasters.

This information, in addition to assisting surf forecasters, is vital to the operation of international shipping, marine safety, and global oceanographic research.

Bombora uses buoy, tidal station, and swell model data provided by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center (NDBC.)

We also use data from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography’s Coastal Data Information Project (CDIP,) and NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS.) That’s about as many acronyms and large words as we care to use in one sentence.

Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS)

Kerry — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:04:43 +0000

We like to bring attention every once in a while to one of the many agencies that provide data to Bombora – here’s a little information on our source for current tidal data (which differentiates us from other tide apps in that we provide ACTUAL tide readings):

The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) collects, analyzes and distributes historical and real-time observations and predictions of water levels, coastal currents and other meteorological and oceanographic data.

This is part of an integrated National Ocean Service program supporting safe maritime navigation, more productive water-borne commerce, and the needs of the National Weather Service, coastal zone management, engineering and surveying communities.

The Center manages the National Water Level Observation Program and the national network of Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems in major U.S. harbors. It conducts its programs through university, industry, Federal and State partnerships as appropriate. CO-OPS resides within NOAA’s National Ocean Service.

C-MAN: The Coastal Marine Automated Network

Kerry — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:08:13 +0000

An example of a C-MAN platform

The Coastal-Marine Automated Network (C-MAN) was established by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) for the National Weather Service (NWS) in the early 1980’s.

The development of C-MAN was in response to a need to maintain meteorological observations in U. S. coastal areas. Such observations, which had been made previously by USCG personnel, would have been lost as many USCG navigational aids were automated under the Lighthouse Automation and Modernization Program (LAMPS). In all, approximately 60 stations make up C-MAN.

C-MAN stations have been installed on lighthouses, at capes and beaches, on near shore islands, and on offshore platforms (see the NDBC station location map for all station locations).

C-MAN station data typically include barometric pressure, wind direction, speed and gust, and air temperature; however, some C-MAN stations are designed to also measure sea water temperature, water level, waves, relative humidity, precipitation, and visibility.

These data are processed and transmitted hourly to users in a manner almost identical to moored buoy data. In addition to the conventional method of data transmission, certain C-MAN stations are equipped with telephone modems that allow more frequent data acquisition, data quality checking, and remote payload reconfiguration or restarting.

Source: National Data Buoy Center/ National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration