Global Tropical Moored Buoy Network
Program Overview

Development of the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array of moored buoys in the tropical Pacific was motivated by the 1982-1983 El Nino event and developed by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) under NOAA's Equatorial Pacific Ocean Climate Studies program. The array has been extended to the west and into the Indian Ocean with the deployment of the Triton array implemented by the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC). The TAO and TRITON arrays combined in January 2000 to recognize the introduction of TRITON buoys in the western Pacific by JAMSTEC. The Atlantic array, PIRATA, is a joint project of France (ORSTOM), Brazil (INPE and DHN), and the USA (PMEL/NOAA).

Data Access

Program Management

The Tropical Moored Buoy Implementation Panel (TIP) will be responsible for development, co-ordination, and implementation of moored buoy programs in the tropical ocean regions as part of an integrated approach to observing the climate system to address the research needs of CLIVAR and the operational strategies of GOOS and GCOS.

The TIP will serve the needs of GOOS and GCOS in its role as an Action Group of the Data Buoy Cooperation Panel (DBCP) and as an integral component of the Data Buoy Observations Team within the Observations Program Area of the Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM). The TIP will also co-ordinate tropical moored buoy program implementation on behalf of the CLIVAR Ocean Observations Panel (COOP) and, in particular, provide oversight and co-ordination for experimental pilot arrays.

Data and Information Aspects

Data from the arrays are telemetered in real-time via Service Argos utilizing the NOAA polar-orbiting satellites. The buoy data are processed nightly by the TAO Project at PMEL, where calibration coefficients and quality controls are applied, and the data are made available to the GTS, the international scientific community, and to the public in general.

Since January 2000, data from TRITON moorings west of 165E are processed daily by JAMSTEC in a similar fashion. TAO and TRITON data are delivered in a unified database from both TAO and TRITON web pages.

For PIRATA, PMEL  maintains a data base of real-time and research quality delayed mode data. Duplicate archives are maintained by ORSTOM and INPE. Data processing, error checking, archiving and dissemination is based on procedures developed at PMEL.