Evolution of Position-Locating System on Data Buoys

Abstract

The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) operates and maintains a fleet of environmental data buoys on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes, This fleet of moored buoys, numbering approximately 50 as of this writing, occasionally suffers a failed mooring, at which time the buoy “gets underway.” In this event, up-to-date, accurate positions are required to facilitate tracking the buoy by a recovery vessel. In addition, daily position reports from all deployed buoys are required to ensure the buoys are “on station” and have not moved from their reported positions, which could create a hazard to navigation.

For the past decade, NDBC has used Loran C and Service Argos Platform Transmit Terminals (PTT’s) for deep-ocean buoy positions. These systems are not without their share of problems when used in remote, unattended situations. NDBC is now looking to the future and the possible use of GPS or GEOSTAR to provide position and tracking information. This paper takes an in-depth look at NDBC’s past, present, and future involvement with various electronic navigation/positioning systems, including hardware and software.