Ocean Observing System

The Physical Oceanography Division at NOAA/AOML manages and coordinates the operational data collection and distribution of several components of the Global Ocean Observing System.
  We show here the most recent ocean observations with eXpendable BathyThremographs (XBT), Argo profiling floats, ThermoSalinoGraphs (TSG), surface drifters, gliders, and moored buoys, as well as meteorological observations (1 per day and per platform) from the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program.

Select Dataset:

XBT NO SEAS
XBT SEAS
ARGO
BUOY/DRIFTERS
MOORED BUOYS
SURFACE SALINITY
FM 13 SHIP
GLIDERS

Google Earth Options






Disclaimer:
The GE plugin is currently only available
on Windows and Mac OS X 10.6+.
This limitation can affect Linux users
as well as users of mobile and portable devices.

Annually, approximately 25,000 XBTs deployed from over 50 different ships of the Ship of Opportunity Program (SOOP) provide temperature profiles to 800 meters. Over 1,200 drifters provide sea surface temperature and salinity profiles to 1700 meters every 10 days. Additionally, sea surface temperature and salinity data from TSGs are transmitted, and about 4000 VOS ships (400 of them with NOAA SEAS equipment) routinelly transmit meteorological observations.