1. Ocean buoys collect data
over many years – changes
in the atmosphere and
ocean over many years
provide clues to climate
variability.
We need to look at the
ANOMALIES to identify
variability.
Anomaly: Difference from
normal (or difference from
the average conditions)
Climate of Change – Unit 2: Deciphering Climate Variability
NOAA Image
2. The TAO/TRITON buoys are in an area of the Pacific where there are
few islands or ships to collect weather data. Japan maintains 15 of
the buoys (labeled TRITON below). The other 55 are maintained by
the United States, through the National Data Buoy Center, which is a
division of NOAA.
Climate of Change – Unit 2: Deciphering Climate Variability
NOAA Image
3. Instruments on the
TAO/TRITON buoys
measure sea-surface
temperature, wind speed
and direction, relative
humidity, air temperature,
and subsurface
temperatures in the upper
500 meters of the ocean.
The buoys are moored in
place with an anchor.
Climate of Change – Unit 2: Deciphering Climate Variability
NOAA Image
4. Six to eight times a year, scientists and technicians go out on the
NOAA ship Ka’imimoana to repair and replace buoys along
different sections of the array.
Climate of Change – Unit 2: Deciphering Climate Variability
NOAA Image
5. (Averages)
Arrows depict
wind strength
and direction
(longer arrow
= stronger
wind)
TAO/TRITON Monthly Sea Surface Temp (SST) in °C and Winds (m/s2)
Long arrows
indicate wind
is stronger
than average
(and in same
direction)
Short arrows
indicate wind
is similar to
the long-term
average
Climate of Change – Unit 2: Deciphering Climate Variability
Editor's Notes
About seventy TAO/TRITON buoys collect meteorological data in the equatorial Pacific Ocean between the Galapagos Islands and New Guinea. Scientists retrieve the data in real time via satellite.
Use this slide to introduce students to the type of data they will be looking at. The most difficult aspects of interpreting these maps lie in understanding wind anomalies. Without going into the definition of a vector, indicate to students that they should understand that the length of the wind anomaly error tells us about the size of the anomaly, and that the direction of the anomaly arrow tells us how the wind direction is different from normal or average.
