On Wednesday afternoon, 5 March, we have planned site visits to the Naval Oceanographic Office and National Data Buoy Center, both at the Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

NAVOCEANO acquires and analyzes global ocean and littoral data to provide specialized, operationally significant products and services for military and civilian, national and international customers. For these purpose airborne, surface and subsurface platforms are deployed worldwide, which include remote-sensing data buoys with satellite linkage. Our site tour will cover the data buoy activities at this large operational oceanography facility.

The NATIONAL DATA BUOY CENTER is a unique facility of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA) is the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). NDBC builds and operates probably the world’s largest fleet of weather buoys in the waters bordering the United States and in the Great Lakes. It also is responsible for the operation of the TAO array, a system of data buoys spanning the equatorial pacific waters from New Guinea to Peru to detect El Nino and El Nina currents and atmospheric conditions. NDBC also oversees the DART system, a set of data buoys which detect tsunami events. From all buoy systems NDBC collects and distributes through its web site high quality real time sensor data

We are fortunate to have the opportunity to visit both sites as part of this year’s Buoy Workshop program.

U.S. Citizen Idenitifcation Information for Site Visits
Upon entering Stennis, U.S. citizens will need a valid driver’s license or passport or another form of government issued ID.

Names of attendees will be added to a master list that is being prepared as they register for the workshop and submitted in advance to make things go smoothly.

Foreign Attendee Visitor Application Form for Site Visits
According to the information we received from Stennis Space Center, there is no problem for foreign nationals (non USA) to join the site visits as long as the visitor application form (SSC 766 (pdf)) paper work is returned in time. If you have not submitted it as yet, please do so and send to (Angela.Strong@noaa.gov), with a copy to Judy Rizoli (jrizoli@whoi.edu).