An Operational High Resolution Wave Data Analyzer System for Buoys

The NOAA Data Buoy Office (NDBO) has developed a special purpose microcomputer system for the acquisition of wave spectral data aboard some of its operational buoys. This system is an outgrowth of an earlier system used successfully aboard NDBO buoys in the Gulf of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. The system is capable of producing, in conjunction with shore based data processing, high resolution spectra. The first deployment and operation of the system is planned for Summer of 1976. This paper will discuss the sequence of technical events leading to the design concept for the system. A preliminary analysis leading to the selected design will be discussed. A block diagram for the system will be shown. Sampling rates, durations of sampling, and other basic wave measurement parameters will be discussed. A flow chart for the microprocessor software program will be presented. Shore based data processing will be presented and described. Plans for the deployment of and acquisition of data from the system will be described.