Detection of NDBO Wave Measurement System Malfunctions

The Data Buoy Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has deployed a number of moored buoys at continental shelf and deep ocean sites. Most of these buoys report wind speed and wave displacement spectra to shore every 3 hours. Although the proper functioning of the systems measuring and reporting these data can be verified by comparison instruments on board a ship at the deployment site, other means of verification are required during long periods of unattended operation. The NOAA Data Buoy Office (NDBO) has devised a technique for the detection of gross malfunctions in wind or wave measurement systems through the consistency of the wind and wave measurements with each other. This paper describes the technique and demonstrates its application by showing actual data.