Technology Refresh of NOAA's Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Buoy System

Abstract

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) buoy array has a long history of providing valuable climate data to both the climate and forecast communities. A major concern for a sustained and long-term TAO operation is the impending obsolescence of the technology used in the current version of the TAO array. An increasing number of components are being discontinued or are no longer supported by the manufacturers due to the technology presently used being more than 10 years old. During the transition of the TAO array from NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) to NOAA's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), it was decided to take this opportunity to "refresh" the TAO buoy system by replacing the obsolescent components in the current TAO system to ensure continuity of the TAO array. This paper first discusses the obsolescent components in the existing TAO array system. Then, the refreshed components of the refreshed TAO buoy system are discussed, including a newly-designed data logger, modified battery system, commercial off-the-shelf underwater sensors, a new compass, Iridium communication, modified and enhanced shore-side data system, and other minor design modifications. The field testing of the TAO refreshed buoys is also presented