Tropical Ocean Observations for Weather and Climate: A Decadal Overview of the Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array

Abstract

This paper describes the evolution of the Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array (GTMBA) over the past decade since the last comprehensive and coordinated overview of the Pacific-Atlantic-Indian Ocean system in 2010. GTMBA provides sustained and systematic observations in real time for weather and climate research, forecasting, and assessments. It is maintained through multi-national consortia that support the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array and the Triangle Trans-Ocean Buoy Network (TRITON) in the Pacific, the Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA), and the Research Moored Array for African-Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) in the Indian Ocean. Phenomena of interest span a wide range of weather and climate timescales, including tropical cyclones, the Madden-Julian Oscillation, the seasonal cycle, monsoon circulations, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, climate variations on decadal timescales, and trends related to climate change. Recent scientific advances enabled by GTMBA are reviewed along with array design changes that respond to new scientific imperatives and operational exigencies, and future directions are discussed.