Technical Information

Physical oceanographic and meteorological data collected within TAO/TRITON, PIRATA and RAMA comes primarily from ATLAS and TRITON moorings. These two mooring systems are functionally equivalent in terms of sensors, sample rates, and data quality. Additional measurements are made from ADCP moorings and, in the Indian Ocean, deep-sea moorings along the equator. Detailed specifications for each mooring system are available from the links above.

ATLAS, TRITON, and ADCP are served for all three oceans from the TAO/TRITON display and delivery page. Deep-sea mooring data are available from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

TAO/TRITON, PIRATA and RAMA are contributions to the OceanSITES network of global flux reference stations. Fluxes of heat, moisture, and momentum (i.e. wind stress) across the air-sea interface are calculated from ATLAS and TRITON buoy data using standard algorithms and made available via the PMEL OceanSITES data & products page. Mooring status summary plots are updated daily.

Biogeochemical measurements are also made within the global tropical moored buoy array and are available from PMEL's CO₂ Program, the CO₂ Program of LOCEAN/University of Paris VI, and MBARI's Biological Oceanography Group.