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    • Physical and meteorological data from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array in the tropical Pacific Ocean

    Metadata Updated: July 1, 2025

    The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) Array of 55 moored buoys spans the tropical Pacific from longitudes 165°E to 95°W between latitudes of approximately 8°S and 9°N. Moorings within the array measure surface meteorological and upper-ocean parameters and transmit most data in real time to shore via Service Argos. The array was part of the in-situ measurement portion of the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Program, a 10-year (1985 - 1994) study of climate variability on seasonal to interannual time scales, the most pronounced mode of which is the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon (McPhaden, 1993).

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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    Dates

    Metadata Date 2024-09-06T14:19:48Z
    Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date July 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) June 28, 2012 (publication), October 15, 2021 (revision)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Series
    Metadata Date 2024-09-06T14:19:48Z
    Metadata Created Date December 4, 2020
    Metadata Updated Date July 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) June 28, 2012 (publication), October 15, 2021 (revision)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:NDBC-TAOBuoy
    Access Constraints Cite as: Crout, Richard; Petraitis, Dawn; NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) (2012). Physical and meteorological data from the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array in the tropical Pacific Ocean. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/NDBC-TAOBuoy. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long -94
    Bbox North Lat 9
    Bbox South Lat -8
    Bbox West Long 165
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:NDBC-TAOBuoy
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 1688f3d6-9750-4ed0-8157-ba618528aa7f
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[165.0, -8.0], [-94.0, -8.0], [-94.0, 9.0], [165.0, 9.0], [165.0, -8.0]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2011-01-01
    Temporal Extent End 2015-03-31

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