Drifting Buoy Ocean Current Data from the NW Atlantic, 1993

Eight drifting buoys collected 465 records of water depth and other oceanographic parameters in the Northwest Atlantic west of 40°W. Data collection occurred between August 23 and December 6, 1993, as part of a Physical Oceanography Field Program offshore North Carolina. The data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the F156 Drifting Buoy file format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing surface current direction and speed based on buoy drift trajectories.
• Studying temporal variability of oceanographic conditions over a three-month period.
• Validating regional ocean circulation models with in-situ drifting platform observations.
• Investigating water depth correlations with other measured physical parameters.

Strengths

• Contains 465 specific data records from a defined observational campaign.
• Covers a precise temporal range of 106 days from August to December 1993.
• Data originates from a structured research program supported by a specific grant (MMS # 14-35-0001-30599).

Limitations

• Column names and specific measured variables beyond water depth are not detailed in the provided metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates between sources (1993 vs. 2026) create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• The dataset is relatively small in scale, with observations from only 8 buoys over a limited geographic area.

Provenance

Source

Science Applications, Inc., Raleigh, NC, submitted by Dr. Thomas Berger, processed by NODC.

Collection Method

Collected via drifting buoy platforms deployed offshore North Carolina.

Time Range

1993-08-23 to 1993-12-06

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:32:20.618700

Geography

NW Atlantic (west of 40°W), offshore North Carolina.