Automated surface marine observations from European data buoys

Since the mid-20th century, a growing number of automated weather buoys have been deployed for the purpose of providing a continuous monitoring of weather conditions at the marine surface. Thanks to advances in global telecommunications by satellite in the 1970s, these platforms have spread to cover remote regions, while delivering data in near-real-time. Today oceanographic and meteorological buoys are found in coastal regions, in the high oceans, and in challenging polar regions or even on sea-ice. The data are typically collected within minutes. This paper will present the achievements of the data buoys within E-SURFMAR, the surface marine operational service of the observation programme of EUMETNET (a grouping of European National Meteorological Services). Two types of buoys will be discussed: moored buoys and drifting buoys. The former provide fixed-point time-series and multivariate information. Several variables are collected, from the lower atmosphere (air pressure, air temperature, air humidity, wind, radiation, precipitation…) to the deeper ocean. The latter type of buoys follow trajectories at the mercy of the ocean currents, and report generally fewer variables, such as ocean surface current, sea-surface temperature, and atmospheric pressure. The relative merits, limits, and applications of both types of systems will be reviewed, along with their sustainability. Ongoing developments will also be discussed, along with challenges ahead.