Page 29: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2013)

ocean proÞ le. NOAAÕs drift buoy program is man- aged in Miami, Fla. at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meterological Laboratory (AOML), Drifter Opera- tions Center. Using research vessels, Volunteer Observation Ships and air- craft, Lagrangian drifters are placed in areas of interest around the worldÕs oceans. Once veriÞ ed operational, they are reported to AOMLÕs Drifter Data Assembly Center. Incoming data from the drifters are then placed on the Global Telecommunications System for distribution to meteorological services everywhere. Preparations are now underway for the beginning of the 2013 Þ eld season on RAMA with all agencies planning logistics and cruise tracks for system cycling and new site installations, mov- ing forward to completing the RAMA array. 2013 brings new adventure for RDSEA and more support to the GT- MBA network having been invited on PIRATA in the Atlantic with The Oceanographic Institute of the Univer- sity of Sao Paulo, funded to contribute to research, observation and modeling of the impacts of climate change on the South Atlantic. An important com- ponent of the Brazilian observational program is the PIRATA Project which has been monitoring the tropical Atlan- tic over a decade in collaboration with France and the U.S. The IOUSP has developed their version of an ATLAS- like buoy system (similar to the designs on the GTMBA) that will enhance their research needs on the deployment and management of current meter arrays across the Brazil Current, in the South-eastern Brazilian Bight (22¼S to 28¼S). The Þ rst of these buoys, Guariroba, is being tested now locally and will be deployed near 28¡S and 42¡W on an early spring cruise in 2013 initiating the ÒATLAS-BÓ Project. The Guariroba buoy will provide valuable information for understanding variability of the at- mospheric South Atlantic Convergence Zone. Cruise logistics will be handled on board R/V Alpha Crucis (formerly known as R/V Moana Wave, University of Hawaii, an old friend to RDSEA). The GTMBA: RAMA, TAO/ TRITON and PIRATA. (Courtesy of NOAA-PMEL) Marine Technology Reporter 29www.seadiscovery.com MTR #2 (18-33).indd 29MTR #2 (18-33).indd 293/5/2013 4:09:48 PM3/5/2013 4:09:48 PM