National Data Buoy Center

What National Data Buoy Center does

The National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) is a U.S. federal agency operating under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the Department of Commerce, headquartered at Stennis Space Center in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. Established in 1970 and staffed by approximately 31 personnel, NDBC operates a globally distributed real-time observation network comprising moored buoys, C-MAN coastal stations, the DART® deep-ocean tsunami detection array, the TAO/TRITON tropical Pacific array, OceanSITES international reference stations, and High Frequency Radar systems for coastal surface current measurement. Its data products span standard meteorological measurements, oceanographic and wave spectral data, water level measurements, and ADCP current profiles, distributed through a web portal, THREDDS/OPeNDAP servers, KML feeds, RSS, and embeddable widgets.

NDBC's core technology is built on standardized environmental data infrastructure: THREDDS data servers expose NetCDF files following CF Metadata Conventions, enabling interoperability with global scientific research workflows. The DART® system — registered as an NDBC trademark — provides deep-ocean tsunami early warning, while TAO/TRITON moorings feed El Niño/La Niña climate monitoring. HF Radar extends coverage to nearshore surface currents at resolutions down to 500 meters. The platform serves government agencies (NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, emergency management), research institutions and academia, the maritime industry, and the general public, with outputs integrated into both national (IOOS) and international (OceanSITES) ocean observing systems.

As a government agency, NDBC operates on a non-commercial model: all data and products are distributed free of charge with no subscription, paywall, or authentication requirements. Funding flows through congressional appropriations to NOAA rather than through any revenue-generating mechanism, and there are no disclosed budgets, funding rounds, or commercial contracts. NDBC does not pursue revenue; its strategic posture is operational continuity, international scientific collaboration, and integration with downstream federal forecasting systems.

Name

National Data Buoy Center

Legal name

National Data Buoy Center

Website

https://ndbc.noaa.gov

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Data Buoy Center is a NOAA-operated federal agency that runs a global real-time ocean and meteorological observation network — buoys, DART tsunameters, HF Radar — distributing data free of charge to government, research, maritime, and public users worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ocean and Meteorological Observation Services

NAICS

Navigational Services to Shipping (488330), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines) (BPAIAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring) (IMAJAJAI), Navigation & Aids-to-Navigation Works (Beacons, Buoys, Markers) (IMAFAJAH), Sonar, Undersea Sensors & Acoustic Detection Systems (IMABAGAD)

Keywords

• Ocean observation networks
• Meteorological buoy data
• Tsunami detection systems
• Marine weather forecasting
• Real-time ocean monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Stennis Space Center

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Data Buoy Center operates and maintains the U.S. national network of moored buoys, coastal C-MAN stations, the DART deep-ocean tsunami detection system, the TAO/TRITON tropical Pacific array, HF Radar coastal current systems, and the international OceanSITES reference stations. It collects real-time meteorological and oceanographic observations and distributes them free of charge via web, THREDDS/OPeNDAP, FTP, KML, RSS, and mobile channels for marine weather, hurricane, tsunami, and climate use cases.

Product overview

The National Data Buoy Center operates a unified ocean and atmospheric observation system consisting of moored buoys, C-MAN stations, the DART tsunami detection network, TAO array, and OceanSITES international reference stations. The core NDBC Observations System aggregates and distributes meteorological data (Standard Meteorological), oceanographic data, spectral wave data, water level measurements, and HF Radar surface currents. Data is made accessible through multiple channels: the main web interface, mobile site, THREDDS/DODS data servers serving NetCDF files via OPeNDAP, Web Widgets, RSS feeds, and KML feeds. Key programs include DART for tsunami early warning, TAO for tropical Pacific climate monitoring, and the international OceanSITES network. The infrastructure uses standardized protocols (THREDDS, OPeNDAP, NetCDF CF conventions) for data distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NDBC Observations System Primary data collection and distribution system providing real-time and historical meteorological and oceanographic observations from buoys, C-MAN stations, TAO array, and other platforms worldwide, serving government, research, maritime, and public users.
• DART Tsunami Program Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART®) network providing early detection and reporting of tsunami events across the Pacific and Atlantic basins for tsunami warning centers.
• TAO/TRITON Array Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array of moored buoys providing data for climate research and El Niño/La Niña (ENSO) monitoring in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
• OceanSITES Network International system of long-term, open-ocean reference stations measuring dozens of variables across the full ocean depth, covering meteorology, physical oceanography, biogeochemistry, and carbon cycle parameters.
• HF Radar Surface Currents High Frequency Radar system measuring ocean surface current speeds and directions in nearshore areas at multiple resolution options (6km, 2km, 1km, 500m), distributed via the HF Radar Web Portal.
• THREDDS Data Server Thematic Real-time Environmental Distributed Data Services server providing access to NDBC and partner data in NetCDF format via OPeNDAP and HTTP, supporting scientific and research applications globally.
• BuoyCAMs Camera systems mounted on select buoys providing visual monitoring of ocean surface conditions for situational awareness.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• OceanSITEScoreTechnology or IntegrationInternational partnership within the Global Ocean Observing System. NDBC serves as a Global Data Assembly Center (GDAC) for OceanSITES, contributing TAO buoy data and hosting data from other international institutions including JAMSTEC, SCRIPPS, MBARI, PMEL, WHOI, and others.
• TAO (Tropical Atmosphere Ocean) ProgramcoreTechnology or IntegrationNDBC maintains and operates the TAO array of buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean, providing critical data for climate research and El Niño/La Niña monitoring. The program includes TRITON moorings.
• DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) ProgramflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDBC operates the DART tsunami detection network providing early warning capability for Pacific and Atlantic tsunamis. DART® is a registered trademark of NDBC.
• IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing System)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDBC data contributes to the national IOOS network, integrating with other ocean observation systems for comprehensive coastal and ocean monitoring.
• National Hurricane CentercoreTechnology or IntegrationNDBC provides tropical cyclone position, forecast tracks, watches and warnings data to support hurricane forecasting operations.
• Central Pacific Hurricane CentercoreTechnology or IntegrationNDBC provides data support for hurricane tracking and forecasting in the Central Pacific region.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Environment and Climate Change Canada: Canadian federal agency operating marine weather buoys in the Nova Scotia / Atlantic region also served by NDBC. Comparable national-government ocean observation role in a neighboring geography.

Emerging players

• Saildrone: Deploys wind- and solar-powered uncrewed surface vehicles for ocean data collection, partially overlapping with NDBC's atmospheric and surface ocean measurement missions.
• Sofar Ocean: Private company deploying low-cost ocean weather buoys (Spotter) and surface current measurements competing with portions of NDBC's moored buoy network in commercial and research markets.

Broad incumbents

• UK Met Office: National meteorological service that performs marine weather observations including in the UK region served by NDBC stations. Comparable public-sector weather/marine observation mandate.
• Copernicus Marine Service: EU-funded ocean monitoring program providing global ocean data products; functionally comparable to NDBC at a multinational scale and competes for the same global ocean observation user base.

Direct peers

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI): Major oceanographic research institution contributing deep-ocean mooring and time-series data to OceanSITES, hosted by NDBC. Comparable long-term ocean observation and data infrastructure mission.
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Operates an extensive ocean observation network including buoys and moorings contributing to OceanSITES, with NDBC explicitly hosting Scripps data as a Global Data Assembly Center. Highly comparable research- and observation-driven ocean data mission.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI): Operates autonomous ocean observation platforms and contributes data to OceanSITES via NDBC's GDAC. Comparable technology-forward ocean monitoring and data publication mission.
• JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology): International government ocean research agency operating deep-ocean moorings and contributing data to OceanSITES, hosted by NDBC. Comparable government-backed ocean observation network operator.
• Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL): NOAA research lab that develops and maintains ocean observation systems including the TAO/TRITON array data, contributed via NDBC. Sister agency within NOAA with closely aligned ocean observation mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/databuoycenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/NWSNDBC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-data-buoy-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Data Buoy Center