Global ocean observation systems and GIS go hand in hand – NOAA’s TAO-TRITON data meets the ESRI’s Geography Network and ArcGlobe

Nazila Merati
Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, OAR

Tiffany C. Vance
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS

PMEL hosts a vast array of global ocean observing data. One of the mostwidely sought data sets is data from the TAO/TRITON array of fixed buoys in the Equatorial Pacific. The array of 70 moored buoys transmit data that are used by oceanographers, modelers and forecasters to improve detection,understanding and prediction of El Niño and La Niña. TAO/TRITON data have been available to researchers and the public via the WWW since 1995. In 2003, PMEL and ESRI have worked to bring this dataset into a GIS format and to make it available via ESRI's Geography Network. The Geography Network serves as a portal for GIS users and providers by providing the infrastructure for users to share and disseminate geospatial data through the use of webservices, downloadable data and dynamic mapping. TAO/TRITON data are now available to a wider audience using the Geography Network. Updated data are available to users on a daily basis. Base layers such as TAO buoys locations and typhoon and hurricane tracks are also available.

Our next step will be to add historical data from recent El Niño and La Niña events for comparison.

ArcGlobe, a part of ESRI's ArcGIS suite, provides GIS users the ability to visualize multiscale global data in a 3D world. This presentation will demonstrate the ability to add Map Services, Geography Network data, in-situ data and other NOAA observation platform information in the ArcGlobe application.