Terms of Reference for the

Data Buoy Cooperation Panel (DBCP)

The Data Buoy Cooperation Panel shall:

  1. Consider the expressed needs of the international meteorological and oceanographic communities for real-time or archival data from ocean-data buoys on the high seas and request action from its members, the Technical Co-ordinator or action groups to meet these needs
  2. Co-ordinate activity on existing programmes so as to optimize the provision and timely receipt of good quality data from them
  3. Propose, organize and implement, through the co-ordination of national contributions, the expansion of existing programmes or the creation of new ones to supply such data
  4. Support and organize as appropriate such action groups as may be necessary to implement the deployment of data gathering buoys to meet the expressed needs of oceanographic and meteorological programmes such as WWW, WCRP, GOOS and GCOS
  5. Encourage the initiation of national contributions to data buoy programmes from countries which do not make them
  6. Promote the insertion of all available and appropriate buoy data into the Global Telecommunication System
  7. Promote the exchange of information on data buoy activities and encourage the development and transfer of appropriate technology
  8. Ensure that other bodies actively involved in buoy use are informed of the workings of the panel and encourage, as appropriate, their participation in the panel deliberations
  9. Make and regularly review arrangements to secure the services of a Technical Co-ordinator with the terms of reference given in Part B
  10. Report formally to the Joint WMO/IOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM), and participate in and contribute to an integrated global operational ocean observing system, implemented and co-ordinated through JCOMM
  11. Submit annually to the Executive Councils of the WMO and the IOC, to JCOMM and to other appropriate bodies of WMO and IOC, a report which shall include summaries of the existing and planned buoy deployments and data flow.


Terms of Reference for the DBCP Technical Coordinator

The Technical Coordinator of the DBCP shall:

  1. Under the direction of the Data Buoy Cooperation Panel take all possible steps within the competence of the Panel to assist in the successful achievement of its aims
  2. Assist in the development, implementation, and management of quality control procedures for data buoy systems
  3. Assist in setting up suitable arrangements for notifying the appropriate user communities of changes in the functional status of operational buoys
  4. Assist in the standardization of buoy data formats, sensor accuracy, etc
  5. Assist when requested with the development of cooperative arrangements for buoy deployment
  6. Assist in the clarification and resolution of issues between Service Argos and buoy operators
  7. Assist in promoting the insertion of all available and appropriate buoy data into the Global Telecommunications System
  8. Supply information about buoy developments and applications to the WMO and IOC Secretariats and assist the Data Buoy Cooperation Panel to promote and international dialogue between oceanographers and meteorologists
  9. Coordinate and monitor the flow of buoy data into appropriate permanent archives.



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