In rivers, oceans, lakes and local pleasure pools, you are likely to see this floating safety device. A buoy may be allowed to drift or be anchored (stationary). Smaller, hand-held lifebuoys are designed for emergency use and are lightweight and easy to handle so they may be deployed quickly in an emergency.
At sea and in river estuaries anchored buoys are for navigation or pilotage. Usually they are brightly colored to aid visibility so as they are easily seen and give warning to all seafarers and navigators.
Buoys are often operated in hostile environments and some may be left unattended for a long time. A sinker constructed from cast iron with weights varying between 1 tonne and 8 tonnes is what moors a Trinity House buoy to the sea bed.
Ocean buoys maintain fixed positions and may be found using the 'Data Buoy Cooperation Panel' or DBCP. A type of measuring buoy commonly deployed by oceanographic researchers is a wave buoy. These calibrate amplitude, period and frequency of ocean waves to assist in both weather forecasting and climate research.
Satellite calibration is carried out from the data received electronically from these buoys and that provides accurate information for seasonally averaged monthly Equivalent Buoy Density (EBD) on a 10 x 10 degree grid.
One organization, the World Weather Watch Programme has been operating a buoy deployment system since 1991 and has deployed more than 700 buoys. Each year the organization meets to discuss instrumentation, forecasting, observations, and outlook.
Within the United States, the North American Buoy Map provides accurate data of buoy positions on the U.S. east and west coasts as well as the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.
The University of Washington, in Seattle is the headquarters of the
International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP). The task of the program includes providing meteorological and oceanographic data for the World Meteorological Organization and the World Climate Research Programme.
The word "buoy" can also be used figuratively in speech or writing. For example, you may feel your spouse has the knack to buoy ('lift up') your spirits when you feel down by providing you with help and empathy.
