First oceanographic data buoy network

The Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device (NOMAD) buoy's 6-metre-long (20 ft) hull was originally designed in the 1940s for the US Navy’s offshore data-collection programme. It was not until 1951, however, that the first network of NOMAD buoys was deployed at sea. Over the period up until 1970, a total of 21 NOMADs were moored at various locations in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The buoys provided information about wind speeds, water temperature, air temperature and wave actions. This information contributed to the first understanding of global oceanic influences on weather patterns.