During the last decade, the launch of a series of polar-orbiting satellites to be used for climatological studies, and also capable of surface platform position location and data telemetry, prompted the development of relatively low-cost oceanographic and meteorological drifting buoy measurement platforms to support a wide spectrum of scientific and observational programs. The feasibility of economically and reliably deploying meteorological drifting buoys in remote data-sparse areas of the world has been amply demonstrated in the recent Global Weather Experiment. Drifting buoy technology will play an increasingly important role in climate-related research programs during the next decade. The role of drifting buoy data in improving weather analysis and forecasts may be a dominant factor in the development of operational drifting buoy systems. Development programs are underway or in planning to upgrade the measurement capabilities of the present drifting buoy systems in response to anticipated future demands.
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