Moorings network
Moored buoys that provide long time series are one of the most important sources of marine data. The national network of moored buoys includes two of them, one located in the Bay of Varna and the other in the Bay of Burgas, which measure and provide in real time the parameters of the marine environment and the surrounding atmosphere such as: wind velocity and direction, air temperature, atmospheric pressure , relative humidity, height and period of sea waves, sea water temperature and salinity, oxygen concentration, chlorophyll concentration, color dissolved organic matter and turbidity. Data obtained from moored buoys are used to assess the status of the marine environment, analyze climate change, model assimilation and forecast verification.
Activities planned:
Both the modernization of the existing buoys and the expansion of the network by another 6 coastal buoys for measuring and transmitting weather and sea status data are envisaged. Measurements include surface wind velocity and direction, air temperature and atmospheric pressure, sea waves period, height and direction, sea water temperature and salinity and sea level fluctuation. The data will be used to feed atmospheric and marine computer models and to verify weather and sea forecasts.
Data users are fishing, shipping and tourism as well as marine research to asses energy potential, design ports and infrastructure sites and facilities and climate research and forecasting.