Welcome to the Adopt a Drifter Tracking Page
(How to use this page?)

How to Adopt a Drifter Application (.pdf) | Invitation to Adopt a Drifter Application (.pdf)
Select WMO ID of Drifter Select:

Pacific Atlantic Indian
51934 62928 23675
prin 32817 31703 56541



Adopted Drifters(WMO ID):
Adams School - Castine, Maine
St. Castin Elementary School - France*

* March 2008 Atlantic Drifters

41622
41668
41954
41956

 Congressional School, Virginia, USA
        Elsies River High School, South Africa
Mary Cook's Drifter Greencastle-Antrim High School
Viviana Zamorano's Drifter Evanston High School's Drifter
Greenbrier Intermediate
         Farnsworth Middle School's Drifter		 Key Biscayne Community School
        Searles Elementary School
        Cabello School's Drifter
Grace B. Luhrs University Ele. School
        University of Toronto Lab School		 Westerly School Bay Village Ohio
Burlington Elementary DBCP global drifter 1250
Castlerock Middle School Smithtown High School
American Samoa Community College Plainfield Elementary School
        St. Pius X School and
        Big Spring Middle School
Novi Meadows School Nancy Grayson Elementary School
        Bathurst Elementary School,
        Australia
Northland College, Kaikohe, NZ Riviera Beach Maritime Academy
        Geelong Grammar School
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
        Southside Middle School
        Shippensburg University



Waynesboro High School, Pennsylvania
        St. Matthew's College, Argentina

October 2007 Pacific Drifters

71195
71185
71192
71200


Product:
Map showing measurements

Map showing drifter track dates

Table of measurements
Variable:
Sea Surface Temperature

Sea Level Pressure



Lesson Plans Maps
Ocean Currents / Drifting Buoys Ocean Temperatures Drifting Buoys and Hurricanes Global Drifter Status

Ocean Currents


Greetings, ocean enthusiasts!!

Thank you for joining us at the Adopt a Drifter Program web site! We are excited that you are interested in accessing information about drifting buoys (drifters) that move with the ocean currents around the globe. It floats in the ocean water and is powered by batteries located in the dome. The drifter data that are collected including location with a GPS, are sent to a satellite and then to a land station where we can all access the data.

Drifters are continually being deployed from ships around the world. They last for a number of years unless they collide with something like an island in the middle of the ocean or a continent. Each drifter receives a WMO ID # (World Meteorological Organization Identification Number) so the data can be archived. In 2005 the goal was reached to place 1250 drifters on the ocean but as the drifters go off-line the need to replenish that number arises.

Curious to know how a drifting buoy is deployed?

drifting buoy prior to deployment
drifting buoy being deployed
drifting buoy after deployment


You can use this Adopt a
Drifter Program web site by:
  1. clicking on the circle beside a WMO ID number (or teachers name) or by entering a known WMO ID
  2. selecting sea surface temperature or sea surface pressure
  3. choosing to map the temperature or pressure measurements, show the drifter’s track, or display a table including the latitude and longitude of the drifter and all measurements taken since the time it was deployed.


Using the data in the table of measurements, you can plot the sea surface temperature (in °C) or sea level pressure (in millibars) on your own map of the Pacific Ocean and then compare your maps with those found on the web site. It’s easy, and it’s fun! Click on either image below for the full size image of a drifter at work.


Additional Information on the Adopt a Drifter Program:
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