Observations of ocean surface currents by means of oceanographic buoys drifting on a surface drifters are carried out throughout many years. In the last years, thanks to the global ocean observing system created by the international efforts, not less than 1250 buoys regularly distributed over the World Ocean have been drifting simultaneously. Data of observations are transferred via satellite communication systems to the acquisition coastal centers. Every day from drifters there come data flows which should be archived, processed, visualized, analyzed and conclusions need to be done. The present article is devoted to the description of the computer system of storage, processing and visualization of drifter data #x2013; the system which has been functioning already for more than 10 years at the State Oceanographic Institute of the Russian Federal Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Service. In the interactive mode the system gives the data of observations, including averaged grid sets, as well as the various graphical and statistical information on the measured currents and temperature in a surface layer of any given area of the World Ocean.
Information system, database, data processing, visualization, drifter observations, surface currents, World Ocean
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