Accuracy characteristics of the electronics of waverider buoys used in the ARSLOE

During the Atlantic Remote Sensing Land Ocean Experiment (ARSLOE), October-November, 1980, a large number of meteorological and oceanographic instruments, especially wave-measurement instruments, were deployed in the ocean near the Army Corps of Engineers Pier, Duck, NC. About nine Waverider buoys were deployed in an approximately rectangular pattern, about 30 km wide by 40 km seaward. The Waveriders were an accepted reference for study of other wave-measurement instrument systems. Almost all of the Waverider buoys were calibrated on the rotating-arm facility of the NOAA, Engineering Support Office. Pre- and post-deployment calibrations formed the basis for tables and equations for correction of the Waverider measurements. The calibrations discussed here established that the Waveriders were measuring lower than specification, averaging about 5 percent low (10 percent for variance spectra coefficients.) Corrections for effects of fluctuations in water temperature on Waverider sensitivity were required and are provided. The manufacturer's modification to prevent future drift in sensitivity is also described.