The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) database contains primarily real-time marine observations routed on the Global Telecommunications System (GTS) from its direct connection to the NOAA Telecommunications Gateway. GTS observations and data from other sources are decoded and loaded into the system automatically. The type of observation, its WMO identifier, time and date of observation, position, GTS bulletin header and the presence of the environmental variables; wind direction, wind speed, air and sea- surface temperature, humidity, sea-level pressure, and subsurface profiles are stored as fields in the database. Platform tables are used to identify ships, TAO buoys, PALACE floats, and buoys managed by the Global Drifter Center (GDC) at AOML. An objective of the database is to monitor the flow and assess the availability of GTS data.

These plots are simple summarizations of data stored in the GOOS database. The flexibility of the database structure allows system managers to display data relating to platform type, program, or environmental variable. Because data are ingested from a variety of sources (only a few of which are described here) problems resulting from system or communications interruptions occur. The large dropouts are evidence of system problems, which can occur anywhere in the data flow and have resulted in lost data. The high frequency signal is indicative of the daily availability of data. Satellite coverage, telemetry method, platform operation, and individual program requirements, all contribute to the character of these plots.