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Effective June 24, 2023, NDBC will discontinue our Data Integration Framework (DIF), Standard Data Format (SDF) and Sensor Observation Services (SOS). For more info, see NWS Service Change Notice 23-48.

IOOS® Sensor Observation Service (SOS)

Software

Download SOS Software and Documentation

NDBC SOS Software Revision History

Link to SOS server:

URL Prefix - https://sdf.ndbc.noaa.gov/sos/server.php - append arguments as described below:
https://sdf.ndbc.noaa.gov/sos/test.shtml - for exercising NDBC SOS server via POST

Available Functions:

GetCapabilities - This function returns metadata about this service.
Parameters include:
- request = GetCapabilities
- service = SOS
- sections - (optional parameter) When specified, this idenitifies the sections of the GetCapabilities response to be returned to the client. The user may specify one or more values in a comma-separated list. If omitted, all sections are returned. Valid values are:
  - ServiceIdentification
  - ServiceProvider
  - OperationsMetadata
  - Contents
  - All
DescribeSensor - This function returns detailed sensor charactertistics.
(Not fully implemented. Returns metadata for DART® stations, but only returns partial metadata for other stations.)
Parameters include:
- request = DescribeSensor
- OutputFormat = text/xml;subtype="sensorML/1.0.1"
- procedure = urn of sensor, station or network to describe (see procedure in GetCapabilities response)
- service = SOS
- version = 1.0.0
GetObservation - This function returns observation data of the specified type for the stations within the specified start and stop dates. GML responses are not provided for the new observed properties (air_pressure_at_sea_level, air_temperature and sea_water_electrical_conductivity).
Parameters include:
- request = GetObservation
- service = SOS
- version = 1.0.0
- offering = urn:ioos:station:wmo::<station ID> for single station or urn:ioos:network:noaa.nws.ndbc:all for use with collections. Other networks may be added in the future.
- observedproperty = one of the following:
  - air_pressure_at_sea_level
  - air_temperature
  - currents
  - sea_floor_depth_below_sea_surface (water level for tsunami stations)
  - sea_water_electrical_conductivity
  - sea_water_salinity
  - sea_water_temperature
  - waves
  - winds
- responseformat = one of the following:
  - text/xml;subtype="om/1.0.0"
    provides SWE Common response with embedded CSV.
  - text/csv
    provides comma-separated-values (CSV) response.
  - text/tab-separated-values
    provides tab-separated-values (TSV) response.
  - application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml
    provides KML/JSON response. Note that this KML/JSON response uses embedded Javascript which restricts it to Google Earth 5.
  - text/xml;schema="ioos/0.6.1"
    provideds GML response for display.
  - application/ioos+xml;version=0.6.1
    provides GML response for use in applications.
- eventtime (optional parameter) = <DateTime or DateTime1/DateTime2 or latest>
  - DateTime is formatted as 2008-06-04-T00:00:00Z or 2008-06-04-T00:00Z. At this time, only the seconds are optional.
  - When this parameter is set to "latest", the most recent observation is returned.
  - Data requests are limited to 31 days.
- featureofinterest (optional parameter) = one of the following:
  - A bounding box coded as: BBOX:<min_lon>,<min_lat>,<max_lon>,<max_lat>
  - A named feature of interest from the getCapabilities response. NDBC currently supports only DART® (tsunami event) features of interest. You can view data from these named features of interest on the Feature of Interest Demonstration Page.

Sample Requests

GetCapabilities

GetCapabilities

DescribeSensor

GetObservation for air_pressure_at_sea_level

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Most recent observation		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Most recent observations		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for air_temperature

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Most recent observation		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Most recent observations		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for currents

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 46088	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 46088	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 46088	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Vertical profile	Station 41012	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Vertical profile	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Vertical profile	Station 41012	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collections of stations	All stations in the network	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collections of stations	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collections of stations	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 28N 89.5W and ending at 28.5N 89W	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collections of stations	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 28N 89.5W and ending at 28.5N 89W	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collections of stations	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 28N 89.5W and ending at 28.5N 89W	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

The responses for all ADCP data may contain nine quality flags. These nine quality flags represent the results of the following quality tests based on their position (left to right) in the flags field:

Flag 1 represents the overall bin status.
Flag 2 represents the ADCP Built-In Test (BIT) status.
Flag 3 represents the Error Velocity test status.
Flag 4 represents the Percent Good test status.
Flag 5 represents the Correlation Magnitude test status.
Flag 6 represents the Vertical Velocity test status.
Flag 7 represents the North Horizontal Velocity test status.
Flag 8 represents the East Horizontal Velocity test status.
Flag 9 represents the Echo Intensity test status.

Valid flag values are:

0 = quality not evaluated;
1 = failed quality test;
2 = questionable or suspect data;
3 = good data/passed quality test; and
9 = missing data.

GetObservation for sea_floor_depth_below_sea_surface

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 46403	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 46403	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 46403	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 35N 65W	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 35N 65W	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 35N 65W	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for sea_water_electrical_conductivity

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Most recent observation		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 80W	Most recent observations		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 80W	Observations for a specific time		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 80W	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for sea_water_salinity

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 48900 (glider)	Most recent observation		CSV	TSV		SWE
Single point	Station 48900 (glider)	Observation for a specific time		CSV	TSV		SWE
Trajectory	Station 48900 (glider)	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV		SWE
Gliders are not available in GML and KML collections.
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 35N 70W	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 35N 70W	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 35N 70W	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for sea_water_temperature

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 48900 (glider)	Most recent observation		CSV	TSV		SWE
Single point	Station 48900 (glider)	Observation for a specific time		CSV	TSV		SWE
Trajectory	Station 48900 (glider)	Observations for a time range		CSV	TSV		SWE
Gliders are not available in GML and KML collections.
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for waves

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 42040	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 42040	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 42040	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

GetObservation for winds

Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	Output Format
Type	Station Selection	Time Selection	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Most recent observation	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observation for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Single point	Station 41012	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Most recent observations	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a specific time	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE
Collection of Single Points	All stations in the network within a bounding box starting at 25N 90W and ending at 30N 85W	Observations for a time range	GML	CSV	TSV	KML	SWE

Sample page using XSL

There is a sample page which fetches the most recent ocean currents observation for a given station via a GET method and transforms the XML via XSL to HTML for display in the browser. Some sample links are:

Station List

IOOS® DIF Station List

U.S. Dept. of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
National Data Buoy Center
Bldg. 3205
Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
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Page last modified: June 1, 2021

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