Buoys are floating devices used for navigation, data collection, and warning systems. They mark shipping lanes, aid in mooring, and collect weather and ocean data. Buoys also play a role in tsunami warning systems and have bells, horns, and lights for navigation aids.
A buoy is a device designed to float on water, either in the open sea or in a shipping channel such as a bay or river. Buoys have been used in navigation for hundreds of years and perform a multitude of functions, ranging from warning systems to alert mariners to hazards such as reefs to data collection devices for government weather agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) in the United States. If you’ve ever been to the sea, you’ve probably seen a buoy.
The word “buoy” entered the English language in 1296 and appears to derive from an Old French word, buie, meaning “lighthouse”, a reference to one of the important functions of a buoy. Around the world, buoys are used as navigational aids to help people locate hazards, harbors and other features of interest or concern. By international agreement, buoys around the world use the same color codes and symbols to ensure they can be universally understood.
In a busy area, buoys can be used to mark shipping lanes, ensuring boats know where to go and reducing the risk of collisions. A buoy can also be used as a mooring device, allowing boats to anchor without needing to be attached to a dock. Some divers and casual sailors take advantage of mooring buoys to anchor their boats while diving, swimming or fishing.
Buoys are also extremely valuable as scientific devices. Many nations use buoys to collect data on ocean movements and weather, using this information to provide weather forecasts and to learn more about regional weather conditions. Buoy data is typically broadcast on a public radio frequency for the benefit of surfers, swimmers, and sailors who may want to be notified of unusually high waves or approaching storms.
A buoy can also be used as part of a tsunami warning system. Buoys typically track changes in water level, and a sudden drop that can signal a tsunami usually results in timely communication with a central monitoring center, allowing agencies to warn people of tsunamis and storm surges arriving. Thanks to years of data collection in parts of the world, buoys can determine whether or not a change in water level is a cause for concern.
Many buoys have bells, horns, or lights to aid navigation. Bell buoys are useful because they require no power to operate and can be heard when they can’t be seen, which can be useful along foggy and dangerous costs. Some buoys have foghorns capable of projecting a long distance to warn sailors of coral reefs, shoals and rocky shores.
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