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A buoy () is a
float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...
ing device that can have many purposes. It can be
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
ed (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.


Types


Navigational buoys

* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of
yacht racing Yacht racing is a Sailing (sport), sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marke ...
and power boat racing. They delimit the course and must be passed to a specified side. They are also used in
underwater orienteering Underwater orienteering is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in both sheltered and open water testing the competitors' competency in underw ...
competitions. * Emergency wreck buoys provide a clear and unambiguous means of temporarily marking new wrecks, typically for the first 24–72 hours. They are coloured in an equal number of blue and yellow vertical stripes and fitted with an alternating blue and yellow flashing light. They were implemented following collisions in the Dover Strait in 2002 when vessels struck the new wreck of the . * Ice marking buoys mark holes in frozen lakes and rivers so snowmobiles do not drive over the holes. * Large Navigational Buoys (LNB, or Lanby buoys) are automatic buoys over 10 m high equipped with a powerful light monitored electronically as a replacement for a
lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...
. They may be marked on charts as a "Superbuoy." * Lateral marker buoys *
Safe water mark Examples of Safe Water Marks A safe water mark, as defined by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the end of a channel. They usually imply that open, deep and safe water li ...
or fairway buoys mark the entrance to a channel or nearby landfall * Sea marks aid
pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...
by marking a
maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...
channel, hazard or administrative area to allow
boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...
s and
ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s to
navigate Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
safely. Some are fitted with wave-activated bells or gongs. * Wreck buoys mark a wrecked ship to warn other ships to keep away because of unseen hazards. * Light buoys provide demarcation at night.


Marker buoys

Buoys are often used to temporarily or permanently mark the positions of underwater objects: * Lobster trap buoys are brightly colored buoys making lobster trap locations so lobster fishers can find their lobster traps. Each fisher has a unique colour marking or registration number. They are allowed to haul only their own traps, and must display their buoy colour or license number on their boat so law enforcement officials know what they should be hauling. The buoys are brightly coloured with highly visible numbers so they can be seen in poor visibility conditions like
rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
,
fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
and
sea smoke Sea smoke, frost smoke, or steam fog is fog which is formed when very cold air moves over warmer water. Arctic sea smoke is sea smoke forming over small patches of open water in sea ice. It forms when a light wind of very cold air mixes wi ...
.


Diving

Several types of marker buoys may be used by
divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...
: * Decompression buoys are deployed by submerged
SCUBA Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
divers to mark their position underwater whilst doing
decompression stops The decompression of a diver is the reduction in ambient pressure experienced during ascent from depth. It is also the process of elimination of dissolved inert gases from the diver's body, which occurs during the ascent, largely during ...
* Shot buoys mark dive sites for the boat safety cover of
scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...
so they can descend to dive sites more easily in conditions of low visibility or
tidal currents Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...
and more safely do
decompression stops The decompression of a diver is the reduction in ambient pressure experienced during ascent from depth. It is also the process of elimination of dissolved inert gases from the diver's body, which occurs during the ascent, largely during ...
on their ascents. * Surface marker buoys are taken on dives by
scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...
to mark their positions underwater. * Dive site demarcation buoys indicate that divers are working in the marked area, to warn passing vessels to stay clear.


Rescue

* Lifebuoys are lifesaving buoys thrown to people in the water to provide
buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the p ...
. They usually have a connected line allowing them to be pulled in. * Self-locating datum marker buoys (SLDMB) are 70% scale Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment (CODE)/Davis-style oceanographic surface drifters with drogue vanes between 30 and 100 cm deep, ETOCEAN._(2008)._METOCEAN_SLDMB:_Operating_&_Maintenance_Manual_(Version_3.0_ed.)_Retrieved_from_http://www.metocean.com._designed_for_deployment_from_U.S._Coast_Guard_vessels_or_airframes_for_search_and_rescue._They_have_very_little_surface_area_above_water_to_minimize_leeway.html" "title="U.S._Coast_Guard.html" ;"title="ETOCEAN. (2008). METOCEAN SLDMB: Operating & Maintenance Manual (Version 3.0 ed.) Retrieved from http://www.metocean.com. designed for deployment from U.S. Coast Guard">ETOCEAN. (2008). METOCEAN SLDMB: Operating & Maintenance Manual (Version 3.0 ed.) Retrieved from http://www.metocean.com. designed for deployment from U.S. Coast Guard vessels or airframes for search and rescue. They have very little surface area above water to minimize leeway">the effects The EFFECTS (stylized as the EFFECTS) are a Washington, D.C. based math rock band consisting of Devin Ocampo, Matthew Dowling, and David Rich. They have released four digital EPs and a full-length album, ''Eyes to the Light'', on Dischord Records ...
on them off winds and waves.[Bang, I., Mooers, C. N. K., Haus, B., Turner, C., Lewandowski, M. (2007). Technical Report: Surface Drifter Advection and Dispersion in the Florida Current Between Key West and Jacksonville, Florida. Technical Report.]. * Rescue buoy (submarine), Submarine rescue buoys are released in emergencies and for communication purposes.


Research

* Profiling buoys are specialized buoys that adjust their buoyancy to sink at a controlled rate to 2,000 metres while measuring sea temperature and salinity. After a certain period, typically 10 days, they return to the surface, transmit their data via satellite, then sink again. See
Argo (oceanography) Argo is an international program that uses profiling floats to observe temperature, salinity, currents, and, recently, bio-optical properties in the Earth's oceans; it has been operational since the early 2000s. The real-time data it provides is ...
. * Tsunami buoys are anchored buoys that can detect sudden changes in undersea water pressure, and are a component of
tsunami warning systems A tsunami warning system (TWS) is used to detect tsunamis in advance and issue the warnings to prevent loss of life and damage to property. It is made up of two equally important components: a network of sensors to detect tsunamis and a communica ...
in the
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) is one of two tsunami warning centers that are operated by NOAA in the United States. Headquartered on Ford Island, HI, the PTWC is part of an international tsunami warning system (TWS) program and s ...
and Indian Oceans. * Wave buoys measure the movement of the water surface as a wave train. The data they transmit is analysed to form statistics like
significant wave height In physical oceanography, the significant wave height (SWH, HTSGW or ''H''s) is defined traditionally as the mean ''wave height'' (trough to crest) of the highest third of the waves (''H''1/3). Nowadays it is usually defined as four times the st ...
and period, and wave direction. * Weather buoys measure weather parameters such as air temperature, barometric pressure, and wind speed and direction. They transmit this data, via satellite radio links such as the purpose-built
Argos System Argos is a global satellite-based system that collects, processes, and disseminates environmental data from fixed and mobile platforms around the world. The worldwide tracking and environmental monitoring system results from Franco-America ...
or commercial
satellite phone A satellite telephone, satellite phone or satphone is a type of mobile phone that connects to other phones or the telephone network by radio through orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites, as cellphones do. The advantage of a sa ...
networks, to meteorological centres for forecasting and climate study. They may be anchored (moored buoys), or allowed to drift (drifting buoys) in the open currents. Their position is calculated by the satellite. They are also referred to as ODAS buoys or Ocean Data Acquisition Systems and may be marked on charts as "Superbuoys."


Mooring

* Mooring buoys keep one end of a
mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''anc ...
cable or chain on the water's surface so
ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s and boats can tie to them. Many
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
s mark them with numbers and assign them to particular vessels, or rent them to transient vessels. * Tripping buoys are used to keep one end of a 'tripping line' on the water's surface so that a stuck
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
can more easily be freed.


Military

* Marker buoys, used in
naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...
(particularly
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
) emit light and/or smoke using
pyrotechnic Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...
devices to create the
flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
and
smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...
. Commonly 3 inches (76 mm) in diameter and about 20 inches (500 mm) long, they are activated by contact with seawater and float on the surface. Some extinguish themselves after a specific period, while others are sunk when they are no longer needed. * Sonobuoys are used by
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
aircraft to detect
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s by
SONAR Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
*Target buoys simulate targets, such as small boats, in live-fire exercises by naval and coastal forces. They are usually targeted by medium-sized weapons such as
heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...
s, rapid fire cannons (~20 mm),
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
s (up to 40–57mm) and
anti-tank rockets Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...
.


Specific forms

* DAN buoys are used as: ** Large maritime
navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
al aids providing a platform for
light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...
and
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
beacons ** Lifebuoys with flags, used on
yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
s and smaller pleasure craft ** Temporary markers in Danish seine fishing to mark net anchor positions ** Temporary markers set by
danlayer A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans. A dan is a marker buoy which consists of a long pole moored to ...
s during minesweeping operations to indicate the boundaries of swept paths, swept areas, known hazards, and other locations or reference points ** Temporary markers for rescue operations * Spar buoys are tall, thin buoys that float upright, e.g. R/P FLIP


Other

*Space buoys, a common element in science fiction, are stationary objects in
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
that provide navigation data or warnings. *“Mail buoys” are imaginary buoys used as a
prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
in the US Navy; a new sailor may be given the task of locating one to retrieve non-existent mail. Letter boxes on buoys exist in
Töre Töre (Kalix Language: ''te'or'') is a locality situated in Kalix Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 1,099 inhabitants as of 2010. Its harbour is the northernmost of the Bothnian Bay (and thus, of the Baltic Sea) that is accessible to c ...
(Sweden) and at the
Steinernes Meer The Steinernes Meer (literally "Rocky Sea") is a high karst plateau in the Northern Limestone Alps. As one of the nine sub-ranges of the Berchtesgaden Alps the Steinernes Meer belongs partly to Bavaria and partly to Salzburg. Location To the no ...


Other uses

*The word "buoyed" can also be used figuratively. For example, a person can buoy up ('lift up') someone's spirits by providing help and empathy. *Buoys are used in some
wave power Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC). Waves are generated by wind p ...
systems to generate electrical power. * George A. Stephen, founder of
Weber-Stephen Products Co. Weber Inc. is a Public company, publicly traded United States, American manufacturer of charcoal, Liquefied petroleum gas, gas, and electric outdoor Grill (cooking), grills with related Gas grill parts, accessories. In 2004, Weber-Stephen acquired ...
, invented the kettle grill by cutting a metal buoy in half and fashioning a
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
shaped grill to it with a rounded lid.George Stephen, Company Founder and Inventor of the Weber Kettle Grill


Gallery

File:NorderneyBojen.JPG, Several different buoys at a storage depot. File:BUOY.JPG, A buoy used as turn marker for sailing races. File:Iron Buoys Great Barrier Island.jpg, Old iron buoys, most likely for mooring. File:C0660-NN-Volga-Bridge.jpg, Children playing on a buoy in the
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
File:Surface Buoys (Recycled).png, Recycled surface buoys File:Boa spiaggiata.jpg, A buoy beached at
Sebastian Inlet State Park Sebastian Inlet State Park is a Florida state park located 10 miles south of Melbourne Beach and 6 miles north of Vero Beach in Florida. The park lies on both sides of the Sebastian Inlet Sebastian Inlet, located in Sebastian Inlet State Park ...
. File:Telephone buoy of HMS Nordkaparen (Nor).JPG, Emergency buoy of the Swedish submarine ''Nordkaparen'' File:Gas buoy stranded on land by hurricane.jpg, Gas buoy stranded on land after
1915 Galveston Hurricane The 1915 Galveston hurricane was a tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in the Galveston area in August 1915. Widespread damage was also documented throughout its path across the Caribbean Sea and the interior United States. Due t ...
, near Texas City, Texas File:Boya Buoy.jpg, Starboard lateral Buoy (
Lateral mark A lateral buoy, lateral post or lateral mark, as defined by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the edge of a channel. Each mark indicates th ...
- Region B - IALA ) as Channel Marker Buoy at "Río de la Plata" river,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina File:Envirtech Tsunami Buoy MKIII.jpg, Tsunami buoy before deployment in Andaman Sea File:Lobster buoys.jpg, Lobster buoys hanging on a tree, Sprucehead Island, Maine, United States File:Buoyyard.jpg, Buoys in dry storage, Homer, Alaska File:SVP-B.jpg, Drifting Buoy fitted with a Barometer File:Ship1258 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg, Buoy undergoing repair File:Ring buoy with light.jpg, Ring life buoy with a light on a cruise ship File:Whitby Warning Buoy.jpg, A buoy off the coast of
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
File:Null Island 2017.jpg, The weather buoy moored at the coordinates of
Null Island Null Island is the point on Earth's surface at zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude (), i.e., where the prime meridian and the Equator intersect. Null Island is located in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 600 km of ...
, located at 0°N 0°E File:Mr-2s.jpg, Ice-resistant buoys MR-2S and N-2 at a playground in Tallinn, Estonia


See also

* * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


Global Buoy Network Maps

North American Buoy Map
{{Seamanship Nautical terminology Navigation Maritime safety