Buoy (F291) Format

File format for meteorology, oceanography, and wave spectra data from buoys (NODC F291 format)

THIS FORMAT IS USED TO REPORT METEOROLOGICAL, OCEANOGRAPHIC, AND WAVE SPECTRA DATA FROM NDBC MOORED BUOYS AND FIXED LAND STATIONS. THE FORMAT CONTAINS THIRTEEN DATA RECORD TYPES TO:

IDENTIFY THE BUOY POSITION AND OTHER DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION;
REPORT THE METEOROLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS;
REPORT WAVE ENERGY SPECTRA AND WAVE DIRECTION;
REPORT SUBSURFACE PHYSICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENTS; AND
REPORT DETAILED INFORMATION ON CONTINUOUSLY MEASURED WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION.

****NOTE****

THIS FORMAT REPLACES FILE TYPE 191 WHICH IN TURN REPLACED 091.

03/30/81 - ADDED WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION TO RECORD TYPE '2'
12/28/81 - ADDED RECORD TYPES '6' AND '7'
11/04/85 - ADDED RECORD TYPE '8'
01/01/88 - ADDED RECORD TYPE '9'
01/30/91 - DESIGNED F291 TO:

RELABEL RECORD TYPES - RECORD TYPES 1 THROUGH 5 BECOMING A THROUGH E; ADD NEW RECORD TYPE F; AND RELABEL 6 THROUGH 9 AS G THROUGH J;
ADD A PRESENCE OF A RECORD INDICATOR IN RECORD TYPE 'A';
REDEFINE RECORD TYPE B BY DELETING "HIGHEST CREST" AND "DEEPEST TROUGH" AND INSERTING "WATER LEVEL";
IDENTIFY RECORD TYPE C AS "NON-DIRECTIONAL WAVE SPECTRA DATA RECORD";
DELETE DEFINITION OF COLUMNS 27 THROUGH 33 IN RECORD C AND REPLACE WITH 7 BLANKS;
ADD A DURATION OF SAMPLING FIELD AT THE END OF RECORD D;
DEFINE RECORD TYPE E TO PROVIDE ONLY SUBSURFACE CURRENT INFORMATION; AND
DEFINE NEW RECORD TYPE F TO PROVIDE SUBSURFACE PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVE RADIATION.

05/01/92 - REFINED DEFINITION OF OBSERVED TIME IN RECORDS A THROUGH J TO BE "END OF MET. DATA ACQUISITION, ROUNDED TO THE BEGINNING OF THE NEAREST WHOLE MINUTE." TIME TAG OF DATA ARCHIVED PRIOR TO THIS DATE REFLECTS NEAREST WHOLE HOUR OF MET. DATA ACQUISITION. ALSO, FOR RECORD C, BLANK SPACES 27-30 ARE DEFINED AS "END OF WAVE DATA ACQUISITION, ROUNDED TO THE BEGINNING OF THE NEAREST WHOLE MINUTE."

01/01/95 - ADDED TWO NEW RECORDS TO 291 TO HANDLE WPM DATA:

DEFINED RECORD TYPE K TO PROVIDE EXPANDED RESOLUTION FOR NONDIRECTIONAL CENTER FREQUENCY AND WAVE SPECTRA DATA; AND
DEFINED RECORD TYPE L TO PROVIDE EXPANDED RESOLUTION FOR CENTER FREQUENCY OF THE CO AND QUAD SPECTRA. THE "SENSOR OUTPUT" FIELD WAS ALSO ADDED TO INDICATE THE TYPE OF SENSOR.

03/17/2000 - FOUR DIGIT YEAR

TO ACCOMMODATE FOUR DIGIT YEARS, THE FORMER FILE DATE FIELD COL 4-9 (THAT WAS USED FOR YEARS FOR THE NODC REFERENCE NUMBER) IS NOW USED TO HOLD THE YYYYMM OF OBSERVATION AND IS CALLED OBS YEAR/MONTH.

04/21/2000 - ADDED NEW COMMENT RECORD M

ADDED NEW M RECORD FOR COMMENTS. IT CAN OCCUR AT ANY PLACE IN THE FILE.

RECORD FORMAT DESCRIPTION
RECORD NAME: Meteorology Oceanography & Wave Spectra (File Type "291")

DESCRIPTIVE HEADER RECORD (RECORD A)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	"291" (constant)
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'A'
STATION	11	6	Six-character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
LATITUDE	27	7	DDMMSS plus hemisphere 'N' or 'S'
LONGITUDE	34	8	DDDMMSS plus hemisphere 'E' or 'W'
BOTTOM DEPTH	42	5	XXXXX - Meters to tenths
MAGNETIC VARIATION	47	4	XXXX - Whole degrees from true North (signed value)
BUOY HEADING	51	3	XXX - Whole degrees from true North
SAMPLING RATE (WAVES)	54	4	XXXX - Original measurements per minute to tenths
SAMPLING DURATION (WAVES)*	58	4	XXXX - Minutes to hundredths If equal to 40 minutes, the actual duration for all wave calculations varies by frequency range: .02 to .925 Hz - 40 min .1 to .35 Hz - last 20 min .365 to .485 Hz- last 10 min
TOTAL INTERVALS (WAVES)	62	3	XXX - Number of frequency intervals
CHIEF SCIENTIST	65	20	20-Character field for scientist name
INSTITUTION	85	20	20-Character field for data source
WIND SAMPLING DURATION	105	3	XXX - Minutes to tenths
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'B'	108	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'C'	109	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'D'	110	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'E'	111	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'F'	112	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'G'	113	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'H'	114	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'I'	115	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'J'	116	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'K'	117	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
PRESENCE OF RECORD 'L'	118	1	X - Y=YES; N=NO
BLANKS	119	2

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA RECORD (RECORD B)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	"291" (constant)
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'B'
STATION	11	6	Six-character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
ANEMOMETER HEIGHT	27	3	XXX - Height above water level or ground (meters to tenths)
AIR TEMPERATURE	30	4	XXXX - Negative temperatures are preceded by a minus sign adjacent to tempera- ture value Deg C to tenths
DEW POINT	34	4	XXXX - Degrees C to tenths
BAROMETER	38	5	XXXXX - Reduced to sea level (MB to tenths)
WIND SPEED (AVG)	43	4	XXXX - m/sec to hundredths
WIND DIRECTION (AVG)	47	4	XXXX - Degrees from true North to tenths
WEATHER	51	1	One-character weather code
VISIBILITY	52	3	XXX - Nautical miles to tenths
PRECIPITATION	55	4	XXXX - Accumulation in millimeters
SOLAR RADIATION (ATMOSPHERIC	59	3	xxx - Langleys/min to hundredths, wave length less than 3.6 microns
SOLAR RADIATION (ATMOSPHERIC)	62	3	XXX - Langleys/min to hundredths, wave length from 4.0 to 50 microns
SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT*	65	3	XXX - Corrected for low frequency noise, etc. (meters to tenths)
AVERAGE WAVE PERIOD*	68	3	XXX - Seconds to tenths
MEAN WAVE DIRECTION	71	3	XXX - Mean direction at the dominant wave period (spectral peak period) in whole degrees clockwise from true North to the direction from which the waves are coming. level; minus sign indicates below MLLW (meters to tenths)
BLANKS	78	2
TEMPERATURE (SEA SURFACE)	80	4	XXXX - Sea surface - Negative temperatures are preceded by a minus sign adjacent to temperature value-Deg C to hundredths
PRACTICAL SALINITY (SEA SURFACE)	84	5	XXXXX - To thousandths
CONDUCTIVITY (SEA SURFACE)	89	5	XXXXX - Millisiemens/cm to thousandths
DOMINANT WAVE PERIOD*	94	3	XXX - Spectral peak period- Seconds to tenths
MAXIMUM WAVE HEIGHT	97	3	XXX - Meters to tenths
MAXIMUM WAVE STEEPNESS	100	3	XXX
WIND GUST	103	4	XXXX - Meters/sec to hundredths
WIND GUST AVERAGING PERIOD	107	2	XX - Seconds
WIND GUST	109	4	XXXX - Meters/sec to hundredths
WIND GUST AVERAGING PERIOD	113	2	XX - Seconds
WIND SPEED (58 MIN AVG)	115	3	XXX - Meters/sec to tenths
WIND DIRECTION (58 MIN AVG)	118	3	XXX - Whole degrees

* Significant wave height, average wave period, and dominant wave period are set to zero when significant wave height is less than 0.15 meters.

NONDIRECTIONAL WAVE SPECTRA DATA RECORD (RECORD C)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	"291" (constant)
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'C'
STATION	11	6	Six-character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
END OF WAVE DATA ACQUISITION	27	4	HHMM (UTC) - Rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
BLANKS	31	3
COUNT DATA	34	1	X - Number of frequencies on this record Up to 5 frequency, resolu- tion, and density fields. Null fields are zero or blank
FREQUENCY	35	4	XXXX - Center frequency of interval in Hertz to thousandths
RESOLUTION	39	4	XXXX - Interval width in Hertz to ten-thousandths
DENSITY	43	6	XXXXXX - Spectral Density, C11, in m2/Hz to thousandths
FREQUENCY	49	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	53	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	57	6	XXXXXX - See above
FREQUENCY	63	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	67	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	71	6	XXXXXX - See above
FREQUENCY	77	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	81	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	85	6	XXXXXX - See above
FREQUENCY	91	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	95	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	99	6	XXXXXX - See above
BLANKS	105	16

SUBSURFACE TEMPERATURE/SALINITY DATA RECORD (RECORD D)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	"291" (constant)
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'D'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
DEPTH	27	5	XXXXX - Meters from the surface to tenths
TEMPERATURE	32	4	XXXX - Negative temperatures are preceded by a minus sign adjacent to temper- ature value-Deg C to hundredths
PRACTICAL SALINITY	36	5	XXXXX - Parts per thousands reported to thousands
CONDUCTIVITY	41	4	XXXX - Millisiemens/cm to hundredths
DEPTH	45, 63, 81,99	5	Repeated in descending order
TEMPERATURE	50, 68, 86, 104	4	Repeated in descending order
PRACTICAL SALINITY	54, 72, 90, 108	5	Repeated in descending order
CONDUCTIVITY	59, 77, 95, 113	4	Repeated in descending order
BLANK	117	1
DURATION OF SAMPLING PERIOD	118	3	XXX - Minutes to tenths

SUBSURFACE CURRENT DATA RECORD (RECORD E)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'E'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
DEPTH	27	4	XXXX - From the surface in meters
PRESSURE	31	5	XXXXX - Hydrostatic pressure (kg/cm2) to hundredths
U COMPONENT	36	5	XXXXX - East component from true North (cm/sec) to tenths. Minus sign indi- cates westward component
V COMPONENT	41	5	XXXXX - True North component in cm/sec to tenths. Minus sign indicates southward component
W COMPONENT	46	3	XXX - Vertical component in cm/sec to tenths. Minus sign indicates downward component
DEPTH	49, 71, 93	4	Repeated in descending order
PRESSURE	53, 75, 97	5	Repeated in descending order
U COMPONENT	58, 80, 102	5	Repeated in descending order
V COMPONENT	63, 85, 107	5	Repeated in descending order
W COMPONENT	68, 90, 112	3	Repeated in descending order
BIN WIDTH	115	2	XX - Width of each depth bin whole meters
SAMPLING INTERVAL	117	3	XXX - Minutes to tenths
BLANK	120	1

SUBSURFACE DATA PROFILE (RECORD F)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'F'
STATION	11	6	Six-character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
DEPTH	27	4	XXXX - From the surface in meters. Negative value indicates height in meters above water surface
PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVE RADIATION (PAR)	31	4	XXXX - Micromol/sec/m2
BLANKS	35	15	15 Blanks reserved for future parameters
DEPTH	50, 73, 96	4	Repeated in descending order
PAR	54, 77, 100	4	Repeated in descending order
BLANKS	58, 81, 104	15	Reserved for future parameters
BLANKS	119	2

CO AND QUAD SPECTRA FOR DIRECTIONAL WAVES DATA RECORD (RECORD G)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'G'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
FREQUENCY	27	4	XXXX - Center frequency of interval in Hz to thousandths
RESOLUTION	31	5	XXXXX - Spectral resolution of this frequency band to Hz to ten-thousandths
CO-SPECTRA (C11)	36	6	XXXXXX - Signed uncorrected spectral density of CO spectra in m2/Hz. Decimal assumed to be left of first digit. Subscripts are: 1=Heave, 2=E-W slope, 3=N-S slope
EXPONENT*	42	2	XX - First space is the sign
CO-SPECTRA (C22)	44	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	50	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA (C33)	52	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	58	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA (C12)	60	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	66	2	XX - See above
QUAD-SPECTRA (Q12)	68	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	74	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA (C13)	76	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	82	2	XX - See above
QUAD-SPECTRA (Q13)	84	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	90	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA C23)	92	6	XXXXXX - See Above
EXPONENT*	98	2	XX - See above
QUAD-SPECTRA (Q23)	100	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	106	2	XX - See above
SPECTRA (C22-C33)	108	6	XXXXXX - See Above
EXPONENT*	114	2	XX - See above
BLANKS	116	5

* If this exponent is less than -9, the exponent and its associated spectra will be zero.

DIRECTIONAL WAVE FOURIER COEFFICIENT DATA RECORD (RECORD H)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'H'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
FREQUENCY	27	4	XXXX - Hz to thousandths
RESOLUTION	31	5	XXXXX - Hz to ten- thousandths
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (a0)	36	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	42	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (a1)	44	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	50	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (b1)	52	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	58	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (a2)	60	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	66	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (b2)	68	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	74	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (a3)	76	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	82	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (b3)	84	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	90	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (a4)	92	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	98	2	XX
ANGULAR FOURIER COEFF (b4)	100	6	XXXXXX - m2/Hz
EXPONENT	106	2	XX
MEAN WAVE DIRECTION	108	3	XXX - ARCTAN b1/a1 in whole degrees from true North
BLANKS	111	10

DIRECTIONAL WAVE PARAMETER DATA RECORD (RECORD I)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'I'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
COUNT	27	1	X - Number of frequencies on this record (1 to 3)
FREQUENCY	28	4	XXXX - Center of frequency interval in Hz to the ten- thousandth
RESOLUTION	32	4	XXXX - Resolution of interval in Hz to the ten-thousandth
R1	36	4	XXXX - Nondimensional. Given to nearest hundredth
R2	40	4	XXXX - Nondimensional. Given to nearest hundredth
WAVE DIRECTION ALPHA1	44	4	XXXX - Direction in degrees to the tenth
WAVE DIRECTION ALPHA2	48	4	XXXX - Direction in degrees to the tenth
WAVE ESTIMATE C11	52	6	XXXXXX - Spectral value in m2/Hz to the thousandth
FREQUENCY	58	4	XXXX - Center of frequency interval in Hz to the ten- thousandth
RESOLUTION	62	4	XXXX - Resolution of interval in Hz to the ten-thousandth
R1	66	4	XXXX - Nondimensional. Given to nearest hundredth
R2	70	4	XXXX - Nondimensional. Given to nearest hundredth
WAVE DIRECTION ALHPA1	74	4	XXXX - Direction in degrees to the tenth
WAVE DIRECTION	78	4	XXXX - Direction in degrees to the tenth
WAVE C11 ESTIMATE	82	6	XXXXXX - Spectral value in m2/Hz to the thousandth
FREQUENCY	88	4	XXXX - Center of frequency interval in Hz to the ten-thousandth
RESOLUTION	92	4	XXXX - Resolution of interval in Hz to the ten-thousandth
R1	96	4	XXXX - Nondimemsional. Given to nearest hundredth
R2	100	4	XXXX - Nondimensional. Given to nearest hundredth
WAVE DIRECTION ALPHA1	104	4	XXXX - Direction in degrees to the tenth
WAVE DIRECTION ALPHA2	108	4	XXXX - Direction in degrees to the tenth
WAVE C11 ESTIMATE	112	6	XXXXXX - Spectral value in m2/Hz to the thousandth
BLANKS	118	3

NOTE: DIRECTIONAL WAVE SPECTRUM = C11(f)*D(f,A), f=frequency (Hz), A=Azimuth angle measured clockwise from North to the direction wave is from. D(f,A)=(1/PI)*(0.5+R1*COS(A-ALPHA1)+R2*COS(2*(A-ALPHA2))), in which R1 and R2 are dimensionless and ALPHA1 and ALPHA2 are respectively mean and principal wave directions. In terms of Longuet-Higgins Fourier Coefficients R1=(SQRT(a1*a1+b1*b1))/a0, R2=SQRT(a2*a2+b2*b2))/a0, ALPHA1=270.0-ARCTAN(b1,a1), ALPHA2=270.0-(0.5*ARCTAN(b2,a2)+{0. or 180.}), C11(f) is the nondirectional wave spectra data from RECORD C or RECORD K.

CONTINUOUS WIND MEASUREMENT DATA RECORD (RECORD J)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'J'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
REPORT DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
REPORT TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
SPEED AVERAGING METHOD	27	1	X - 1=VECTOR, 2=SCALER
STANDARD DEVIATION OF HOURLY SPEED	28	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
STANDARD DEVIATION OF HOURLY DIRECTION	31	4	XXXX - Whole degrees
HOURLY PEAK WIND	35	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths (high- est 5 sec wind)
DIRECTION OF HOURLY PEAK	38	3	XXX - Whole degrees
MINUTE OF HOURLY PEAK	41	2	XX - Minutes
END OF ACQUISITION TIME	43	4	XXXX - HHMM (UTC)
FIRST AVERAGE DIRECTION	47	3	XXX - Whole degrees
FIRST AVERAGE SPEED	50	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
SECOND AVERAGE DIRECTION	53	3	XXX - Whole degrees
SECOND AVERAGE SPEED	56	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
THIRD AVERAGE DIRECTION	59	3	XXX - Whole degrees
THIRD AVERAGE SPEED	62	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
FOURTH AVERAGE DIRECTION	65	3	XXX - Whole degrees
FOURTH AVERAGE SPEED	68	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
FIFTH AVERAGE DIRECTION	71	3	XXX - Whole degrees
FIFTH AVERAGE SPEED	74	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
SIXTH AVERAGE DIRECTION	77	3	XXX - Whole degrees
SIXTH AVERAGE SPEED	80	3	XXX - m/sec to tenths
BLANKS	83	38

Ten minute average winds are measured for minutes 0-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59. The first set is for the ten minute time period ending immediately before the end of acquisition time. The remaining sets go back in time. For example, if the end of acquisition time is 1025, then the first average is 1010 to 1019, the second, 1000 to 1009, etc. If the end of acquisition time is 1030, then the first period will be 1020 to 1029.

EXPANDED RESOLUTION NONDIRECTIONAL WAVE SPECTRA DATA RECORD (RECORD K)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	"291" (constant)
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'K'
STATION	11	6	Six-character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
END OF WAVE DATA ACQUISITION	27	4	HHMM (UTC) - Rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
BLANKS	31	3
COUNT	34	1	X - Number of frequencies on this record
DATA			Up to 5 frequency, resolu- tion, and density fields. Null fields are zero or blank
FREQUENCY	35	4	XXXX- Center frequency of interval in Hertz to ten- thousandths
RESOLUTION	39	4	XXXX - Interval width in Hertz to ten-thousandths
DENSITY	43	9	XXXXXXXXX - Spectral Density, C11, in m2/Hz to hundred thousandths
FREQUENCY	52	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	56	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	60	9	XXXXXXXXX - See above
FREQUENCY	69	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	73	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	77	9	XXXXXXXXX - See above
FREQUENCY	86	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	90	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	94	9	XXXXXXXXX - See above
FREQUENCY	103	4	XXXX - See above
RESOLUTION	107	4	XXXX - See above
DENSITY	111	9	XXXXXXXXX - See above
BLANKS	120	1

EXPANDED RESOLUTION CO AND QUAD SPECTRA FOR DIRECTIONAL WAVES DATA RECORD (RECORD L)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always 'L'
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
OBSERVED DATE	17	6	YYMMDD (UTC)
OBSERVED TIME	23	4	HHMM (UTC) - End of met. data acquisition, rounded to beginning of nearest whole minute
FREQUENCY	27	4	XXXX - Center frequency of interval in Hz to ten- thousandths
RESOLUTION	31	5	XXXXX - Interval width in Hertz to ten-thousandths
CO-SPECTRA C11)**	36	6	XXXXXX - Signed uncorrected spectral density. Decimal assumed to be left of first digit. Subscripts are: 1=Heave, 2=E-W slope, 3=N-S slope
EXPONENT*	42	2	XX - First space is the sign
CO-SPECTRA (C22)**	44	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	50	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA (C33)**	52	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	58	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA (C12)**	60	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	66	2	XX - See above
QUAD-SPECTRA (Q12)**	68	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	74	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA (C13)**	76	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	82	2	XX - See above
QUAD-SPECTRA (Q13)**	84	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	90	2	XX - See above
CO-SPECTRA C23)**	92	6	XXXXXX - See Above
EXPONENT*	98	2	XX - See above
QUAD-SPECTRA (Q23)**	100	6	XXXXXX - See above
EXPONENT*	106	2	XX - See above
SPECTRA (C22-C33)**	108	6	XXXXXX - See Above
EXPONENT*	114	2	XX - See above
SENSOR OUTPUT	116	1	X - 1=Displacement; 2=Acceleration
BLANKS	117	4

* If this exponent is less than -9, the exponent and its associated spectra will be zero. ** For displacement: C11 in m2/Hz, C22 in 1/Hz, C33 in 1/Hz, C12 in m/Hz, C13 in m/Hz, Q12 in m/Hz, Q13 in m/Hz, C23 in 1/Hz, Q23 in 1/Hz. For acceleration: C11, C12, C13, Q12, Q13 in [m/s2]2/Hz, C22, C33, Q23,

COMMENT (RECORD M)
PARAMETER	STARTING POSITION	FIELD LENGTH	DESCRIPTION
FILE TYPE	1	3	Always "291"
OBS YEAR/MONTH	4	6	YYYYMM of Observation
RECORD TYPE	10	1	Always "M"
STATION	11	6	Six character unique name of observation point
BLANK	17	1	Always blank
COMMENT	18	103	Free form comments