Sep 11 2008
Neighborhood Weather Buoys in Peril
Some morning in the not-too-distant future you will wake up and log on to check out what the wind is doing at the Western reaches of the Santa Barbara Channel and you will have a hard time knowing. Buoy #’s 46023 off Point Arguello and 46054 in the middle of the Western Channel itself are no longer being funded. These buoys are, of course, important to us mariners because, many times, it gives us an idea of whats coming down the channel.
Strangely and for whatever reason, these weather buoys were funded and installed by the Minerals Management Service in 1985 (Arguello) and 1993 (West). Then in 2005, that government agency decided it no longer needed to track data. NOAA was asked to fund the operation and maintenance of them in 2005. It is estimated that it costs about $80,000 each annually. NOAA agreed to fund them for two years and that money ran out last year so since then the buoys have been left in a “run to fail” mode. Meaning whenever they stop working they will cease to provide the valuable information they do.
