The NOMAD (Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device) 6m hull was originally designed in the 1940’s for the U.S. Navy’s offshore data collection program. The AXYS NOMAD is a modified version of this well-proven original design, the result of AXYS’ many years experience with Canada’s deep ocean stations.

The NOMAD is a unique aluminum environmental monitoring buoy designed for deployments in extreme conditions.  NOMADs moored off the Canadian coast commonly experience winter storms with maximum wave heights approaching 20m. 

Like all AXYS metocean buoys, the NOMAD can be configured with a wide range of sensors for monitoring weather, air & water quality, wave height and current profiles.  Due to the boat-shaped hull, the NOMAD is not suitable for directional wave monitoring.

A watertight central compartment houses the electronics payload and there are two masts for mounting meteorological sensors, telemetry hardware, solar panels and obstruction lights. AXYS' WatchMan500^TM Network Solution is the core technology in the NOMAD that accepts sensors from virtually any manufacturer and is easily configured using Data Management Software (DMS). Data messages are tailored to meet custom requirements, and are easily imported into a SQL database, allowing users to view important sensor information in virtual real time.

Learn more about what the AXYS Service Team provides in terms of mooring design, deployment and maintenance for the NOMAD buoy.
 

Product Documentation

NOMAD Buoy (PDF, 387 Kb)

Canada's Weather Buoy Network (PDF, 1.5 MB)

Testimonial Letter (PDF, 22 Kb)

Check out real-time weather data from offshore NOMAD buoys

Technical Papers:

• Measurement of Wind and Waves from a NOMAD buoy in high sea states (PDF, 69 Kb)
• The Storm Wave Studies - An investigation into the data recovered from 6m moored NOMAD buoy on Canada's east and west coasts (PDF, 392 Kb)