NOAA's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and Saildrone are partnering to replace a moored buoy in a national marine sanctuary with a Saildrone uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) in order to continue critical weather observations and explore more sustainable marine observation methods.

The three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between NOAA and Sofar Ocean is a collaborative effort that will lead to advances in marine observations and environmental monitoring.