Among the consequences of El Niño are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the U.S. and Peru that has caused destructive flooding, drought in the western Pacific that is sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia, and declines in upwelling currents that affect fishery production. Because of the vast economic and social implications, there is world-wide interest in El Niño forecasting. Observations of conditions in the tropical Pacific are considered essential for the prediction of short term (a few months to 1 year) climate variations.
To provide the necessary data, NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) operates a network of buoys that measure temperature, currents and winds along an equatorial band. These buoys transmit data that are available to researchers and forecasters around the world in real time (that is, as it happens). The photos below show the NOAA buoys being recovered onto a ship into the equatorial ocean and being serviced.
(a.) How many moorings (buoys) are deployed in the equatorial Pacific?
(b.) How deeply do the buoys sample oceanic water?