Backyard Buoys

The Backyard Buoys project empowers Indigenous and coastal communities to gather and utilize real-time wave data through small Sofar Spotter buoys. Data collected by these buoys is accessible via a user-friendly smartphone app, offering timely maritime condition updates for boaters. A public archive of data collected by Backyard Buoys communities is also available on the AOOS Data Portal.

In Alaska, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) has been integral to proposal development, project design, and execution. The program connects three regional Integrated Ocean Observing System associations—AOOS, the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), and the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS). Industry partners include Sofar Ocean, South Seas Consulting, and Weston Solutions. In Alaska, AOOS collaborates with AEWC, UIC Science, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, and the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program. By 2025, the buoy network will expand to include partners in Kuskokwim Bay, Nome, and Sitka.

Initially funded by the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator program, the project now continues with support from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Check wave conditions in real-time during the open water season.