 The Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device ( NOMAD ) buoy 's 6 @-@ metre ( 20 ft ) hull was originally designed in the 1940s for the United States Navy ’ s offshore data collection program . Between 1951 and 1970 , a total of 21 NOMAD buoys were built and deployed at sea . Since the 1970s , weather buoy use has superseded the role of weather ships by design , as they are cheaper to operate and maintain . The earliest reported use of drifting buoys was to study the behavior of ocean currents within the Sargasso Sea in 1972 and 1973 . Drifting buoys have been used increasingly since 1979 , and as of 2005 , 1250 drifting buoys roamed the Earth 's oceans . 
 The Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device ( NOMAD ) buoy <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>6 @-@ metre ( 20 ft ) hull was originally designed in the 1940s for the United States Navy <a href='null_genetive' title='2'><mark>’</mark></a><a href='null_genetive' title='3'><mark>s</mark></a>offshore data collection program . Between 1951 and 1970 , a total of 21 NOMAD buoys <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>were</mark></a> built and deployed at sea . Since the 1970s , weather buoy use <a href='been_done' title='5'><mark>has</mark></a> superseded the role of weather ships by design , as they <a href='drop_aux' title='6'><mark>are</mark></a>cheaper to operate and maintain . The earliest reported use of drifting buoys was to study the behavior of ocean currents within the Sargasso Sea in 1972 and 1973 . Drifting buoys <a href='been_done' title='7'><mark>have</mark></a> been used increasingly since 1979 , and as of 2005 , 1250 drifting buoys roamed the Earth <a href='null_genetive' title='8'><mark>'s</mark></a>oceans . 
Da Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device ( NOMAD ) buoy  6 @-@ metre ( 20 ft ) hull was originally designed in the 1940s for the United States Navy   offshore data collection program . Between 1951 and 1970 , a total of 21 NOMAD buoys was built and deployed at sea . Since the 1970s , weather buoy use done superseded tdarole of weather ships by design , as they cheaper to operate and maintain . Thdaarliest reported use of drifting buoys was to study the behavior of ocean currents within thedargasso Sea in 1972 and 1973 . Drifting buoys done been used increasingly since 1979 , and as of 2005 , 1250 drifting buoys roamed the dath  oceans .