Maritime Data Section
The Maritime Data Section, or Section 2 of the
code, follows the indicator 222, the first three digits in
the 222Dsvs group. This section is normally not
transmitted from land stations, since it contains course
and speed of the ship, sea-surface temperature, sea and
swell wave information, ice accretion information, and
information on sea ice.
SHIPS COURSE AND SPEED.222DSvS.
The DS is the direction of displacement of the ship from
3 hours before the report indicated using WMO code
table 0700 (0 is no displacement, 1 is toward the
northeast, 2 is toward the east, etc.). The vS indicates the
speed "made good" from 3 hours before the observation
until the observation time (in 5-knot increments) using
WMO code table 4451. For example, a ship may move
in a large circle at 10 knots, ending up at report time at
the same location it was 3 hours previous. The DS
would be encoded as 0 for "no net displacement," and vS
would be encoded as 0 for "no speed made good." A
second ship may follow an erratic course, ending up at
report time 2 1 nautical miles southeast of the position 3
hours previous. The DS is encoded as 3 for southeast
displacement, and the vS is encoded as 2 for speed made
good "6 to 10 knots" (21 nautical miles divided by 3
hours equals 7 knots).
SEA - SURFACE TEMPERATURE.
0SsTWTWTW. The code symbol Ss is the temperature
sign for seawater, which is followed by the sea-surface
temperature in tens, units, and tenths of degrees Celsius
as TWTWTW.
SEA WAVES.2PwPwHwHw. The period of the
sea waves, as determined by an observer, is reported as
PwPW in tens and units of seconds. The height of the sea
waves is reported in one-half meter units in HwHw.
Convert observed height in feet to half-meter units by
multiplying by 0.61 and rounding off. When decoding,
half-meter units may be converted to feet by
multiplying by 1.64. A conversion table is available in
NAVMETOCCOMINST 3144.1. Ships with
automatic wave sensors and buoys with sensors use
group 1PwaPwaHwaHwa in place of the "2" group. The
PwaPwa is the sensor-measured sea-wave period, and
HwaHwa is the sensor-measured sea-wave height in
half-meter units.
S W E L L W A V E S.3dw1dw1dw2dw2,
4Pw1Pw1Hw1Hw1, and 5Pw2Pw2Hw2Hw2, (or group
70HwaHwaHwa). Two significant swell waves may be
reported.
Swell-Wave Direction.Group 3 reports the
primary swell wave direction in hundreds and tens of
degrees as dW1dW1 and the secondary swell wave
direction as dW2dW2. When no swell waves are
observed, the group is encoded as 30000, and both the
4PW1PW1HW1HW1 and 5PW2PW2HW2HW2 groups are
reported as 40000 and 50000. If only one swell wave is
observed, the dw2dw2 is encoded as 00, and the
5PW2PW2HW2HW2 group is reported as 50000.
Swell-Wave Period and Height.The primary
swell-wave period and primary swell-wave height are
reported in group 4PW1PW1HW1HW1. The secondary
swell-wave period and height are reported in group
5PW2PW2HW2HW2. The PW1or2PW1or2 is the swell-wave
period in tens and units of seconds, while the
HW1or2HW1or2 is the height of the swell waves in half-
meter units.
Swell-Wave Height From Sensors.-Ships
equipped with automatic wave-height-measuring
equipment report the swell-wave height by using group
70HwaHwaHwa in place of groups 3, 4, and 5. The
HwaHwaHwa is the wave height in tens, units, and tenths
of meters. Swell-wave direction and period from
automatic sensors are normally not reported.
ICE ACCRETION.6ISESESRS. The ice
accretion group is only included in a report when ice
accretion is occurring. The IS is the source of the ice
(WMO code table 1751); the ESES is the thickness of the
ice, in centimeters; and the RS is the rate of accretion (or
loss) (WMO code table 3551).
WET-BULB TEMPERATURE.8SwTbTbTb.
The wet-bulb temperature group is indicated by code
figure 8. The Sw is the sign and type of the wet-bulb
temperature (WMO code table 3855) and TbTbTb is the
wet-bulb temperature in tens, units, and tenths of a
degree Celsius.
SEA ICE.ICE ciSibiDizi. The sea ice group is
only reported when ice is observed in the sea. "ICE" is
the indicator that the sea ice group follows. The ci is the
concentration or arrangement of sea ice (WMO code
table 0639), Si is the stage of development (WMO code
table 3739), bi is ice of land origin (WMO code table
0439), Di is the true bearing of the principal ice edge
(WMO code table 0739) and zi is the ice situation and
trend over the past 3 hours (WMO code table 5239). In
addition to the sea ice code, any remarks considered
significant by the observer may be transmitted as plain
language remarks.
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