PIRATA stands for Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic. It is an international oceanographic program designed to improve the understanding and prediction of climate and ocean variability in the tropical Atlantic. Launched in 1997, PIRATA is a tripartite collaboration between Brazil (INPE), France (IRD, Météo-France, CNRS), and the United States (NOAA).
The main objectives of PIRATA are to monitor ocean–atmosphere interactions in the tropical Atlantic and to better understand key climate phenomena such as the Atlantic Niño, the West African monsoon, and droughts in northeastern Brazil. PIRATA also provides near–real-time observations that support weather and climate forecasting, including seasonal predictions, hurricane monitoring, and rainfall forecasts, and contributes to oceanographic research and climate model validation.
PIRATA relies on a network of moored buoys equipped with sensors that continuously measure sea surface temperature, air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, ocean currents, as well as temperature and salinity at various depths. These buoys are deployed at fixed locations across the tropical Atlantic, and the collected data are transmitted in real time via satellite to research and operational centers worldwide.
This is the Atlantic part of the Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array (GTMBA).