# Marine Conditions – NDBC Buoy Current Observation

> Marine Conditions – NDBC Buoy Current Observation is a paid API for AI agents from marine-conditions.x402tookit.com, paid per call via x402, $0.02/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-29).

Returns the latest NDBC buoy observation including wind, gusts, wave height, swell, barometric pressure, and water temperature, with Beaufort wind force and Douglas sea-state classification.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://marine-conditions.x402tookit.com/buoy-now?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.02/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-29
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/marine-conditions-ndbc-buoy-current-observation-d0ac3a34
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_eUY_DoBZl7oys-7ibDNlf

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability marine-conditions-ndbc-buoy-current-observation-d0ac3a34
```

Example prompt: What are the current wave and wind conditions at NDBC buoy 46026 off San Francisco — give me the Beaufort force, swell height, and water temperature?

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need a real-time, single-buoy snapshot from the NDBC network with pre-computed Beaufort and Douglas sea-state classifications and a plain-English safety verdict. Prefer it over raw NDBC feeds when you want structured JSON with derived safety metrics rather than raw text bulletins. Best for applications needing current (not forecast) marine conditions at a specific known NDBC station ID.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or unknown NDBC station ID returns an error or empty result
- Buoy is temporarily offline or delayed — response may be degraded or return null fields with a degraded flag
- Station does not report all parameters (e.g., no wave sensor) — some fields will be null and listed in notChecked
- Network timeout fetching live NOAA data
- Very recent buoy data not yet published — ageMinutes may be high

## How this service works

Latest NDBC buoy observation: wind, gust, waves, swell, pressure and water temperature, with a Beaufort and sea-state screen.

## Output

A JSON object containing the latest observation from the specified NDBC buoy, including wind speed and direction (knots, compass bearing, Beaufort force and name), gust speed, significant wave height, swell height/direction/period, wind wave height/period, Douglas sea-state number and name, water temperature (°F), barometric pressure (inHg), observation timestamp (UTC), buoy coordinates, data age in minutes, a human-readable summary, a safety verdict with reasons, and any degraded-data flags or disclaimers.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "buoy"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "buoy": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "NDBC station id, e.g. 46026 (San Francisco)"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "asOf": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "buoy": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "string"
       ]
      },
      "wind": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "object"
       ],
       "properties": {
        "knots": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "gustKnots": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "beaufortName": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "string"
         ]
        },
        "directionDeg": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "beaufortForce": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "directionCompass": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "string"
         ]
        }
       }
      },
      "waves": {
       "type": [
        "null",
        "object"
       ],
       "properties": {
        "swellFt": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "windWaveFt": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "douglasName": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "string"
         ]
        },
        "significantFt": {},
        "swellDirection": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "string"
         ]
        },
        "swellPeriodSec": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
        "douglasSeaState": {
         "type": [
          "null",
          "number"
         ]
        },
 
… (truncated)
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/marine-conditions-ndbc-buoy-current-observation-d0ac3a34/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from marine-conditions.x402tookit.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/marine-conditions.x402tookit.com/llms.txt)