Ships put apart, WMO identification numbers are allocated to ocean platforms reporting on the Global Telecommunication System (GTS). WMO numbers are allocated depending upon deployment area, and platform type (i.e. drifting buoys, moored buoys, ocean reference sites, and profiling floats). The rules for the allocation of WMO numbers are described on the WMO website. In alphanumeric codes, platform identifiers were 5-digit numbers (A1bwnnn). In BUFR, they are splitted split in three elements: A1, bw and nnnnn. 'nnnnn' may be now up to 99999. So, the complete identifier of a platform (combination of the three BUFR elements) must now be consirered as a 7-digit number:
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