IDOE/ISOS/FDRAKE: Ocean Currents in the Drake Passage

Oregon State University collected ocean current data from fixed platforms in the Drake Passage from 13 January 1979 to 01 February 1980. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration into the NODC F015 format, contains time series measurements of east-west and north-south current vector components. Data values, typically reported at 10-15 minute intervals, may also include water temperature, pressure, and conductivity or salinity.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temporal variability of ocean currents based on high-frequency (10-15 minute) time series measurements.
• Studying the kinematics and dynamic response of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Drake Passage.
• Calibrating or validating ocean circulation models using in-situ Eulerian current meter data.
• Investigating relationships between current vectors and concurrent water properties like temperature and salinity.

Strengths

• Data collection is associated with a specific, well-documented international oceanographic experiment (IDOE/ISOS/FDRAKE).
• Time series covers a continuous, precisely defined period from 13 January 1979 to 01 February 1980.
• Data is structured according to a documented, standard format (NODC F015) for interoperability.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata between platforms (1980 vs. 2026), creating uncertainty about recent curation.
• The dataset's spatial coverage is limited to fixed platform locations within the Drake Passage.

Provenance

Source

Oregon State University (OSU), processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC/NOAA).

Collection Method

Data collected from current meter moorings (Eulerian method) deployed at fixed platforms.

Time Range

1979-01-13 to 1980-02-01

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:47:07.686027

Geography

Drake Passage