Coastal California Buoy Currents and Temperature Measurements (1989-1990)

Current and other data were collected from moored buoys, including the A. A. CUNNINGHAM, in the coastal waters of California. The dataset includes parameters such as current speed, current direction, u and v velocity components, temperature, and some conductivity measurements. Data were gathered by the University of Washington as part of the Southern California Bight Experiment from 19 April 1989 to 17 July 1990.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal patterns in current speed and direction from buoy time-series data.
• Calculate net water transport using the u and v components of velocity.
• Investigate correlations between temperature and current velocity in coastal waters.
• Identify periods with instrument issues, such as bad compass data indicated by 'S' for speed instead of u/v components.
• Study spatial variability by comparing data from the A. A. CUNNINGHAM platform with other buoys.

Strengths

• Data collection spans over a year, from April 1989 to July 1990.
• Includes multiple physical parameters: current vectors, temperature, and some conductivity.

Limitations

• Sample size and specific row count are unknown.
• Data is temporally stale, with collection ending in July 1990.
• Known instrument issues exist, such as bad compass data flagged in the variable column.

Provenance

Source

University of Washington; archived by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Data collected from instruments on moored buoys.

Time Range

19 April 1989 to 17 July 1990

Geography

Coastal waters of California, specifically the Southern California Bight.