Coastal Current Measurements from New England Fixed Platforms

Seventeen years of ocean current data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey using current meters deployed in New England coastal waters. The collection includes U and V velocities in cm/s, rotor speeds, current directions in degrees, and water temperatures. Data collection spanned from May 1975 to February 1992.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal patterns in current direction and water temperature across multiple coastal basins.
• Model U and V velocity components to calculate net transport and circulation in Massachusetts Bay.
• Validate hydrodynamic models by comparing simulated rotor speeds against observed in-situ measurements from fixed platforms.
• Investigate long-term trends in coastal current strength using the 17-year time series of velocity data.

Strengths

• Long-term temporal coverage spanning 17 years from 1975 to 1992.
• Multi-variable measurements including velocity components, direction, temperature, and rotor speed.
• Geographic coverage includes multiple distinct water bodies: Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Bay, Boston Harbor, Buzzards Bay, and the N.E. Continental Shelf.

Limitations

• Unknown sample size and temporal resolution, as row count and sampling frequency are not provided.
• Data is temporally stale, with the last update occurring over 30 years ago in February 1992.
• Specific instrument details, data quality flags, and metadata for individual deployments are unavailable.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI

Collection Method

Data collected from Geological Survey current meters deployed on fixed platforms.

Time Range

1975-05-08 to 1992-02-11

Geography

New England coastal waters (Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Bay, Boston Harbor, Buzzards Bay, N.E. Continental Shelf)