PacWave: Meteorological and Oceanic Observations for Marine Energy Testing

PacWave Site Observations contain raw and near-real-time meteorological and oceanic measurements from the PacWave wave energy test site off Newport, Oregon. The dataset includes measurements from multiple instrument platforms, such as FLOATr buoys, Spotter wave buoys, and bottom landers, deployed at two distinct offshore sites. Data are provided in netCDF4 and CSV formats with minimal quality control, supporting research into wave energy resource assessment and environmental conditions.

Use Cases

• Wave energy resource assessment based on wave buoy and ADCP velocity data.
• Environmental impact monitoring for marine energy projects using water quality (CTD) and meteorological measurements.
• Validation of numerical wave and circulation models using in-situ observations from multiple sensor platforms.
• Analysis of co-located atmospheric and oceanic conditions for device load and power output studies.

Strengths

• Data originates from a dedicated, instrumented open-ocean test facility operated by Oregon State University.
• Includes concurrent measurements from over six distinct instrument types, enabling multi-parameter analysis.
• Data are formatted to Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) standards, promoting interoperability.

Limitations

• The input provides conflicting 'last updated' dates (2026-03-24), which is a future date and suggests metadata inaccuracies.
• Minimal quality control has been conducted on the data, requiring user validation.
• Specific temporal coverage, row counts, and complete column schemas are not provided in the input.

Provenance

Source

Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO) projects, collected at the PacWave facility operated by Oregon State University.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from deployed oceanographic and meteorological instrument platforms, including buoys and bottom-mounted sensors.

Freshness

2026-03-24 12:07:12.815682 (from datagov, but this is a future date)

Geography

PacWave North (44.68°N-44.70°N, 124.12°W-124.15°W) and PacWave South (44.55°N-44.58°N, 124.21°W-124.24°W) sites off the coast of Newport, Oregon, USA.