Washington Continental Shelf Current and Temperature Mooring Data 1973-1974

This dataset contains high-resolution ocean current and water temperature measurements from moorings deployed off the Washington coast during the Continental Shelf Experiment. The University of Washington collected these observations from February 1971 to February 1974, with intensive sampling during winter and summer seasons at inshore and offshore sites. Data includes eastward (u) and northward (v) current components derived from Aanderaa and Braincon current meters, sampled at 10 or 20-minute intervals and edited for quality.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal variability of coastal currents using the u and v component time series.
• Calibrating or validating regional ocean circulation models with in-situ current and temperature data.
• Investigating cross-shelf transport processes by comparing simultaneous inshore and offshore mooring records.
• Studying the relationship between water temperature and current velocity in a continental shelf environment.

Strengths

• Data underwent editing to remove spurious values, indicating a quality control process.
• Provides high-temporal-resolution measurements with sampling intervals of 10 or 20 minutes.
• Covers multiple seasons with longer deployment periods in winter and summer for comparative analysis.
• Includes measurements from two distinct mooring types (Aanderaa and Braincon) at different sites.

Limitations

• The exact column names, row count, and file size are not documented in the available metadata.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, listing both 1974-02 23 and 2026-04-01, creating uncertainty about provenance timing.
• The complete set of measured variables is not fully specified beyond current components and temperature.

Provenance

Source

University of Washington, Department of Oceanography, as part of the Continental Shelf Experiment.

Collection Method

Measurements from moored Aanderaa and Braincon current meters, with speed and direction rotated to true north and resolved into u and v components.

Time Range

1971-02 to 1974-02

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:21:50.837797

Geography

Washington Continental Shelf, North East Pacific Coast, at inshore and offshore sites.