SOFS: Southern Ocean Surface Heat and Mass Fluxes, Hourly Averages

Hourly-averaged surface heat and mass fluxes from the Southern Ocean Flux Station mooring, delivered in near real-time. The Australian Ocean Data Network provides this data, which includes observed meteorology, radiation, and sea water properties. The mooring was first deployed at 46.7S, 142E in March 2010 to study climate and carbon processes.

Use Cases

• Modeling air-sea heat exchange based on observed meteorology and sea surface temperature.
• Analyzing carbon dioxide flux variability based on measurements controlling CO2 transfer.
• Studying surface radiation budgets based on downwelling radiation data.
• Investigating freshwater flux (evaporation/precipitation) based on mass flux measurements.

Strengths

• Provides near real-time hourly averages, enabling timely analysis.
• Includes multiple parameter types: heat fluxes, mass fluxes, meteorology, radiation, and sea water properties.
• Data originates from a long-term observing platform first deployed in March 2010.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to a single mooring location.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Computed from observations at the Southern Ocean Flux Station (SOFS) mooring.

Time Range

Data collection began with the mooring deployment in March 2010; temporal coverage is ongoing.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 15:56:22.318302; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Sub-Antarctic Zone, approximately 350 nautical miles south-west of Tasmania (46.7S, 142E).