BONC HF Ocean Radar: Real-Time Sea Water Velocity for Bonney Coast, South Australia

Real-time sea water velocity data collected from the Bonney Coast HF ocean radar system until its decommissioning in March 2017. The Australian Ocean Data Network provides this data from two SeaSonde stations, measuring surface currents with a maximum range of 200 km and 3 km resolution. The data links observations between the Southern Ocean and New South Wales, capturing processes from weekly to El Nino time scales.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal upwelling dynamics based on real-time sea water velocity measurements.
• Studying larval species transport and ecosystem changes based on ocean circulation patterns.
• Analyzing the impact of El Nino time scales on regional ocean currents based on long-term radar observations.
• Mapping surface current patterns for the Bonney Coast region based on geospatial radar data.

Strengths

• Data provides linking observations between the Southern Ocean and NSW, capturing processes on weekly to El Nino time scales.
• Radar system had a maximum range of 200 km and a range resolution of 3 km.
• System consisted of two specific SeaSonde stations with documented locations (Nora Creina and Blackfellows Cave).

Limitations

• Dataset was decommissioned in March 2017, limiting its use for current or future analysis.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Measured by the BONC HF ocean radar system, consisting of two SeaSonde crossed loop direction finding stations.

Time Range

Data collection ended in March 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 15:39:58.643380; freshness should be verified as the data collection ended in 2017.

Geography

Bonney Coast, South Australia, Australia, covering an area with a maximum range of 200 km from the coast.