IMOS Coffs Harbour HF Ocean Radar: Delayed Mode Wind and Surface Currents

IMOS provides HF ocean radar data from the Coffs Harbour site off New South Wales, Australia. The WERA phased array system measures surface currents and calculates wind direction and significant wave height within a 100 km range. The data is hosted by the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal circulation and eddy formation based on surface current measurements.
• Analyzing wind patterns and their influence on ocean dynamics off Eastern Australia.
• Studying the transport and dispersion of marine biota based on described physical connectivity.
• Investigating the role of ocean currents in mitigating urban marine water quality.

Strengths

• Data is collected by a WERA phased array system with a specified 100 km maximum range.
• Radar operates at a defined frequency of 13.920 MHz and bandwidth of 100 KHz.
• Focus area is a scientifically significant region where the East Australian Current is at its narrowest and swiftest.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified despite the 2026 update timestamp.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (host), Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and NSW government (data collectors).

Collection Method

Collected by a WERA phased array HF ocean radar system with 16-element receive arrays at two sites.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 20:36:24.705504; freshness should be verified

Geography

Coffs Harbour region, New South Wales, Australia, focusing on the coastal ocean where the East Australian Current separates from the coast.