South Australia Gulfs HF Ocean Radar: Sea Water Velocity and Wave Data

An HF ocean radar system covering approximately 40,000 square kilometres monitors surface currents, wind direction, and significant wave height in the South Australia Gulfs region. The WERA phased array system, with receive arrays at Cape Wiles and Cape Spencer, operates at 8.512 MHz with a maximum range of 200 km. Data collection is supported by the South Australia Research and Development Institute and managed by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Modeling shelf current connections to the Flinders Current based on measured surface water velocities.
• Analyzing cross-shelf exchange and summertime upwelling systems based on ocean current and process data.
• Assessing the impact of ocean circulation and eddies on sediment and nutrient distribution for fisheries research.
• Monitoring environmental variability affecting aquaculture operations based on calculated wind and wave parameters.

Strengths

• Covers a large observation area of about 40,000 square kilometres.
• Provides multiple derived data products including sea water velocity, wind direction, and significant wave height.
• Uses a specific WERA phased array radar system operating at 8.512 MHz with a 200 km range.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data freshness should be verified despite a last updated date of 2026-07-13.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN), IMOS - South Australia Node.

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 20:59:50.791023; freshness should be verified.

Geography

South Australia Gulfs region, bounded by Kangaroo Island and the Eyre Peninsula, Australia.