Australian Ferry-Collected Sea Surface Temperature Data from MV Spirit of Tasmania II

Hourly sea surface temperature measurements collected by a hull-contact sensor on the merchant vessel Spirit of Tasmania II during its daily ferry route between Melbourne and Devonport. The data are quality controlled by the Bureau of Meteorology and supplied via the Australian Volunteer Observing Fleet. The Ships of Opportunity Sub-Facility aims to provide near real-time data within 24 hours of collection.

Use Cases

• Validate and calibrate satellite-derived sea surface temperature products based on in-situ ferry measurements.
• Model diurnal and seasonal temperature cycles in the Bass Strait based on hourly, route-specific observations.
• Assimilate near real-time temperature data into ocean forecasting models for the Australian region.
• Study the impact of ferry traffic and coastal processes on surface water temperature readings.

Strengths

• Data undergo quality control by the Bureau of Meteorology.
• Measurements are collected at an hourly frequency, providing temporal detail.
• The dataset is part of a near real-time supply system, with data available within 24 hours.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and total temporal coverage are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single ferry route between Melbourne and Devonport.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Underway observations from an SBE 48 hull-contact temperature sensor on a participating ferry.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 22:35:27.224441; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Route between Melbourne, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania, in the Australian region.