Merchant Vessel Wana Bhum: Sea Surface Temperature Time Series from Australian Waters

Sea surface temperature data collected by the container ship Wana Bhum as part of the IMOS Ships of Opportunity program. The Australian Ocean Data Network provides 1-minute median SST values from a hull-contact sensor at 8.5 m depth, quality controlled by the Bureau of Meteorology. Data collection from this vessel was discontinued in April 2013, with high-resolution data available in delayed mode approximately every 3 months.

Use Cases

• Analyzing high-resolution temporal SST patterns based on 1-minute median values.
• Studying coastal and regional ocean temperature variability along the vessel's transects around Australia and to Singapore.
• Validating satellite-derived sea surface temperature products using in-situ sensor data from a fixed depth.
• Investigating historical oceanographic conditions for a specific time period before data collection ceased in 2013.

Strengths

• Data is quality controlled by the Bureau of Meteorology.
• Provides high-resolution 1-minute median SST values.
• Sensor depth (8.5 m) and location (bow thruster room) are specified.
• Vessel specifications (196 m length, 32 m beam) are documented.

Limitations

• Data collection from this specific vessel was discontinued in April 2013, limiting temporal coverage.
• 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, part of the IMOS Ships of Opportunity - Sea Surface Temperature Sensors for Australian Vessels Sub-Facility.

Collection Method

Data retrieved hourly from a hull-contact SBE48 sensor on the merchant vessel Wana Bhum, processed into 1-minute medians.

Time Range

Data collection discontinued April 2013; specific start date is unknown.

Freshness

Metadata last updated 2026-05-05; data collection ended April 2013.

Geography

Transects around Australian coasts and up to Singapore.