IMOS - ACORN - Coffs Harbour HF ocean radar site (New South Wales, Australia)

• Other Authors: Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) (isOwnedBy)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: data.gov.au
• Subjects: Atmosphere; Atmospheric Winds; COF; Coastal Processes; Coffs Harbour HF ocean radar site; Coral Reefs; Doppler frequency; East Australian Current; Eddies; IMOS Site; New South Wales; Ocean Circulation; Ocean Currents; Ocean Waves; Ocean Winds; Oceans; Phased Array; Physical Oceanography; Radiance Or Imagery; Radio Wave; Regional Seas; Sea State; Significant Wave Height; Surface Winds; Swells; Tasman Sea; Upwelling; WERA HF Radar; Wave Frequency; Wave Length; Wave Period; Wave Spectra; Wind Waves; Wind-driven Circulation; Red Rock; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://researchdata.edu.au/imos-acorn-coffs-wales-australia/1926339; http://data.gov.au/dataset/d6ebe219-fdfb-42fe-96f4-6dee7f6f03cf

The Coffs Harbour (COF) HF ocean radar site is located near the point at which the East Australian Current (EAC) begins to separate from the coast. Here the EAC is at its narrowest and swiftest: to the north it is forming from the westwards subtropical jet, and to the south it forms eddies and eventually the warm water moves eastwards across the Tasman Sea, forming a front with the cold water of the Southern Ocean. \n\nThe connection between coastal and continental shelf waters is fundamental to the understanding of the anthropogenic impact on the coastal ocean and the role of the ocean in mitigating urban marine water quality. The oceans off Eastern Australia and in particular in the region of New South Wales have a complex circulation structure, and are strongly connected with other regional seas and currents. \n\nThe East Australia Current (EAC) flows from tropical regions southward along the NSW continental slope, bringing tropical biota southward. These current structures provide strong physical and biological connectivity, allowing substantial transport and dispersion of biota between regions, and influencing the transport and upwelling of nutrients, which are fundamental to biological productivity. \n\nThe COF HF ocean radar is a WERA phased array system with 16-element receive arrays located at Red Rock (-23.942 S, 151.371 E) to the north of Coffs Harbour and North Nambucca (-24.111 S, 152.713 E) to the south. The area of focus is off Coffs Harbour where IMOS and the NSW government have mooring sites. These radars operate at a frequency of 13.920 MHz, with a bandwidth of 100 KHz and a maximum range of 100 Km. Within the HF radar coverage area surface currents are measured. Data are also collected from which wind directions and significant wave height can be calculated. Coffs Harbour page on IMOS website - Website of the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN) -