About

Flinders University and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), in collaboration with SA Water and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), have deployed the first network of wave observations in Gulf Saint Vincent (GSV). This network will provide long-term monitoring with real-time data, and a novel understanding of the wave climate in the Gulf. The data collected will facilitate studies on the dynamics of nearshore coastal processes that will ultimately promote best practice in evidence based coastal management and improve coastal adaptation, health and resilience. This project will therefore provide the monitoring network necessary to developing a wave climatology for GSV and input and validation data into a series of nested hindcast wave models that will be used to understand wave dynamics in the Gulf at a regional and finer scales.

In 2022, the District Council of Robe funded the purchase of two additional wave buoys that were deployed in the Robe region by Flinders University and SARDI personnel.

The South Australia wave buoy network is currently made up of moored SOFAR Spotter buoys. These buoys sit on the sea surface and measure wave height, period and direction, as well as sea surface temperature. The Spotter buoys measure wave-induced 3D sea surface displacement continuously at 2.5Hz (~twice a second), and at every 30 minutes the system estimates bulk parameters and the buoy’s geographical location, which are then transmitted in real-time via satellite. The data provided by the buoys and displayed in this site are:

  • Time (ACST), position (latitude and longitude);
  • Significant wave height (Hm0) from the zeroeth-order moment of the wave spectrum;
  • Peak period (Tp) and Peak direction (Dp) – period and direction associated with the most energetic waves in the total wave spectrum. The Dp is measured clockwise from North and indicates the direction the waves come from;
  • Sea surface temperature via a thermistor mounted to the wave buoy hull;
  • Wind speed and direction, estimated from the buoy’s measurements of the short period waves.

When required, maintenance will be performed by SARDI/SA EPA/Flinders infrastructure and personnel, and/or during routine operations undertaken for and funded by the South Australia Moorings Facility of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

This project is funded by the SA Department for Environment and Water (DEW) through its Coastal Research and Development Grant Program, SA Water through its Research Program, and the EPA.

The template for this website was developed by collaborators at University of Western Australia and shared as a means of increasing the access to real-time and archived wave data.

Data acknowledgement – Gulf Saint Vincent buoys: If you are using this data please acknowledge that “Flinders University and the South Australia Research and Development Institute provided the wave data from Gulf Saint Vincent, via funding from SA Water, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the SA Department for Environment and Water (DEW) through its Coastal Research and Development Grant Program.” If you are using data from the Robe wave buoys please acknowledge that “Flinders University and the South Australia Research and Development Institute provided the wave data from the Robe region, via funding from the District Council of Robe.” This work is licensed under the Creative Commons ‘Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0). To view a copy of the license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/.

While reasonable efforts have been made to provide wave data across South Australia for the first time, Flinders University, SA DEW, SARDI, SA Water and the EPA do not make any representation or give any warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability of the data for any particular purpose available. To the extent permitted by law Flinders University, SA DEW, SARDI, SA Water, District Council of Robe and the EPA shall not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of or reliance on the contents of this data we provide free for all. Note we provide the raw wave buoy data near real-time that has not been post processed to remove data spikes and will be subject to uncertainties. We reserve the right at any time to make changes as we deem appropriate.