IMOS - Ocean Radar - Coffs Harbour HF ocean radar site (New South Wales, Australia) - Real-time sea water velocity

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. The 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. The 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. The 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.

科夫斯港（Coffs Harbour，简称COF）高频海洋雷达（High Frequency, HF）站，选址于东澳流（East Australian Current，简称EAC）开始脱离海岸的区域附近。该区域的东澳流（EAC）为整条流系中最狭窄、流速最快的区段：其北段由向西流动的亚热带急流汇聚形成，南段则会产生涡旋，最终暖水向东横穿塔斯曼海，与南大洋冷水交汇形成锋面。近岸与大陆架水域的水体连通性，是理解人为活动对近岸海洋的影响，以及海洋在改善城市近岸水质中所起作用的核心基础。澳大利亚东部海域，尤其是新南威尔士州周边海域，环流结构复杂，且与其他区域海域及海流存在极强的连通性。东澳流（EAC）沿新南威尔士州大陆坡从热带海域向南流动，将热带生物群落输运至南方海域。这类海流结构具备极强的物理与生物连通性，可实现生物群落在不同区域间的大规模输运与扩散，同时影响营养盐的输运与上升流过程——而营养盐是海洋生物生产力的核心基础。科夫斯港高频海洋雷达采用WERA相控阵系统，配备两套16元接收阵列，分别布设于科夫斯港北侧的红石角（Red Rock，南纬23.942°，东经151.371°）与南侧的北楠巴卡（North Nambucca，南纬24.111°，东经152.713°）。该雷达的重点观测区域为科夫斯港外海域，此处设有综合海洋观测系统（Integrated Marine Observing System，简称IMOS）与新南威尔士州政府布设的锚定观测站点。该雷达系统工作频率为13.920 MHz，带宽100 kHz，最大探测距离达100千米。在高频雷达的覆盖范围内，可获取表层海流观测数据。同时可通过采集的原始数据反演得到风向与有效波高参数。