PacWave Site Observations

This data submission contains raw and near-real-time updated data from FLOATr (Fixed Location Ocean and Atmosphere Tracking) buoys and Sofar Spotter wave buoys at sites in the PacWave open-ocean testing facility operated by Oregon State University, located off the coast of Newport, Oregon.

There are two sites located at PacWave, aptly named PacWave North (PWN) and PacWave South (PWS). PWN is an autonomous test site located 2 nm offshore, has a water depth of 45-55 m, and is between 44.68 & 44.70 degrees North and 124.12 & 124.15 degrees West. PWS is a grid-connected test site located 6 nm offshore, has a water depth of 65-78 m, and is between 44.55 & 44.58 degrees North and 124.21 & 124.24 degrees West.

The FLOATr buoys provide meteorological measurements of wind speed and direction, air temperature and pressure, shortwave radiation (light). An onboard CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) sensor provides measurements of water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Down-looking ADCPs installed on the FLOATr buoys provide observations of water velocity.

The wave buoys provide measurements of standard and directional wave statistics as well as additional metocean variables, depending on the firmware version installed. Raw data are provided in the original CSV file format, and processed data are provided in netCDF4 format.

Processed data are provided in netCDF4 format based on Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) standards. Note, minimal quality control has been conducted on these data.

Raw data from the FLOATr buoys are stored in CSV files with the following filenames:
- ADCP.dat (subsampling of ADCP binary data - Teledyne Sentinel Workhorse 300khz)
- Airmar_buffer.dat (Airmar WX200 instrument serial data buffer)
- gga.dat (gps Degree & Decimal Minutes)
- hdg.dat (magnetic heading, deviation, variation)
- hdt.dat (heading true)
- mda.dat (meteorological composite)
- Met.dat (multiple data values from various sources (instruments, nmea strings) into a single data table) - best for quick data checks
- mwv_r.dat (calculated mean wind velocity_relative)
- mwv_t.dat (calculated mean wind velocity_true)
- Ocean.dat (CTD data - Seabird SBE16, temp, conductivity/salinity, 02)
- zda.dat - (time and date)

Raw data from the FLOATr ADCPs and CTDs are made available in their native binary format.

Raw data from the Spotter buoys is stored in CSV files with the following filenames:
- BARO.csv (barometric pressure)
- FLT.csv (processed buoy displacement: surge, sway, and heave)
- GMN.csv (raw GPS parameters)
- HDR.csv (raw buoy position)
- HTU.csv (air temperature and humidity)
- LOC.csv (GPS latitude and longitude)
- PWR.csv (power data)
- SPC.csv (buoy-derived auto- and cross-spectra * note frequency vector is missing)
- SST.csv (sea surface temperature)
- *.log (various log files)