NSW Waves
The IMOS Coastal Wave Buoys New South Wales (NSW) sub-facility is based within the Coastal and Marine Science Team, of the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). The coastal wave buoy network in NSW features moored wave buoys at various strategic and historical locations and is supported partly by IMOS and partly by NSW Government funding (e.g., NSW Climate Change Fund State-wide Coastal Science Program). The deployed wave buoys are primarily Sofar Spotters, with Datawell Waverider DWR – G4 buoys also used earlier in the program and up to 2019.
Since 2016, the NSW coastal wave buoy network has collected a growing dataset of in-situ wave observations in shallow waters (< 35 m) that comprises over 10,000 days of continuous wave data at more than 22 locations along the NSW coastline. The on-going program of moored buoy deployments measure coastal wave conditions for several months to multiple years, capturing ambient and storm conditions in diverse settings, including coastal hazard risk sites (e.g. coastal erosion and wave inundation). The NSW coastal wave buoy program and dataset has been described in Kinsela et al. (2024) and wave data are freely available from the NSW Government Environmental Data Portal SEED, and the AODN.
Kinsela, Morris, Ingleton, Doyle et al., 2024 – Nearshore wave buoy data from southeastern Australia for coastal research and management. Scientific Data, 11: 190. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02865-x
The NSW coastal wave buoy sites included in the IMOS project complement deep-water wave observations collected by Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (MHL) for NSW DCCEEW (since 1974), while also addressing gaps in the Australian wave buoy network to better understand wave climates and variability, and enhancing coastal hazard research including existing shoreline monitoring programs (e.g. Turner et al., 2016 and Oliver et al., 2024) by collecting co-located nearshore wave data.
The NSW Coastal Waves team is led by Dr Tom Doyle, and includes Dr Brad Morris, and Neil Doszpot. Support for the team is provided by Dr Tim Ingleton, Dr Michael Kinsela (UON), Dave Hanslow, Michael Sutherland, Stephen Holznagel, Dr Derrick Cruz, Jeff Miller, Brett Ryall, Dr Alexandra Jones, Dr Mitchell Harley (WRL UNSW), and Dr Rachael Woods.
The NSW team’s research motivations are to improve knowledge and prediction of coastal wave conditions in NSW, to provide nearshore wave data for coastal processes research and hazard management studies, and to advance shallow-water wave and coastal dynamics modelling methods using essential observation data. In doing so, the program also enhances our understanding of the coastal wave climate in NSW.
The wave buoy data are also being used to calibrate, validate and continue to develop a regional-scale high-resolution predictive coastal wave model for the NSW coast (i.e. the NSW Nearshore Wave Tool, see Figure 1).
NSW Nearshore Wave Tool: https://nearshore.waves.nsw.gov.au
Figure 1. The NSW Nearshore Wave Tool regional map interface (A), Example of Nearshore output points (B), and pop-up Nearshore output point panel, or wave tool window, showing key functions, including the 10-day forecast (C); hindcast (D), and storm analysis (E) (from Doyle et al., in prep).
For further information on NSW wave buoys, please contact Dr Tom Doyle (thomas.doyle@environment.nsw.gov.au).
Collaborators and Sponsors
The NSW wave buoy network is supported by a range of collaborators, including IMOS, the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), the Coasts and Estuaries Research Group (CERG) at the University of Newcastle, the Water Research Laboratory (WRL) at the University of NSW, the Hunter, and Central Coast Regional Delivery Team, as well as the Marine, Coastal, Estuaries and Flood team, both within NSW DCCEEW.
