The SmartBay Observatory in Galway Bay is an underwater observatory which uses cameras, probes and sensors to permit continuous and remote live underwater monitoring. It was installed in 2015 on the seafloor 1.5km off the coast of Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland at a depth of 20-25m. Underwater observatories allow ocean researchers unique real-time access to monitor ongoing changes in the marine environment. The SmartBay Observatory is an important contribution by Ireland to the growing global network of real-time data capture systems deployed in the ocean. Data relating to the marine environment at the SmartBay Observatory site is transferred in real-time through a fibre optic telecommunications cable to the Marine Institute headquarters and then made publicly available on the internet. Included is a live video stream, the depth of the observatory node, the water temperature and salinity, and estimates of the chlorophyll and turbidity levels in the water which give an indication of the volume of phytoplankton and other particles, such as sediment, in the water. This dataset comprises a summary of numerical data collected from instruments and sensors on the observatory averaged out over a 15-minute period. The data includes temperature, conductivity, pressure, salinity, sound velocity, oxygen concentration, chlorophyll concentration, turbidity, water velocity and sound level measurements of the seawater. Suggested Citation: Marine Institute. (2026) SmartBay Observatory Combined Sensor Dataset - 15 minute average (August 2015 - Present) [Data set]. Marine Institute, Ireland. doi: https://doi.org/10.20393/BAC90670-DE19-4E23-A775-C8D95586B30A
L o a d i n g
Overviewenvironment
Additional Information
KeyValue
Conforms To["See the referenced specification", "http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/3857"]
Contact Emaildatarequests@marine.ie
Contact NameMarine Institute
FrequencyOther
Guidhttps://data.gov.ie/dataset/db2b6405-98b6-4673-bcb2-31efbcdecc84
Harvest Object Id49ddb27b-8f32-4d75-a052-6968aea0f7e4
Harvest Source Id01350574-268d-4abb-b9b4-8108224932c4
Harvest Source Titledata.gov.ie - Environment
Identifierdb2b6405-98b6-4673-bcb2-31efbcdecc84
Issued2022-06-16
Language["http://publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/ENG"]
Modified2026-09-02T17:06:24
ProvenanceNcb087f395a604f45920e5e544f437b6a
Publisher NameMarine Institute
Publisher Urihttps://data.gov.ie/organization/marine-institute
Spatial{"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-9.2663, 53.2273], [-9.2663, 53.2273], [-9.2663, 53.2273], [-9.2663, 53.2273], [-9.2663, 53.2273]]]}
Temporal Start2015-08-01
Theme["http://publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/data-theme/ENVI", "Environment"]
Urihttps://data.gov.ie/dataset/db2b6405-98b6-4673-bcb2-31efbcdecc84
