Line broadening on HF ocean surface radar backscatter spectra

Experimental results from an array of moored current meters and an HF ocean surface radar support the idea that line broadening on the radar spectra is caused by the velocity distribution within the radar target cell. The experiment was done in the wake of a small island where the velocity variations were severe. An estimate is made of the line broadening which can be expected. In a turbulent flow with dissipation rate of the orderepsilon sim 10^{-10}m^{2}s^{-3}and target cell size 1 3000 m, the line broadening isDeltaf sim 10^{-3}Hz. This would be resolved with a radar time series ofsim 20min and indicates that the HF ocean surface radar technique has potential in the observation of surface velocity distributions.     

Subtidal Flow Patterns in Western Florida Bay

Recent observations using moored current meters, shipboard ADCP transects, salinity mapping and drifters have been used to study the residual circulation including wind drift in western Florida Bay.Rapid, nearly synoptic surveys of salinity over a large area was an effective tracer-mapping technique, when salinity gradients were sufficiently strong, and provided qualitative information on Lagrangian water motion for the entire study area. The salinity maps indicated a general south-eastward advection, which was only subordinate to tidal mixing in a narrow zone adjacent to the Florida Keys.Drifter data collected simultaneously, allowed quantitative estimates to be added to the transport pattern suggested by salinity maps. The selectively deployed drifters yielded estimates of total drift velocities. In addition, moored current meters and shipboard current profiling were used to determine the distribution of flow across the mouth of the bay facing the Gulf of Mexico and the transport through Long Key Channel, a major connection between the bay and the Atlantic Ocean.Analysis showed that from 64 to over 92% of the drifter trajectory variances could be explained by the combination of a local wind drift, expressed in terms of a wind drift factor multiplied by the surface shear velocity, and an ambient current. For a 1 m high drifter deployed at the surface of the water column, the wind drift factor was found to be approximately 0·125m, making the drift speed roughly equal to 0·45% of wind speed. The mean drifter speeds were linearly proportional to mean transport estimates derived from the current meter observations in Long Key Channel, enhancing confidence in both data sets.The total south-eastward directed residual current varied between 100 and 5000 m day⁻¹and was weaker in summer than in winter, when southward winds associated with periodic passage of cold fronts boost the residual flow. The estimated contribution from local wind drift varied between 500 m day⁻¹in summer to 1000 m day⁻¹in winter. The remaining contribution to the observed Lagrangian residual circulation in western Florida Bay is caused by other forcing, including tidal rectification, remote wind forcing and large-scale current systems (the Gulf Stream and Florida Current systems).     

Measurement of ocean surface currents using a long-range,high-frequency ground wave radar

High-frequency (HF) ground wave radar (GWR) is emerging as a significant tool for monitoring ocean surface conditions at ranges well beyond the line-of-sight horizon that limits conventional systems. An experimental GWR system at Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada that has been operational since 1991, has the ability to performing routine surveillance of oceanic surface parameters and surface target detection. Operating in the frequency range between 5 and 8 MHz, the frequency modulated interrupted continuous wave (FMICW) radar has a nominal range capability of 200 km. An experiment was performed during the period of October 20-November 21, 1992 to test the surface current measuring capability of the Cape Race system. Here, near real-time radial surface current information is extracted from the Doppler spectra of the radar time series data and a comparison is performed to the Lagrangian velocities derived from the position-time tracks of Accurate Surface Tracker (AST) drifters. A wide range of oceanic conditions were experienced during the experimental period, and favorable results were obtained from the comparison regardless of the sea state conditions. The analysis shows the standard deviation in the radar radial velocity component to be approximately 5 cm/s     

Remote Observation of the Spatial Variability of Surface Waves Interacting With an Estuarine Outflow

This paper explores the application of phased-array high-frequency (HF) radars to identify locations of enhanced local waveheights. Measurements of the near-surface current velocities and waveheights were obtained from HF radars deployed near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in the fall of 1997. The radar-derived near-surface velocities were compared with the upper bin (2-m depth) of four upward-looking acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs). The slopes of the linear correlations were close to one and the root-mean-square (rms) differences were similar to previous studies. Significant waveheight (Hs) estimates from both radars were compared with a laser height gauge. The largest differences were observed during low winds due to overestimates at one of the radar stations and during storms when the laser measurement failed. Further analysis focused on the HF radar results from the more reliable of the two sites. The rms difference between this radar and the in situ sensor was 0.29 m. Synoptic observations of Hs over the Chesapeake Bay revealed regions of current-induced wave shoaling and refraction. Hs over the estuarine outflow increased between 19-50% relative to the incident Hs in light onshore winds (~5 m/s). In stronger winds (>10 m/s), Hs also increased by up to 25% when there was a tidal outflow in the surface layer, although the near-surface currents were responding to both the wind and the ebbing tide. Hs was not enhanced when the outflow was below a thicker layer (>5 m) of wind-forced onshore flow     

Assessing SARAL/AltiKa Data in the Coastal Zone: Comparisons with HF Radar Observations

We present an initial assessment of SARAL/AltiKa data in the coastal band. The study focuses on the Ibiza Channel where the north-south water exchanges play a key role in controlling the circulation variability in the western Mediterranean. In this area, the track 16 of SARAL/AltiKa intercepts the domain covered by a coastal high-frequency (HF) radar system, which provides surface currents with a range up to 60 km. We evaluate the performance of the SARAL/AltiKa Ssalto/Duacs delayed-time along-track products compared to the HF radar surface velocity fields. SARAL/AltiKa data are retrieved at a distance of only 7 km from the coast, putting in evidence the emerging capabilities of the new altimeter. The derived velocities resolved the general features of the seasonal mesoscale variability with reasonable agreement with HF radar fields (significant correlations of 0.54). However, some discrepancies appear, which might be caused by instrumental hardware radar errors, ageostrophic velocities as well as inaccurate corrections and editing in the altimeter data. Root mean square (rms) differences between the estimated SARAL/AltiKa and the HF radar velocities are about 13 cm/s. These results are consistent with recent studies in other parts of the ocean applying similar approaches to Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1 missions and using coastal altimeter corrections.     

Measurement of Ocean Surface Currents by the CRL HF Ocean Surface Radar of FMCW Type. Part 2. Current Vector

The Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) has been developing high-frequency ocean surface radars (HFOSRs). The CRL dual-site HFOSR system can clarify the distribution of surface currents with a nominal range of 50 km. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental analysis of the measurement error of the current vector obtained by the CRL HFOSR system, using a comparison of instantaneous current vectors acquired by the HFOSR system and current meters moored at a depth of 2 m, taking account of the vertical current shear. The theoretical analysis shows that the probability distribution of the measurement error of the current vector forms concentric ellipses at a spatial scale that depends on the RMS measurement error of radial current velocity and with an aspect ratio that depends only on the azimuthal difference of the radar beams. When the azimuthal difference is a right angle, the measurement error of the current vector is at a minimum. A comparison between instantaneous current vectors measured by the CRL HFOSR system and moored current meters shows that the distribution of the difference vector between the radar current and the meter current agrees well with the theoretical measurement error of the current vector and that the RMS of difference vector length is about 10 cm s^–1 while the azimuthal difference between two radar beams is between 45 and 135 degrees. The accuracy of current measurement by the dual-site HFOSR system is therefore considered to be less than 10 cm s^–1 in this range of azimuthal difference. The theoretical analysis will be applicable for a wider range of the azimuthal difference of the radar beams.     

Observation of the Soya Warm Current using HF ocean radar

Three High Frequency (HF) ocean radar stations were installed around the Soya/La Perouse Strait in the Sea of Okhotsk in order to monitor the Soya Warm Current (SWC). The frequency of the HF radar is 13.9 MHz, and the range and azimuth resolutions are 3 km and 5 deg., respectively. The radar covers a range of approximately 70 km from the coast. The surface current velocity observed by the HF radars was compared with data from drifting buoys and shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs). The current velocity derived from the HF radars shows good agreement with that observed using the drifting buoys. The root-mean-square (rms) differences were found to be less than 20 cm s⁻¹ for the zonal and meridional components in the buoy comparison. The observed current velocity was also found to exhibit reasonable agreement with the shipboard ADCP data. It was shown that the HF radars clearly capture seasonal and short-term variations of the SWC. The velocity of the Soya Warm Current reaches its maximum, approximately 1 m s⁻¹, in summer and weakens in winter. The velocity core is located 20 to 30 km from the coast, and its width is approximately 40 km. The surface transport by the SWC shows a significant correlation with the sea level difference along the strait, as derived from coastal tide gauge records at Wakkanai and Abashiri. Deceased.     

On the accuracy of current measurements by means of HF radar

The accuracy of surface current velocities measured by high-frequency (HF) radar is investigated. Data from the two radar systems of the University of Hamburg, CODAR (Coastal Radar) and WERA (Wellen Radar), are compared with in situ data. In one experiment, CODAR and a near-surface current meter were operated simultaneously over a 19-day period. In addition, WERA was operated for 6 days during that period. In the other experiment, WERA and a bottom-mounted current meter were operated simultaneously over a 35-day period. Both radars use frequencies of about 30 MHz where backscattering is due to ocean waves of 5 m wavelength. The influence of the orbital motion of underlying longer waves on radial velocity errors is investigated. In accordance with theory, the measured standard deviations of HF-measured current velocities depend on the sea state. Depending on the sea state, estimated errors range from 3 to 10 cm·s^-1 and explain only part of the rms difference of 10-20 cm·s^-1 found between HF and in situ current measurements. The rest is assumed to be due the differences of the quantities measured, e.g., the spatial averaging     

Estimation of 3-D current fields near the Rhine outflow from HF radar surface current data

HF radar systems are designed to measure spatially variable sea surface currents. A methodology was developed to complement these data with information about the current variability over the water column in a stratified shallow sea. Current profiles were estimated using a diagnostic model driven by surface current measurements from an HF radar system and by sea surface slopes derived from tide gauge data. The structure of the model has a physical basis but its parameters were derived from an analysis of in-situ current profile measurements. Application of the model to HF radar data from the SCAWVEX Rhine outflow experiment showed fair agreement with in-situ current data. As applications, estimation and tidal analysis of current fields are demonstrated.     

Structure and Transport of the Agulhas Current and Its Temporal Variability

Using a year-long moored array of current meters and well-sampled synoptic sections, we define the variability and mean structure and transport of the Agulhas current. Nineteen current meter records indicate that time scales for the temporal variability in the alongshore and offshore velocities are 10.2 and 5.4 days, respectively. Good vertical correlation exists between the alongshore or onshore velocity fluctuations, excluding the Agulhas Undercurrent. The lateral scale for the thermocline Agulhas current is about 60 km and the onshore velocity correlations are positive throughout the Agulhas Current system. Mean velocities from the array determine that the offshore edge of the Agulhas Current lies at 203 km and the penetration depth is 2200 m offshore of the Undercurrent. Hence, daily averaged velocity sections, determined by interpolation and extrapolation of current meter locations, for a 267-day period, from the surface to 2400 m depth and from the coast out to 203 km offshore encompass the main features of the Agulhas Current system. The Agulhas current is generally found close to the continental slope, within 31 km of the coast for 211 of 267 days. There are only five days when the core of the current is found offshore at 150 km. Total transport is always poleward, varying from −121 to −9 Sv, with maximum transport occurring when the core is 62 km from the coast. Average total transport for the 267 day period is −69.7 Sv; the standard deviation in daily transport values is 21.5 Sv; and the mean transport has an estimated standard error of 4.3 Sv. The Agulhas Undercurrent, which hugs the continental slope below the zero velocity isotach, has an average equatorward transport of 4.2 Sv, standard deviation of 2.9 Sv and an estimated standard error of 0.4 Sv. Transports from the moored array are in reasonable agreement with transport results from synoptic sections. Based on time series measurements at about 30° latitude in each ocean basin, the Agulhas Current is the largest western boundary current in the world ocean.     

On the performance of a shipborne current mapping HF radar

High-frequency (HF) radars have been developed to map surface currents offshore by means of land-based stations. Presently available radar systems use frequencies between 25 and 30 MHz and allow a spatial resolution of 1 km and ranges of up to 50 km. This paper reports on the experience with a shipborne radar and discusses problems which arise for the azimuthal resolution on a metal ship, the correction for the ship's speed, and limitations due to pitch-and-roll motions. Current measurements during cruises to the North Atlantic are presented. It has been found that, with the support of the satellite-supported Global Positioning System, the shipborne HF radar can measure surface current velocities with an accuracy of some 5 cm·s^-1     

Calibration and Validation of Direction-Finding High-Frequency Radar Ocean Surface Current Observations

This paper focuses on the validation of remotely sensed ocean surface currents from SeaSonde-type high-frequency (HF) radar systems. Hourly observations during the period July 22, 2003 through September 9, 2003 are used from four separate radar sites deployed around the shores of Monterey Bay, CA. Calibration of direction-finding techniques is addressed through the comparisons of results obtained using measured and ideal (i.e., perfect) antenna patterns. Radial currents are compared with observations from a moored current meter and from 16 surface drifter trajectories. In addition, four overwater baselines are used for radar-to-radar comparisons. Use of measured antenna patterns improves system performance in almost all cases. Antenna-pattern measurements repeated one year later at three of the four radar locations exhibit only minor changes indicating that pattern distortions are stable. Calibrated results show root-mean-square (rms) radial velocity differences in the range of 9.8-13.0 cm/s, which suggest radar observation error levels in the range of 6.9-9.2 cm/s. In most cases, clear evidence of bearing errors can be seen, which range up to 30deg for uncalibrated radar-derived radial currents and up to 15deg for currents obtained using measured antenna patterns. Bearing errors are not, however, constant with angle. The results recommend use of measured antenna patterns in all SeaSonde-type applications. They also recommend an expanded simulation effort to better describe the effects of antenna-pattern distortions on bearing determination under a variety of ocean conditions     

HF radar detection of tsunamis

This paper demonstrates that HF radar systems can be used to detect tsunamis well before their arrival at a coastline. We solve the equations of motion and continuity on the ocean surface using models to simulate the signals produced by a tsunami approaching the east U.S. coast. Height and velocity profiles are derived along with expressions for the radar-observed current velocities in terms of bathymetry and tsunami height and period. Simulated tsunami-generated radial current velocities are superimposed on typical maps of radial velocity generated by a Rutgers University HF radar system. A detection parameter is defined and plotted to quantify the progress of the tsunami, which is shown to be detectable well before its arrival at the coast. We describe observations/warnings that would have been provided by HF radar systems at locations in the path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.     

Surface current measurements by HF radar in freshwater lakes

HF radar has become an increasingly important tool for mapping surface currents in the coastal ocean. However, the limited range, due to much higher propagation loss and smaller wave heights (relative to the saltwater ocean), has discouraged HF radar use over fresh water, Nevertheless, the potential usefulness of HF radar in measuring circulation patterns in freshwater lakes has stimulated pilot experiments to explore HF radar capabilities over fresh water. The Episodic Events Great Lakes Experiment (EEGLE), which studied the impact of intermittent strong wind events on the resuspension of pollutants from lake-bottom sediments, provided an excellent venue for a pilot experiment. A Multifrequency Coastal HF Radar (MCR) was deployed for 10 days at two sites on the shore of Lake Michigan near St. Joseph, MI. Similarly, a single-frequency CODAR SeaSonde instrument was deployed on the California shore of Lake Tahoe. These two experiments showed that when sufficiently strong surface winds (2 about 7 m/s) exist for an hour or more, a single HE radar can be effective in measuring the radial component of surface currents out to ranges of 10-15 km. We also show the effectiveness of using HF radar in concert with acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) for measuring a radial component of the current profile to depths as shallow as 50 cm and thus potentially extending the vertical coverage of an ADCP array     

A comparison of multifrequency HF radar and ADCP measurements ofnear-surface currents during COPE-3

A high-frequency multifrequency coastal radar operating at four frequencies between 4.8 and 21.8 MHz was used as part of the third Chesapeake Bay Outflow Plume Experiment (COPE-3) during October and November, 1997. The radar system surveyed the open ocean east of the coast and just south of the mouth of Chesapeake Bay from two sites separated by about 20 km. Measurements were taken once an hour, and the eastward and northward components of ocean currents were estimated at four depths ranging from about 0.5 m to 2.5 m below the surface for each location on a 2 by 2 km grid. Direction of arrival of the signals was estimated using the MUSIC algorithm. The radar measurements were compared to currents measured by several moored acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) with range bins 2-14 m below the water surface. The vertical structure of the current was examined by utilizing four different radar wavelengths, which respond to ocean currents at different depths, and by using several ADCP range bins separated by 1-m intervals. The radar and ADCP current estimates were highly correlated and showed similar depth behavior, and there was significant correlation between radar current estimates at different wavelengths and wind speed     

Side-looking ADCP and Doppler radar measurements across a coastalfront

Measurements are reported from two side-looking Doppler systems, which were used to study the discharge front located off the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. One system was a commercial 300-kHz narrow-band acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), which was mounted at a depth of 0.6 m on the port side of a research ship. The other was a prototype X-band, vertically polarized, Doppler radar mounted at a height of about 4 m on the starboard side. Both velocity and backscatter intensity were measured along two beams to ranges of 120 m (ADCP) and 200 m (radar), so that by sailing alternately on each side of the front it was possible to make nearly simultaneous across-front measurements with both systems. Despite the differences in acoustic and radar scattering mechanisms, a combined backscatter intensity surface map could be made showing a continuous frontal signature about 10-m wide and 20 dB above background levels. Each system was also able to measure the same large-scale velocity change across the front, which was dominated by the discharging buoyant bay water flowing at about 50 cm/s relative to the ambient continental shelf water. However, within a 60-m wide zone, the radar system measured velocities up to 75 cm/s larger than the ADCP. Such large velocity differences arose from the radar's sensitivity to motions associated with waves reflecting from the region of strongest across-front current convergence. This frontal convergence was resolved only by the ADCP, which showed a horizontal current change of about 25 cm/s over 10 m and appeared to extend over the upper 2 m or so of the water column. These results show that the combined information from the acoustic and radar systems provide a more complete picture of the frontal currents and wave-current interactions than either system could provide alone     

HF radar observations of Arctic pack-ice breakup

This paper describes the first reported high-resolution remote measurements of sea-ice velocities during the summer Arctic pack-ice breakup, made with a high-frequency (HF) radar system (CODAR, for Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar) located on Cross Island, Alaska. Each 36-min observation also gives the positions of the ice edge, the moving ice, and the open water, with an azimuthal and distance resolution of5degand 1.2 km, respectively, to a range of 15 km. The statistical uncertainties in speed are typically 2-4 cm/s. The ice breakup was observed over a two-day period starting with low ice velocity and no open water and ending with ice and current velocities of approximately 40 cm/s. The position of the ice edge is verified by a simultaneous synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image. To compare the ice, current, and wind velocities, a uniform velocity model was fitted to the measurements of radial velocity. The speed of both ice and current under free drift conditions was found to lie between 2 and 5 percent of the wind speed and the direction within20degof the wind direction.     

高频地波雷达观测的苏北辐射沙洲南部海域夏季表层海流特征

本文利用高频地波雷达获得的江苏如东海域大范围长期海流观测资料对苏北辐射沙洲南部烂沙洋海域夏季表层海流特征进行了分析。分析结果表明:研究海域表层海流靠近近岸一侧为往复流,流向总体上呈西北-东南向,靠近外海一侧为旋转流;海域潮流动力较为强劲,夏季表层海流实测最大流速达1.47 m/s,涨潮平均流速介于0.44~0.55 m/s,落潮平均流速介于0.38~0.52 m/s,海域西北部区域涨落潮平均流速明显大于其他区域;表层潮流为正规半日潮流,M₂分潮为最主要分潮,其潮流椭圆长轴范围为0.57~0.71 m/s,远大于其他分潮,其次为S₂分潮;该海域夏季表层余流呈现近岸大离岸小的分布趋势,余流流向基本指向近岸方向,从离岸到近岸余流流向呈现逆时针偏转。     

Very high-frequency radar mapping of surface currents

An ocean surface current radar (OSCR) in the very high frequency (VHF) mode was deployed in South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC) during the summer of 1999. During this period, a 29-d continuous time series of vector surface currents was acquired starting on 9 July 1999 and ending 7 August 1999. Over a 20-min sample interval, the VHF radar mapped coastal ocean currents over a 7.5 km × 8 km domain with a horizontal resolution of 250 m at 700 grid points. A total of 2078 snapshots of the two-dimensional current vectors were acquired during this time series and of these samples, only 69 samples (3.3%) were missing from the time series. During this period, complex surface circulation patterns were observed that included coherent, submesoscale vortices with diameters of 2 to 3 km inshore of the Florida Current. Comparisons to subsurface measurements from moored and ship-board acoustic Doppler current profiles revealed regression slopes of close to unity with biases ranging from 4 to 8 cm s^-1 between surface and subsurface measurements at 3 to 4 m beneath the surface. Correlation coefficients were 0.8 or above with phases of - 10 to - 20° suggestive of an anticyclonic veering of current with depth relative to the surface current. The radar-derived surface current field provided spatial context for an observational network using mooring-, ship- and autonomous underwater vehicle-sensor packages that were deployed at the SFOMC     

Deep strong currents and sediment transport in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea

The Petit Rhône Canyon (Gulf of Lions) is incised by a narrow meandering thalweg. Two current meters were moored near the bottom, one in the channel and the other on the levee. None of the measured currents is associated with the sediment transport peculiar to deep-sea fan building. This transport is mainly influenced by relatively high speeds (1 h means up to 48 cm/s; 1 day means > 30 cm/s) measured in diverse directions.