A shipborne wave-recording system with digital data processing

A shipborne wave-recording system which consists of a sonic wave gauge, accelerometers, gyroscopes and a computer system is described. Signals from the measuring apparatus are fed directly into a shipborne digital computer system at a prescribed sampling rate. The time series of wave heights and the acceleration are transformed into Fourier series using an algorithm of Fast Fourier Transform. Errors contained in the observed wave heights due to ship motion are corrected in the Fourier series by using the Fourier coefficients for the vertical acceleration. Power spectra and waveforms can also be calculated in a short time with this system from Fourier coefficients. Examples of the observational results obtained in the central part of the East China Sea in 1969 are presented.