Interoperability of SeaSondes and Wellen Radars in Mapping Radial Surface Currents

Abstract

Abstract A dual-station high-frequency (HF) Wellen Radar (WERA) transmitting at 16 MHz has observed near-real-time surface currents over an approximate range of 100 km across the Florida Straits since July 2004. During a 10-day period in April 2005 (15–25 April), a pair of 12.6-MHz SeaSondes (SS) were deployed south of the WERAs sites by NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). The resulting SS grid overlapped the southern portion of the WERA domain. During the same period of time, a bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) acquired subsurface current measurements within these HF radar grids starting at 14 m below the surface in water of 86-m depth. The interoperability of beam-forming (WERA) and direction-finding (SS) HF radar technologies was examined. Comparisons of radial and vector currents for an 8-day concurrent time series suggested good agreement in current direction over both domains, where the surface currents' magnitudes were a maximum of 1.2 m s−1. In the core of the radar domains consisting of 108 cells, hourly vector currents were obtained by combining WERA and SS radials. Generally, this can be done in a relatively straightforward manner, considering the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP). A second key issue is downscaling the SS measurements from a 3-km grid to a 1.1-km grid to match the WERA output. This enhanced grid spacing is important along the western flank of the Florida Current, where energetic, small-scale surface features have been observed.