Measurements of Ocean Surface Currents from a Moving Ship Using VHF Radar

Abstract

Abstract Shore-based, high-frequency (HF) and very high frequency (VHF) radar systems for measuring ocean surface currents have been well detailed in the literature. The use of these systems has been limited to coastal ocean applications since both of the required radar sites must be positioned ashore. The geometric constraints imposed by two shore sites can be relieved by using at least one sea-based system, thus allowing coverage of more coastal areas. A reduction in the number of required sites to one can be achieved by placing the site on a platform that transits between transmit–receive cycles to generate an overlapping field of coverage. Reducing the number of required sites to one increases the ocean area that can be measured. The feasibility of using a single VHF radar system based on a moving ship for both nearshore and deep-water area coverage is the subject of this paper. In December 1993 and July 1994 a nearshore, ship-based dataset was taken off the east coast of Key Biscayne, Florida, with o...