Ocean Surface Current Extraction Scheme With High-Frequency Distributed Hybrid Sky-Surface Wave Radar System

Abstract

The high-frequency hybrid sky-surface wave radar (HF HSSWR) has recently been used to monitor large-area sea states. However, most of the HF HSSWR detection methods are based on the assumption of a no-tilt and constant height ionospheric model, and the influences caused by uneven electron density are ignored. This paper proposes a new surface current inversion scheme for the HF distributed HSSWR system, which considers the unknown ionospheric state as a black box and extracts the key parameters to compute the surface current based on a scattering model. The computational formula of the component of the current vector is explored using spatial scattering theory instead of an approximate bistatic model. In addition, the Fourier series expansion method is applied to the HF data to extract the real first-order Bragg frequency. Subsequently, the grazing angle and the bistatic angle can be found by inversion using the first-order Bragg frequency formula after searching out the common scattering patch of two receiving stations. Simultaneously, the coordinate registration of the currents can also be determined. The feasibility and effectiveness of this new algorithm are verified with field experimental results by comparing the current vectors derived from HSSWR and traditional HF SWR. The RMS differences of the magnitude and direction of the current vectors within the core common area of the two detection systems are about 10.2 cm/s and 9.5°, respectively.