Sea-Surface Current Features Observed by Doppler Radar

A coherent X-band radar was operated from the shore to measure velocities at the sea surface. The test site at a tidal inlet (Lister Tief) in the German Bight lay protected from swell and long wind waves. A vertical-vertical antenna was used to obtain the backscattered radar signal caused by Bragg scattering. To cover a sector of the circle, the antenna was rotated in 1Dstroksteps. At each step, the data acquisition was performed to obtain a time series of the backscattered radar signal. The maximum range is 1905 m with a range resolution of 7.5 m and an azimuthal resolution of 3.5diam. Maps of the averaged backscattered radar power and radial Doppler velocities are obtained. The radar backscatter maps show the modulation of the radar cross section due to changes in the surface roughness. The radar Doppler velocity maps show the modulations of the surface scatterer speed. The maps show many features, for example, the impact of subsurface sand waves, eddies, current shears, slicks, ship wakes, atmospheric effects, and small-scale current changes behind sheet pile walls. As the radar backscatter is caused by short wind waves, the wind influence on the Doppler signal was calculated for a first attempt to obtain true current motions. The results were compared with in situ current measurements. By subsequently measuring the surfaces current from two radar positions and performing the wind correction, the current vector fields are assessed.