Collaborative Research: Advancing Observation of Coastal Winds with High Frequency Radar

The overall objective of this project is to produce a new tool for accurate and reliable wind observations from coastal high-frequency (HF) radar at the same resolutions as currents and demonstrate their validity via comparisons with in-situ observations. Considering the kilometer scale variations in wind and currents will lead to advancing our knowledge of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system. High frequency radar-based surface wind observations will fill a critical gap in our capability to observe and understand coastal ocean dynamics and ocean-atmosphere interactions. In HF frequency radar-based efforts, signal attenuation, or path loss, is largely related to the wind field itself, which represents a key difference from satellite-based wind extractions. To resolve some systematic issues of previous HF radar-based methods, PIs propose to finalize a generalized method for wind extraction process using a ‘tomographic’ approach. This new approach will be demonstrated through the production and analysis of two long records of coastal ocean winds and currents in two geographically distinct coastal regions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.