Wind Speed Dependence of Single-Site Wave-Height Retrievals from High-Frequency Radars

Author(s)

Brian K. Haus, University of Miami
Lynn K. Shay, University of Miami
Paul A. Work, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
George Voulgaris, University of South Carolina - ColumbiaFollow
Rafael J. Ramos, University of Miami
Jorge Martinez-Pedraja, University of Miami

ORCID iD

0000-0002-1004-5048

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Wave-height observations derived from single-site high-frequency (HF) radar backscattered Doppler spectra are generally recognized to be less accurate than overlapping radar techniques but can provide significantly larger sampling regions. The larger available wave-sampling region may have important implications for observing system design. Comparison of HF radar–derived wave heights with acoustic Doppler profiler and buoy data revealed that the scale separation between the Bragg scattering waves and the peak energy-containing waves may contribute to errors in the single-site estimates in light-to-moderate winds. A wave-height correction factor was developed that explicitly considers this scale separation and eliminates the trend of increasing errors with increasing wind speed.

Publication Info

Published in Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Volume 27, 2010, pages 1381-1394.

Rights

Haus, B. K., Shay, L. K., Work, P. A., Voulgaris, G., Ramos, R. J., & Martinez-Pedraja, J. (2010). Wind speed dependence of single-site wave-height retrievals from high-frequency radars. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 27, 1381-1394.

© Copyright 2010 AMS