Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Exploration and Validation of Wave-Height Measurement Using Multifrequency HF Radar

Zhao Chen School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

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Chen Zezong School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

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Jiang Yanni Department of Electronic Engineering, Navy University of Engineering, Wuhan, China

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Fan Lingang School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

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Zeng Gengfei School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

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Print Publication:
01 Sep 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00178.1
Page(s):
2189–2202
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Abstract

For operations across a wide range of oceanographic conditions, a radar system able to operate at more than one frequency is theoretically and experimentally recommended for robust wave measurement in recent years. To obtain more sea-state information by HF radar, a multifrequency HF (MHF) radar system, which can simultaneously operate at four frequencies at most in the band of 7.5–25 MHz, was developed by the Radio Wave Propagation Laboratory of Wuhan University in 2007. This paper mostly focuses on detailing the data process method of MHF radar wave-height estimation. According to different bands of operating frequencies, a least-mean-square (LMS) linear fitting method is adopted to calibrate wave-height estimation formulation, which is introduced by Barrick to extract significant wave height from backscatter Doppler spectra. Both the wave-height measurements of the initial and modified methods are compared with wave buoy measurements. Afterward, a data fusion algorithm of multifrequency estimates based on relevant factors quantification is discussed step by step. Three comparisons between radar-derived and buoy-measured estimates are presented to illustrate the performance of the MHF radar wave-height measurement. The statistics of the MHF radar wave-height measurements are listed and analyzed. The results show that the wave-height measurements of the MHF radar are in reasonable agreement with the measurements of the wave buoy.

Corresponding author address: Chen Zezong, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Luojia Hill, Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China. E-mail: chenzz@whu.edu.cn

Abstract

For operations across a wide range of oceanographic conditions, a radar system able to operate at more than one frequency is theoretically and experimentally recommended for robust wave measurement in recent years. To obtain more sea-state information by HF radar, a multifrequency HF (MHF) radar system, which can simultaneously operate at four frequencies at most in the band of 7.5–25 MHz, was developed by the Radio Wave Propagation Laboratory of Wuhan University in 2007. This paper mostly focuses on detailing the data process method of MHF radar wave-height estimation. According to different bands of operating frequencies, a least-mean-square (LMS) linear fitting method is adopted to calibrate wave-height estimation formulation, which is introduced by Barrick to extract significant wave height from backscatter Doppler spectra. Both the wave-height measurements of the initial and modified methods are compared with wave buoy measurements. Afterward, a data fusion algorithm of multifrequency estimates based on relevant factors quantification is discussed step by step. Three comparisons between radar-derived and buoy-measured estimates are presented to illustrate the performance of the MHF radar wave-height measurement. The statistics of the MHF radar wave-height measurements are listed and analyzed. The results show that the wave-height measurements of the MHF radar are in reasonable agreement with the measurements of the wave buoy.

Corresponding author address: Chen Zezong, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Luojia Hill, Wuchang District, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China. E-mail: chenzz@whu.edu.cn
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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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