Basic HTML Version
ACT Protocols for Wave Measurement Systems
July 2012
9
Reported Resolution/Accuracy/Range
Wave elevation
Period
Direction
Depth
Resolution/Accuracy
Datawell
.01m / 0.5%
1.6-30s
0.4
o
/ 2
o
Surface
TriAXYS
.01m / 0.2%
0.1s/2%
3.0
o
/ 3
o
Surface
4.3 Remotely Sensed:
CODAR
- The SeaSonde technology is a high frequency coastal surface wave
radar system that maps ocean currents and monitors wave fields in real time.
Currents are calculated from the first-order Bragg backscatter of the HF radar
waves returned from ocean-surface gravity-waves. Wave information is
obtained from second-order sea-echo Doppler spectra representing the
interaction of long and short ocean waves. The antenna is permanently
mounted on shore or on an offshore structure and total on-site electronics
require 350-500 watts of electrical power. Transmitting requires 80 watts at
peak performance and 40 watts on average.
WERA
– WERA Systems (WavE Radar) use short wave radio technology for long range, high
resolution monitoring of ocean surface currents, waves, and wind direction. This shore based
system uses back scattered signals (Bragg effect)
from radio frequency emissions between 5 and 50
MHz. It uses a linear phased array receiver with 12-
16 elements which can observe wave directional
spectra including the First-5 Fourier coefficients
over a limited region when there is appropriate
overlap between two shore stations. This is typically
done using an iterative method that inverts the
observed Doppler sea echo. From a single station
only, wave height and period can be directly
observed.