The Integrated Ocean Observing System High-Frequency Radar Network: Status and Local, Regional, and National Applications

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Integrated Ocean Observing System High-Frequency Radar Network: Status and Local, Regional, and National Applications PAPER The Integrated Ocean Observing System High-Frequency Radar Network: Status and Local, Regional, and National Applications AUTHORS ABSTRACT Jack Harlan A national high-frequency radar network has been created over the past 20 years NOAA IOOS® Program or so that provides hourly 2-D ocean surface current velocity fields in near real time Eric Terrill from a few kilometers offshore out to approximately 200 km. This preoperational net- Lisa Hazard work is made up of more than 100 radars from 30 different institutions. The Inte- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, grated Ocean Observing System efforts have supported the standards-based ingest Coastal Observing R&D Center and delivery of these velocity fields to a number of applications such as coastal search and rescue, oil spill response, water quality monitoring, and safe and efficient Carolyn Keen marine navigation. Thus, regardless of the operating institution or location of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, radar systems, emergency response managers, and other users, can rely on a com- Institute of Geophysics and mon source and means of obtaining and using the data. Details of the history, the Planetary Physics physics, and the application of high-frequency radar are discussed with successes Donald Barrick of the integrated network highlighted. Chad Whelan CODAR Ocean Sensors, Ltd. wave height spectrum at the Bragg In the 1990s, the Office of Naval Stephan Howden wave number. Barrick was invited to Research and the National Science Stennis Space Center, University present his results at seminars in Foundation funds were used to acquire of Southern Mississippi Boulder, Colorado, as the National radars at several universities includ- Josh Kohut Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- ing the Oregon State University, the Rutgers University tion (NOAA), and its Boulder labora- Rutgers University, the University of tories were being formed in 1970. A California-Santa Barbara, the Naval group was formed within NOAA’s Postgraduate School, the University of History and Technical new Environmental Research Labora- Rhode Island, and the University of Background for HF Radar tories to build a compact antenna sys- Connecticut. This was followed by a History tem to be used for coastal ocean surface surge in acquisition because of the Na- The present state of the U.S. na- current mapping. This was the Coastal tional Oceanographic Partnership Pro- tional high-frequency (HF) radar net- Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar gram, an NOAA/Office of Naval work has resulted from nearly 40 years (CODAR) program. After demon- Research/National Science Foundation of research and applications. HF radar strating its effectiveness, the NOAA/ program that funded coastal oceano- observations of the ocean surface truly National Ocean Service formed a Tran- graphic research at many of these same began with Crombie’s (1955) experi- sitional Engineering Program in 1978 universities. mental discovery of the mechanism to encourage development of a com- In 2002, California voters approved behind his puzzling analog sea-echo mercial version of CODAR. With funds that led to a program called spectral plots. Don Barrick (1968, only a small potential market, no exist- the Coastal Ocean Currents Moni- 1972) theoretically derived the model ing radar companies were interested in toring Program, which allowed for that indeed showed that this resonant commercializing CODAR so a small the investment of $21 million to scatter was in fact “Bragg scatter” and group left NOAA to start CODAR create a California network of HF related the echo strength to the ocean Ocean Sensors, Ltd. in the early 1980s. radars to measure ocean surface 122 Marine Technology Society Journal currents to ensure the monitoring of Data Buoy Center (http://hfradar. nications Conference in January 2012 coastal water quality. The acquisition ndbc.noaa.gov/) while data failover re- (Figure 1). began in 2005 with 40 CODAR dundancy is also provided at Rutgers radars eventually being integrated University. Data file management Physics of HF Radar with the then-existing 14 CODARs and distribution follow internation- Current Monitoring in California. ally accepted standards, for exam- Why HF radar? On a national scale, the Integrated ple, netCDF-CF file and metadata HF denotes that part of the electro- Ocean Observing System (IOOS ) formats and OpenGIS Web Coverage magnetic spectrum having frequencies Program has been facilitating the de-® Service Interface Standard® for inter- from 3 to 30 MHz, which is equivalent velopment of a national data manage- operable delivery of gridded data. to radio wavelengths of 10 to 100 m. ment and distribution system for all Nationally, an additional focus has HF radar has been shown to be the op- U.S. HF radars as well as radars operated been the effort to acquire primary timal method for coastal sea surface by the Canadian Coast Guard in Nova radio frequency licenses. To form an current mapping for a number of rea- Scotia. Presently, more than 100 HF ra- operational network, the radars need sons. First, the targets required to pro- dars and 30 institutions are part of the to operate at dedicated radio frequen- duce coherent sea echo using HF are network, and their data are delivered cies, which requires the approval of surface gravity waves, typically of sev- by IOOS national data servers. The the International Telecommunications eral to a few tens of meters wavelength, development server and data display Union as well as U.S. agencies. The which are well understood and nearly are provided by Scripps Institution of process to acquire those frequencies always present in the open ocean. Sec- Oceanography’s Coastal Observing Re- has been supported by NOAA IOOS ond, vertically polarized HF waves can search and Development Center (http:// for nearly 5 years, with the expec- propagate over conductive seawater cordc.ucsd.edu/projects/mapping/), tation that the final approvals will be via coupling to the mean spherical sea and its mirror is at the NOAA National given at the World Radiocommu- surface, producing measurement ranges FIGURE 1 Montage of U.S. HF radar site locations. Green sites are sending data on schedule. Red sites have delayed data. (Color versions of figures available online at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2010/00000044/00000006.) November/December 2010 Volume 44 Number 6 123 beyond line of sight, out to 200 km Doppler proportional to the relative apriorito properly remove the Bragg or more offshore. Third, Doppler sea speed of the ocean wave traveling di- wave phase speed: echo at HF, under most wave condi- rectly toward or away from the radar. sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi tions, has a well-defined signal from The transmit frequency of the radar gλo 2πD wave–current interactions that is easily determines the radar wavelength and, c ¼ tanh 2π λo distinguishable from wave–wave pro- hence, determines the length of ocean cesses. This allows for robust extraction waves from which the radar wave will of current velocities. It is primarily backscatter. Because attenuation in- Range and Velocity Determination these three features, along with the creases as frequency increases, the result All HF radar systems currently used spatial resolutions that are possible is that higher frequency radars (shorter for ocean measurements use some due to the frequency modulation dis- radar wavelength) have a shorter maxi- form of frequency-modulated contin- cussed below, which place the HF mum range. Approximately one third uous wave (FMCW) waveform for band in a unique status for coastal of the radars in the United States are range determination. FMCW has the current monitoring. in the 4- to 5-MHz band, which can benefitofmuchlowermaximum achieve 200 km or more, depending power requirements to achieve the on conditions. Another third operates same average power and, therefore, Physics of HF Sea Scattering in the 12- to 14-MHz band and can range performance as older time- The two environmental conditions achieve an approximately 90-km gated pulsed radars (Barrick, 1973). necessary for HF current mapping are range. Approximately one quarter For closely spaced or colocated trans- conductive surface water and the pres- of the radars operate in the 24- to mit and receive antennas, a pulsed ence of surface gravity waves of suffi- 27-MHz band and achieve ranges of and gated FMCW (or FMiCW, “i” = cient length and height. Conductivity approximately 45 km. At the higher interrupted) waveform is desirable of water is primarily determined by frequencies, it is possible to obtain whereby the transmit signal is cycled salinity, which is typically 32–37 PSU greater radio spectrum bandwidth on and off and radar echo received in in the open ocean. As salinity decreases, that in turn allows for higher range res- opposition over a period determined so does the strength of the sea echo and, olution. The resolutions vary from less by the system’s achievable range. therefore, range of measurement. Since than 1 km to approximately 6 km. Re- This is done to prevent saturation of freshwater is inherently 5,000 times less gardless of the operating frequency, the the electronics as well as the received conductive than seawater, HF signals do physics is the same. Assuming a sta- echo by the much stronger transmit not travel nearly as far (e.g. Fernandez tionary radar, the relative wave speed signal. For both cases, the fundamen- et al., 2000). It has been observed in is comprised of the phase speed of the tal range determination is the same bays and around river mouths that dur- Bragg wave plus any underlying cur- (Barrick, 1973). ing times of high freshwater discharge rent. For deep water, the phase speed A continuous linear frequency ranges can be significantly reduced forsurfacewavesiswellknownasa sweep (or chirp) over a fixed band- λ (e.g., Long et al., 2006). function of o: width and pulse repetition frequency The ocean surface, at any given mo- rffiffiffiffiffiffiffi is generated in the receiver and ampli- ment, contains a random structure of gλ fied for transmit.
Recommended publications
  • Microwave Communications and Radar
    2/26 6.014 Lecture 14: Microwave Communications and Radar A. Overview Microwave communications and radar systems have similar architectures. They typically process the signals before and after they are transmitted through space, as suggested in Figure L14-1. Conversion of the signals to electromagnetic waves occurs at the output of a power amplifier, and conversion back to signals occurs at the detector, after reception. Guiding-wave structures connect to the transmitting or receiving antenna, which are generally one and the same in monostatic radar systems. We have discussed antennas and multipath propagation earlier, so the principal novel mechanisms we need to understand now are the coupling of these electromagnetic signals between antennas and circuits, and the intervening propagating structures. Issues we must yet address include transmission lines and waveguides, impedance transformations, matching, and resonance. These same issues also arise in many related systems, such as lidar systems that are like radar but use light beams instead, passive sensing systems that receive signals emitted by the environment either naturally (like thermal radiation) or by artifacts (like motors or computers), and data recording systems like DVD’s or magnetic disks. The performance of many systems of interest is often limited in part by our ability to couple energy efficiently from one port to another, and our ability to filter out deleterious signals. Understanding these issues is therefore an important part of such design effors. The same issues often occur in any system utilizing high-frequency signals, whether or not they are transmitted externally. B. Radar, Lidar, and Passive Systems Figure L14-2 illustrates a standard radar or lidar configuration where the transmitted power Pt is focused toward a target using an antenna with gain Gt.
    [Show full text]
  • Radar, Without Tears
    Radar, without tears François Le Chevalier1 May 2017 Originally invented to facilitate maritime navigation and avoid icebergs, at the beginning of the last century, radar took off during the Second World War, especially for aerial surveillance and guidance from the ground or from aircraft. Since then, it has continued to expand its field of employment. 1 What is it, what is it for? Radar is used in the military field for surveillance, guidance and combat, and in the civilian area for navigation, obstacle avoidance, security, meteorology, and remote sensing. For some missions, it is irreplaceable: detecting flying objects or satellites, several hundred kilometers away, monitoring vehicles and convoys more than 100 kilometers round, making a complete picture of a planet through its atmosphere, measuring precipitations, marine currents and winds at long ranges, detecting buried objects or observing through walls – as many functions that no other sensor can provide, and whose utility is not questionable. Without radar, an aerial or terrestrial attack could remain hidden until the last minute, and the rain would come without warning to Roland–Garros and Wimbledon ... Curiously, to do this, the radar uses a physical phenomenon that nature hardly uses: radio waves, which are electromagnetic waves using frequencies between 1 MHz and 100 GHz – most radars operating with wavelength ( = c / f, being the wavelength, c the speed of light, 3.108 m/s, and f the frequency) between 300 m and 3 mm (actually, for most of them, between 1m and 1cm): wavelengths on a human scale ... Indeed, while the optical domain of electromagnetic waves, or even the ultraviolet and infrared domains, are widely used by animals, while the acoustic waves are also widely used by marine or terrestrial animals, there is practically no example of animal use of this vast part, known as "radioelectric", of the electromagnetic spectrum (some fish, Eigenmannia, are an exception to this rule, but they use frequencies on the order of 300 Hz, and therefore very much lower than the "radar" frequencies).
    [Show full text]
  • Band Radar Models FR-2115-B/2125-B/2155-B*/2135S-B
    R BlackBox type (with custom monitor) X/S – band Radar Models FR-2115-B/2125-B/2155-B*/2135S-B I 12, 25 and 50* kW T/R up X-band, 30 kW I Dual-radar/full function remote S-band inter-switching I SXGA PC monitor either CRT or color I New powerful processor with LCD high-speed, high-density gate array and I Optional ARP-26 Automatic Radar sophisticated software Plotting Aid (ARPA) on 40 targets I New cast aluminum scanner gearbox I Furuno's exclusive chart/radar overlay and new series of streamlined radiators technique by optional RP-26 VideoPlotter I Shared monitor utilization of Radar and I Easy to create radar maps PC systems with custom PC monitor switching system The BlackBox radar system FR-2115-B, FR-2125-B, FR-2155-B* and FR-2135S-B are custom configured by adding a user’s favorite display to the blackbox radar package. The package is based on a Furuno standard radar used in the FR-21x5-B series with (FURUNO) monitor which is designed to comply with IMO Res MSC.64(67) Annex 4 for shipborne radar and A.823 (19) for ARPA performance. The display unit may be selected from virtually any size of multi-sync PC monitor, either a CRT screen or flat panel LCD display. The blackbox radar system is suitable for various ships which require no specific type approval as a SOLAS compliant radar. The radar is available in a variety of configurations: 12, 25, 30 and 50* kW output, short or long antenna radiator, 24 or 42 rpm scanner, with standard Electronic Plotting Aid (EPA) and optional Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA).
    [Show full text]
  • Microwave Radar/Radiometer for Arctic Clouds (Mirac): First Insights from the ACLOUD Campaign
    Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5019–5037, 2019 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5019-2019 © Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Microwave Radar/radiometer for Arctic Clouds (MiRAC): first insights from the ACLOUD campaign Mario Mech1, Leif-Leonard Kliesch1, Andreas Anhäuser1, Thomas Rose2, Pavlos Kollias1,3, and Susanne Crewell1 1Institute for Geophysics and Meteorology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany 2Radiometer-Physics GmbH, Meckenheim, Germany 3School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, NY, USA Correspondence: Mario Mech ([email protected]) Received: 12 April 2019 – Discussion started: 23 April 2019 Revised: 26 July 2019 – Accepted: 11 August 2019 – Published: 18 September 2019 Abstract. The Microwave Radar/radiometer for Arctic vertical resolution down to about 150 m above the surface Clouds (MiRAC) is a novel instrument package developed is able to show to some extent what is missed by Cloud- to study the vertical structure and characteristics of clouds Sat when observing low-level clouds. This is especially im- and precipitation on board the Polar 5 research aircraft. portant for the Arctic as about 40 % of the clouds during MiRAC combines a frequency-modulated continuous wave ACLOUD showed cloud tops below 1000 m, i.e., the blind (FMCW) radar at 94 GHz including a 89 GHz passive chan- zone of CloudSat. In addition, with MiRAC-A 89 GHz it is nel (MiRAC-A) and an eight-channel radiometer with fre- possible to get an estimate of the sea ice concentration with a quencies between 175 and 340 GHz (MiRAC-P).
    [Show full text]
  • RADAR Steve Krar Radar Is a System That Uses Radio Waves That Can See
    1 RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging) Steve Krar Radar is a system that uses radio waves that can see hundreds of miles in fog, rain, snow, clouds and darkness. It can identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and ground formation. A transmitter sends radio waves that are aimed at a target and deflected back to a receiver. Although the radio signal returned is usually very weak, radio signals can easily be amplified. Radar is used in many areas such as weather prediction, air traffic control, police detection of speeding traffic, and by the armed forces to detect incoming planes and missiles. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 as an acronym for Radio Detection And Ranging. The concept of using radio waves to detect objects goes back as far as 1902, but the practical system we know as radar began in the late 1930s. British inventors, aided by research from other countries, developed a warning system that could detect airplanes or missiles moving toward England. Basic Principles The basic principle of radar can be easily demonstrated. Imagine facing the side of a mountain or large wall somewhere in the distance. You have a very accurate stopwatch and 'super hearing' to help you. If a person would shout at the top of their voice and accurately time between the voice leaving and the first echo returning, this time is recorded in a radar device. You have now become a basic radar unit. Instead of one person screaming, a powerful radio beam is sent out.
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of a Microwave Radar with an Asymmetric Knifelike Beam for the Remote Sensing of Ocean Waves
    NOVEMBER 2005 K A R A E V E T A L . 1809 The Concept of a Microwave Radar with an Asymmetric Knifelike Beam for the Remote Sensing of Ocean Waves V. YU.KARAEV,M.B.KANEVSKY, AND G. N. BALANDINA Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia P. CHALLENOR,C.GOMMENGINGER, AND M. SROKOSZ Southampton Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom (Manuscript received 2 December 2004, in final form 10 April 2005) ABSTRACT The features of near-nadir probing of the ocean surface from a satellite are investigated, and a new configuration of a microwave radar for the surface slopes measurement is proposed. Numerical modeling is used to examine the feasibility of a spaceborne implementation, to devise a measuring technique, and to develop a data processing algorithm. It is shown that the radar with a knifelike beam (1° ϫ 25°–30°) can be used to measure the variance of surface wave slopes. Using range selection and a new processing procedure to synthesize data, it is possible to achieve the spatial resolution required to study wave processes on the ocean surface from satellites. A new approach to wind speed retrieval at and near nadir is also discussed. 1. Introduction shortcomings, and new radars are constantly being de- veloped (e.g., Lin et al. 2000; Moccia et al. 2000; Hauser Remote sensing is widely used for oceanographic re- et al. 2001). These new systems aim to measure ocean search. At present, spaceborne radars allow us to ob- parameters more precisely or to obtain data across a tain a global overview of the ocean surface state and to wider swath to improve sampling.
    [Show full text]
  • Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) and Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) Instrument Handbook
    DOE/SC-ARM-TR-044 Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) and Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) Instrument Handbook P Muradyan R Coulter March 2020 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the U.S. Government. Neither the United States nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. DOE/SC-ARM-TR-044 Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) and Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) Instrument Handbook P Muradyan R Coulter Both at Argonne National Laboratory March 2020 Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research P Muradyan and R Coulter, March 2020, DOE/SC-ARM-TR-044 Acronyms and Abbreviations ACAPEX ARM Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment AMF ARM mobile facility ARM Atmospheric Radiation Measurement AT Acceptance Test BBSS balloon-borne sounding system BSRWP beam-steered radar wind profiler CF Central
    [Show full text]
  • Active Phased Array Antenna Development for Modern Shipboard Radar Systems
    A. K. AGRAWAL et al. Active Phased Array Antenna Development for Modern Shipboard Radar Systems Ashok K. Agrawal, Bruce A. Kopp, Mark H. Luesse, and Kenneth W. O’Haver Current and future Navy radar requirements are driven by rapidly evolving threats, including both cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. To address these threats, array antennas will have to operate over wider bandwidths with enhanced sensitivity, higher radiated power levels, improved stability, and improved electronic protection to address reduced target radar cross-sections. In addition, there is a growing need for reduced array signatures and a practical need to control costs, including acquisition, operational, and support costs. Active phased array antennas have emerged as a funda- mental technology for addressing these evolving Navy radar system needs. APL’s Air Defense Systems Department has long been at the forefront of phased array antenna development for shipboard radar systems, and the Department is contributing to the development of active array antennas for the new generation of Navy radar systems cur- rently under development. This article provides an overview of the emerging active array antenna technology. INTRODUCTION Shipboard radar systems typically must provide sur- required to perform discrimination and target identifi- veillance of thousands of angular locations and track cation functions. At the same time that radar demands hundreds of targets and guided missiles, all within rela- are increasing, there is a practical need to reduce tively short reaction times. These requirements can be acquisition and operation and support (O&S) costs, met only with phased array antennas that allow elec- improve reliability, and reduce manning requirements.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparison of HF Radar Fields of Directional Wave Spectra Against in Situ Measurements at Multiple Locations
    Journal of Marine Science and Engineering Article Comparison of HF Radar Fields of Directional Wave Spectra Against In Situ Measurements at Multiple Locations Guiomar Lopez 1,* and Daniel C. Conley 2 1 Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, CNRS UMR 6143, Caen University, 14000 Caen, France 2 Coastal Processes Research Group, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 19 June 2019; Accepted: 12 August 2019; Published: 14 August 2019 Abstract: The coastal zone hosts a great number of activities that require knowledge of the spatial characteristics of the wave field, which in coastal seas can be highly heterogeneous. Information of this type can be obtained from HF radars, which offer attractive performance characteristics in terms of temporal and spatial resolution. This paper presents the validation of radar-derived fields of directional wave spectra. These were retrieved from measurements collected with an HF radar system specifically deployed for wave measurement, using an established inversion algorithm. Overall, the algorithm reported accurate estimates of directional spectra, whose main distinctive characteristic was that the spectral energy was typically spread over a slightly broader range of frequencies and directions than in their in situ-measured counterparts. Two errors commonly reported in previous studies, namely the overestimation of wave heights and noise related to short measurement periods, were not observed in our results. The maximum wave height recorded by two in situ devices differed by 30 cm on average from the radar-measured values, and with the exception of the wave spreading, the standard deviations of the radar wave parameters were between 3% and 20% of those obtained with the in situ datasets, indicating the two were similarly grouped around their means.
    [Show full text]
  • ECE 583 Lectures 15 RADAR History and Basics
    ECE 583 Lectures 15 RADAR History and Basics 1 A BIT OF HISTORY -RADAR - The acronym - RADAR is an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging The Start: The thought/concept of using propagating EM waves began almost with the start of experiments to understand EM waves. H. Hertz in 1886 performed experiments showing that reflected signals from incident EM waves could be measured from metallic and dielectric bodies. Huelsmeyer in Germany experimented with the detection of "radio waves" in 1903 and obtained a patent in 1904 for an obstacle detector and ship navigational device. 2 The 1920's: * Marconi in 1922 in a speech delivered to a meeting of the Institute of Radio Engineers (later to become a part of IEEE) spoke of the use of a radar type device on a ship to "immediately reveal the presence and bearing of other ships in fog and thick weather.“ * The US Navy, through the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), began in 1922 investigating the use of radio waves for ship detection after noting signal interruptions in ship to ship and ship to shore communications. They used 60 MHz CW signals and separated transmitter and receiver, bistatic configuration, which was rather cumbersome and not as precise in ship location as later pulsed systems. As a result, acceptance was slow to catch on for field use of the CW-bistatic approach. 3 The 1930's The first detection of an aircraft by radar occurred accidentally in 1930 with an NRL CW-bistatic system doing direction finding experiments and detecting an aircraft 2 miles away on the ground.
    [Show full text]
  • NOAA Radar Functional Requirements
    NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements NOAA/National Weather Service Radar Functional Requirements Approved by the NOAA Observing Systems Council September 2015 NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements Signatures Radar Functional Requirements Validation NOSC Endorsement The NOAA Observing Systems Council (NOSC) has received the National Weather Service Radar Functional Requirements with Line Office, Subject Matter Expert and Research Program concurrence, and is satisfied with the Level-of-Validation provided for the threshold and “optimal for 2030” requirements. 1 NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements Validation Line Office Endorsement The Directors of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Science and Technology (OST), Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services (OCWWS), and Office of Operational Systems (OOS) Radar Operations Center (ROC), and the Director of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) have received NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements (RFR) document with Project Lead and Developmental Team concurrence and are satisfied with the level of validation for requirements that extend from present day through 2030, given information known at the date of signing. 2 NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements Radar Functional Requirements Lead Validation The NWS OST Radar Improvement Development Manager, and OCWWS Meteorological Services Division Chief have validated the process and contents of this NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements document. Radar Functional Requirements Integrated Working Team Concurrence The Radar Functional Requirements Integrated Working Team (IWT) membership concur that the requirements contained herein, comprise NOAA/NWS Radar Functional Requirements from the present day through 2030, given information known at the date of signing.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to High-Frequency Radar: Reality and Myti-I
    FEATURE INTRODUCTION TO HIGH-FREQUENCY RADAR: REALITY AND MYTI-I By Jeffrey D. Paduan and Hans C. Graber THE CONCEPT OF USING high-frequency (HF) electromagnetic spectrum. Figure 2 illustrates sev- radio pulses to remotely probe the ocean surface eral of these remote sensing techniques used to ex- has been around for decades. In this paper and the tract information about the ocean surface. The fig- companion paper by Teague et al. (1997) we ure is adapted from the review by Shearman strive to introduce this technique to a broad ocean- (1981) and it contrasts space-borne systems, such ographic audience. Teague et al. (1997) provides as altimeters and scatterometers, which use mi- the historical context plus an outline of different crowave frequencies, with shore-based systems, system configurations, whereas we focus on the which use a range of frequencies depending on the measurements of primary interest to coastal ocean- application. (Not shown are aircraft-borne sys- ographers, i.e., maps of near-surface currents, tems, which also operate in the microwave band.) • . we focus on the wave heights, and wind direction. Another goal of The figure also illustrates the different types of measurements of pri- this paper and, indeed, this entire issue is to pres- transmission paths, including true line-of-sight ent a realistic assessment of the state-of-the-art in paths, "sky wave" paths, which reflect off the ioni- mary interest to HF radar techniques vis-h-vis coastal oceanogra- sphere, and "ground wave" paths, which exploit phy. When evaluating any new measurement tech- coupling of the radiowaves with the conducting coastal oceanogra- nique, it is important to separate issues related to ocean water to achieve extended ranges.
    [Show full text]