High-Frequency Radar observation of strong and contrasted currents: the Alderney race paradigm

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Main Authors: Dumas, Dylan, Bennis, Anne-Claire, Guérin, Charles-Antoine, Lopez, Guiomar, Benoit, Laurent
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Dumas, Dylan
Bennis, Anne-Claire
Guérin, Charles-Antoine
Lopez, Guiomar
Benoit, Laurent
author_facet Dumas, Dylan
Bennis, Anne-Claire
Guérin, Charles-Antoine
Lopez, Guiomar
Benoit, Laurent
contents The Alderney Race has been identified as a future site for the development of tidal energy, due to its bidirectional strong current reaching 5 m/s during spring tides. This hydrodynamics is very difficult to measure by in situ or remote sensing means. High-frequency coastal radars can provide a synoptic and near-real-time view of such a complex circulation, but the classical processing algorithms are not adapted to the extreme situation of strongly sheared currents. We propose an improved high-resolution direction-finding technique for the azimuthal processing of such radar data. It uses phased-array systems and combines the advantages of the usual beam-forming technique to eliminate many problems related to the distortion of Doppler spectra by extreme currents. The method is evaluated with a unique data set of radar measurements at two radar frequencies (13 and 24.5 MHz) and three spatial resolutions (200, 750, and 1500 m). The radar-based surface currents are analyzed in the light of a high-resolution numerical model and also compared with in situ measurements. While high azimuthal resolution can be achieved in this way, it is shown that the typical range resolutions of 750 and 1500 m are insufficient to account for the strong spatial variations of the surface current at some specific times and locations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_03827
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-Frequency Radar observation of strong and contrasted currents: the Alderney race paradigm
Dumas, Dylan
Bennis, Anne-Claire
Guérin, Charles-Antoine
Lopez, Guiomar
Benoit, Laurent
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
The Alderney Race has been identified as a future site for the development of tidal energy, due to its bidirectional strong current reaching 5 m/s during spring tides. This hydrodynamics is very difficult to measure by in situ or remote sensing means. High-frequency coastal radars can provide a synoptic and near-real-time view of such a complex circulation, but the classical processing algorithms are not adapted to the extreme situation of strongly sheared currents. We propose an improved high-resolution direction-finding technique for the azimuthal processing of such radar data. It uses phased-array systems and combines the advantages of the usual beam-forming technique to eliminate many problems related to the distortion of Doppler spectra by extreme currents. The method is evaluated with a unique data set of radar measurements at two radar frequencies (13 and 24.5 MHz) and three spatial resolutions (200, 750, and 1500 m). The radar-based surface currents are analyzed in the light of a high-resolution numerical model and also compared with in situ measurements. While high azimuthal resolution can be achieved in this way, it is shown that the typical range resolutions of 750 and 1500 m are insufficient to account for the strong spatial variations of the surface current at some specific times and locations.
title High-Frequency Radar observation of strong and contrasted currents: the Alderney race paradigm
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.03827