Wind direction manifestation on HF ocean radar echoes

Abstract

A direct measure from the spectra of HF radar sea echoes is the ratio of energy in the dominant Bragg peaks. If a single lobe is assumed for the directionality then two radar stations can be used to provide a closed solution for the direction of the lobe. In this work we examine the potential of using just one radar station to derive directional information about wind fields. It is shown that HF radar Bragg ratios are effective in providing timing and location information for features appearing on Mean Sea Level synoptic charts.