Examination of the SeaSonde wave processing settings and the effects of shallow water on wave measurements

Abstract

Derivation of wave measurements from the SeaSonde high frequency (HF) radar software is challenging when applied to the U.S. East Coast continental shelf. Shallow water depths have the capability of saturating the 1st and 2nd order Bragg, inevitably leading to imprecise estimates of the wave height conditions. This paper looks to examine the settings defined in the SeaSonde in an environment where water depth is less than 30 m within the first few range cells off of the coast of New Jersey. Wave measurements were taken from a 13 MHz standard range CODAR (Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar) antenna and compared with NDBC (National Data Buoy Center) 3-meter discuss buoys located outside New York Harbor and Delaware Bay.