CODAR

deep thoughts about coastal ocean

dynamics applications radar
 High frequency radar is used by ocean researchers to measure
surface current velocity fields near the coast. A Hf-radar
system can measure surface currents averaged over 15 minutes,
up to 200 km offshore. The resulting surface plots provide a
much higher resolution in space than previous techniques like
current meter arrays. With a HF-radar system an entire current
field can be generated every fifteen minutes. These vector plots
allow mesoscale features, like coastal eddies, to be resolved with
much more accuracy than an array of current meters
 So how does CODAR work?

• Current velocity of target (radial effect)

• Range to target

• Angle of target
 Current velocity of target (radial effect)

• Emits a radio signal and monitors the return backscatter in order to

calculate surface currents

• Ocean flat? No backscatter…

• Not flat? Get a scattered signal and use “Bragg Scattering” to amplify
the received signal that the antenna

What is Bragg Scattering? It’s a

means to amplify the scattered
signal towards the receiver using
resonant theory. Resonance will
only occur for certain signal
wavelengths.
Want to know more about
resonance theory? Head
online…
http://www.zetec.com/applic
ations/theory/resonance.asp
 Current velocity of target (radial effect)

Bragg Scattering:

CODAR antennas are very close to sea

level, and thus the incident angle is
assumed to be zero.

Thus, the equation is

simplified into:

So, a signal scattered from a wave back to the receiver will be in phase with a signal that
traveled to the next wave and returned to the original wave. So, when all of the
scattered signals are lined up, they will be added together, and result in a stronger
signal! If CODAR sends out a signal 2x the wavelength of an ocean wave, the scattered
signal back to the receiver will be amplified.
 Current velocity of target (radial effect)
How now are surface currents calculated?
The previous equations assumed the surface waves are not moving… but
they are…

CODAR thus measures the Doppler Shift of the incoming waves.

If they are moving towards the receiver, the return frequency
increases, and the shift is positive.
If they are moving away from the receiver, the return frequency
decreases, and the shift is negative.

To measure the magnitude of the

frequency shift:
 Current velocity of target (radial effect)
How are surface currents calculated?
The current can now be calculated by measuring the frequency
shift from the original doppler shift, caused by the wave
motion.
This velocity is only that which is
moving toward or away from the
specific receiver (radial velocity
component). CODAR thus also
requires measurements from at
least one other site to determine
the total current vector at any
given point, as a surface current
will act to shift the frequency even
further (depends on the magnitude
and direction of the current). The
current moves the wave towards,
or away from, the receiver.

Multiple sites will yield an error on the order of 4 cm/s…

 Range to target
Conventional Radar: Measures range by knowing the speed of
the signal sent, and the time delay of the return

CODAR: Uses very fine grid points (~ 1 km). Since it doesn’t

take long for a signal to travel 1 km (speed of light), it needs a
much more sensitive watch.

CODAR thus sends out a frequency

modulated (fm) signal, the frequency of
which increases linearly with time.

The time delay can be measured by

subtracting the return signal from the
transmitted signal. The higher the
frequency of the horizontal line, the
further away the target is.
 Angle to target
Direction to target? Determined by using the signal received
by 3 different antennas: 2 loop antennas, and one monopole.

Monopole: Recieves the same signal, independing of the incoming direction. Used
to normalize the info collected by the 2 loop antennas.
Loop antennas: The signal is dependent upon the incoming direction. The antennas
are oriented 90 degrees to each other so that they can be used in combination to
determine the incoming direction of the signal.

When information from the 2 loop

antennas are normalized with the
monopole signal, the arctangent
function is used to determine the
direction of the signal.

This “Directional Finding”

gives CODAR a directional
resolution of 1 degree
 SeaSonde General Configuration and Resolution

Standard Hi-Res Long-Range

Alongshore spatial • 20 – 60 km 100 - 220 km

• 15 - 30 km •
range

Offshore spatial • 20 – 75 km • 15 - 20 km • 140 - 220 km

range

Range resolution • 500 m – 3 km

• 200 – 500 m • 3 – 12 km

Frequency range
• One of either: • One of
11.5-14 MHz or either: • 4.3-5.4 MHz
24-27 MHz 24-27 MHz or
40-44 MHz

Ranges vary with environmental conditions and antenna placement. A minimum of two radars are needed for 2D
surface current maps of direction and speed. Total system requires less than 1 kilowatt of power to operate.
 A bit more on SeaSonde CODAR
RANGE: RESOLUTION:
For 4-6 MHz: 160-220 km For 4-6 MHz: 3-12 km
average during daytime. (With For 12-14 MHz: 2-3 km
4-6 MHz only, the range is reduced For 24-27 MHz: 1-2 km, 24-27
significantly at night as external MHz (in high-resolution mode:
background noise rises.) 300 m - 1 km)
For 12-14 MHz: 50-70 km For 40-44 MHz: 300 m -1km
For 24-27 MHz: 30-50 km
For 40-44 MHz: 10-20 km
The resolution is influenced primarily by
The range of the SeaSonde depends upon
the transmitted signal sweepwidth (or
bandwidth). The sweepwidth can be set
a number of environmental factors and easily changed by the radar
(i.e., external noise, significant operator, but there are tradeoffs with
waveheight, current speeds), location respect to other factors such as total
of radar (such as proximity to water, range and interference.
nearby obstructions) and SeaSonde In addition, the user must normally seek
operating frequency (the lower the approvals within his own country for
frequency, the longer the range). radiated signal bandwidths, and wide
bandwidths at lower HF frequencies are
less likely to be approved.
For mapping currents, you need at least two radars looking at the same patch of water from
different angles. The closer the angle between the two radar bearings is to 90 degrees, the
better. Total current vectors cannot be determined when this angle is any finer than about 20
degrees… without super-special interpolation software
 How does it compare to in-situ current
systems (such as ADCPs)?
While system-specific comparisons between in-situ measurments and HF
radar systems vary, it is generally accepted that the error in the HF
system is on the order of 7-8 cm/s, and a series of several CODAR
stations can further reduce the error to 5 cm/s or less.

However, most of these errors concern measurements in deep water!!

Shallow water has proven to be more complicated…
For example, at 25 MHz radar
operation, error is less than 5 cm/s as
long as depth is greater than 2 m. At
the lowest frequencies, however (4.5
Velocity Displacement in cm/s

MHz), depth will come into play quite

often in the early range cells. The 5
cm/s error criterion demands depths
exceeding 13.2 meters (41 feet).
Wave length and height have similar
errors in shallow water, with all
having errors on the order of 40%
Barrick, D., (2005), "Effects of Shallow Water on Radar Measurements", CODAR report, January.
 Applications – Coastal and Beyond…

• Open Ocean Wave Field:

– Height
– Period
– Direction
– Spectral energy density
• Way of looking at the energy
distribution (frequency
distribution); used to tell
determine the wave forcings
(i.e., winds vs storms vs tides)

• Coastal current directions and

velocity

• Wind direction estimates (in

some cases)
 Applications – Coastal and Beyond…
Coastal wave data, in addition to being useful in and of itself, can be used
in so many wonderful ways:

• Tracking tsunamis (ah, run away!)

• Tracking people (search and rescue)

• Looking at coastal upwelling, downwelling and convergence events

• Tracking high discharge and flow events

– Storm plumes
– Coastal jets

• Tracking coastal pollution hazards

– Storm water plumes
– Waste water plumes
– Hydrocarbon seeps

• Model sediment and contaminant transport

 Applications – Coastal and Beyond…

Mapping convergence zones can help locate

optimal fishing zones at any particular time.
 Where to find more on CODAR

• The SeaSonde CODAR website has a wealth of information,

including an exhaustive bibliography covering CODAR from the
very beginnings of the science all the way up to the most recent
publications concerning HF ocean monitoring.

Check out: http://www.codaros.com/index.htm and

http://www.codaros.com/bib.htm for more information

• Much of the information for this presentation was gleaned from

a Rutgers University web page.

Check out
http://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/education/class/josh/hf_radar.html
to find even more information