Abstract
HF radar surface current measurement is now a well-accepted technology and part of many operational oceanography systems. Although the UK was involved from the early stages in this technology there has not been the take-up seen elsewhere in the world most notably in the US and, more recently, in the Far East where such data are being routinely used for model evaluation and other applications. In addition to surface currents, simultaneous measurement of waves and winds has also been demonstrated although these are still often regarded as experimental and unreliable. This is in part because good quality wave measurement requires much higher quality radar data which is not always available so some published results are rather noisy. This paper will review the current state of the art in all these measurements and highlight some new developments which have the potential to increase their availability, accuracy and scope. The original wave measurement work in the UK was carried out using the Pisces HF radar system which was designed specifically for this application. New measurements using a modification of this radar, which exploits the fact that different radar operating frequencies have different responses to wave conditions, will be presented. Software developments to increase the robustness of HF radar metocean measurements will be discussed.
