A comparison of multifrequency HF radar and ADCP measurements of near-surface currents during COPE-3

A high-frequency multifrequency coastal radar operating at four frequencies between 4.8 and 21.8 MHz was used as part of the third Chesapeake Bay Outflow Plume Experiment (COPE-3) during October and November, 1997. The radar system surveyed the open ocean east of the coast and just south of the mouth of Chesapeake Bay from two sites separated by about 20 km. Measurements were taken once an hour, and the eastward and northward components of ocean currents were estimated at four depths ranging from about 0.5 m to 2.5 m below the surface for each location on a 2 by 2 km grid. Direction of arrival of the signals was estimated using the MUSIC algorithm. The radar measurements were compared to currents measured by several moored acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) with range bins 2-14 m below the water surface. The vertical structure of the current was examined by utilizing four different radar wavelengths, which respond to ocean currents at different depths, and by using several ADCP range bins separated by 1-m intervals. The radar and ADCP current estimates were highly correlated and showed similar depth behavior, and there was significant correlation between radar current estimates at different wavelengths and wind speed.