Routine X-band monitoring of nearshore wave climate

A prototype autonomous rotary scanning X-band radar system has been developed for cliff top monitoring of the wave climate over an area up to 1.5 km from the shore. The system was deployed on a cliff top site approximately 10 metres above sea level on the east coast of the United Kingdom from October 1994 to February 1995 in close proximity to a variety of other wave monitoring equipment. Sequential scans of the radar data were captured in digital form, using a dedicated board mounted in a PC. Following capture, the data was processed to give directional wave spectra. Capture of data over an area of the sea by this system allows excellent directional resolution within the resulting spectra. Comparisons have been made between these directional wave spectra and those from directional waveriders and nearshore pressure sensors. Results demonstrate that the use of radar is a convenient system for routine wave monitoring or for rapid deployment in response to extreme event forecasts