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| The Unique Nature of HF Radar High-frequency (HF) radio formally spans the band 3-30 MHz (with wavelengths between 10 meters at the upper end and 100 meters at the lower end). For our radars, we extend the upper limit to 50 MHz. A vertically polarized HF signal is propagated at the electrically conductive ocean water surface, and can travel well beyond the line-of-sight, beyond which point more common microwave radars become blind. Rain or fog does not affect HF signals. The ocean is a rough surface, with water waves of many different periods. When the radar signal hits ocean waves that are 3-50 meters long, that signal scatters in many directions. In this way, the surface can act like a large diffraction grating. But, the radar signal will return directly to it's source only when the radar signal scatters off a wave that is exactly half the transmitted signal wavelength, AND that wave is traveling in a radial path either directly away from or towards the radar. The scattered radar electromagnetic waves add coherently resulting in a strong return of energy at a very precise wavelength. This is known as the Bragg principle, and the phenomenon 'Bragg scattering'. At the SeaSonde's HF/VHF frequencies (4-50 MHz), the periods of these Bragg scattering short ocean waves are between 1.5 and 5 seconds. What makes HF RADAR particularly useful for current mapping is that the ocean waves associated with HF wavelengths are always present. The following chart shows three typical HF operating frequencies and the corresponding ocean wavelengths that produce Bragg scattering. 25 MHz transmission -> 12m EM wave -> 6m ocean wave 12 MHz transmission -> 25m EM wave -> 12.5m ocean wave 5 MHz transmission -> 60m EM wave -> 30m ocean wave So far three facts about the Bragg wave are known: its wavelegnth, period, and travel direction. Because we know the wavelength of the wave, we also know it's speed very precisely from the deep water dispersion relation. The returning signal exhibits a Doppler-frequency shift. In the absence of ocean currents, the Doppler frequency shift would always arrive at a known position in the frequency spectrum. But the observed Doppler-frequency shift does not match up exactly with the theoretical wave speed. The Doppler-frequency shift includes the theoretical speed of the speed of the wave PLUS the influence of the underlying ocean current on the wave velocity in a radial path (away from or towards the radar). The effective depth of the ocean current influence on these waves depends upon the waves period or length. The current influencing the Bragg waves falls within the upper meter of the water column (or upper 2.5 meters when transmitting between 4-6 MHz). So, once the known, theoretical wave speed is subtracted from the Doppler information, a radial velocity component of surface current is determined. By looking at the same patch of water using radars located at two or more different viewing angles, the surface current radial velocity components can be summed to determine the total surface current velocity vector. Is it that simple? The basic physics relating the HF radar signal to the nature of the ocean waves and currents is beautifully simplistic, but the task of mapping surface currents with a modern radar sensor is more complex. Continue reading for more details.  | ||||||
