Over-the-horizon ocean surface wave and wind measurements using a narrow beam ground wave radar: validation against models and in-situ instrumentation

A high frequency (HF) radar operating in the ground wave mode at Cape Race, Newfoundland has been used to monitor over 40,000 square kilometres of ocean in the Grand Banks region. In addition to hard target detection and tracking, the data products provided by this frequency modulated interrupted continuous wave (FMICW) radar include wind and wave information. During November 1991, the Cape Race radar was one of several sensors used in an international experiment involving the European Space Agency´s Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1). Wind and wave parameters derived from the radar data collected at that time are evaluated against buoy measurements as well as against values from an operational wave model. The radar-deduced wave heights are also compared to values obtained from marine wave height charts