RELIABILITY OF MEASURED SEA STATES USING RADAR SYSTEM ON SHORE

The study of sea states at a specific area of the ocean has been carried out using directional buoys which provide useful information, but only available at the point where the buoy is moored. Alternatively, the use of satallite radar data can give information in large oceanic areas, but this is only mesured once or twice a day and sometimes this could be an important limitation. As an intermediate solution, a navigation radar system installed on shore could measure continuously and indicate the spatial behaviour of sea states at a specific zone of the ocean. These devices are being studied to find out their reliability for estimating wave directional spectra. In November 1994 a navigation radar was installed on a point of the Bay of Biscay at the North of the Iberian Peninsula. This system is working systematically, measuring every hour. The data taken by the radar will be compared with directional buoy data during 1995.