Possibilities of X-band nautical radars for monitoring of wind waves near the coast

We present the results of development and testing of a coastal X-band radar system for monitoring wind waves and currents at the Black Sea (near Gelendzhik) created on the basis of nautical radars. Radar measurements of wave heights were validated by data from a wave buoy and a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The conditions for successful radar measurements of waves in the coastal environment have been determined. It was shown that a radar with an aperture 1° could successfully measure wave heights at a distance of 1.2 km from the radar, when waves arrive at an angle of ±31° to the main sensing direction. In this case, for wave height measurements, the correlation coefficient between the radar and independent data is 0.82 and the standard deviation is 0.26 m.