Page 33: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2011)

Ocean Observation

Read this page in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of September 2011 Marine Technology Magazine

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 33mi warning system, assuming the dis-tance between the coastline and shelf edge is long enough (> 50 km) toallow sufficient time for warning. This can be achieved only with array type antenna systems like WERA which are the only systems able to provide the spatial and temporal reso- lution required for reliably detecting the fast approaching tsunami wave. Tsunami waves generate a charac- teristic periodic ocean surface current pattern which can be used as tsunami?signature?. This tsunami signature was detected in the signal recorded by the WERA system in Chile. A com- parison of the measured radar signa- tures with nearby sea level measure- ments showed a high correlation between the two signals confirming that the WERA system was successful in capturing the tsunami signal.This unique radar measurement of a real tsunami is the proof of concept the ocean radar community has beenwaiting for. The significance of this findingrequired a rigorous review of the acquired data and confirmation of the results by three independent scientif- ic groups (University of Concepcion, Chile, University of Hamburg, and Hamburg University of Technology, Germany). The final and detailed results of the analysis will be present- ed by these groups in upcoming con- ferences and in the peer reviewed lit- erature. Thus, HF radar technology proved to have widespread potential to help many aspects of coastal oceanresearch and management. Additional information could be found on the following websites: aHelzel Messtechnik is the German manufacturer of the shore-based ocean radar "WERA". The system provides reliable data of ocean surface currents and significant wave height and direc- tion pixel by pixel with an outstanding spatial and temporal resolution for VTS, SAR and environmental protec- tion applications. WERA systems are modular, broadband and can provide either very long ranges of more than 200 km or shorter ranges with higher resolution. WERA can be configured in a compact site geometry using direction finding methods or with array type antennas in beam forming mode pro- viding highest reliability and accuracy. www.helzel.com www.wavehub.co.uk www.primare.org www.imos.org.au www.seaviewsensing.com www.actimar.fr MTR#7 (18-33):MTR Layouts 8/29/2011 10:07 AM Page 33

Marine Technology

Marine Technology Reporter is the world's largest audited subsea industry publication serving the offshore energy, subsea defense and scientific communities.