CODAR

UNC has recently made significant progress measuring surface currents offshore of North Carolina. CODAR Ocean Sensors manufactured and helped configure two HF Radar units (both Long Range SeaSonde units) on our coastline. One is located in Duck at the US Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility, also home to a world class directional wave measuring system and an extensive beach erosion monitoring program, amoung other things. The other unit is located in Buxton at the US Coast Guard Hatteras Division known for it's excellent search and rescue program (essential in this area of notoriously rough weather).  The South East Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEA-COOS) has provided the funding for these two CODAR systems, and has plans to exend the HF Radar coverage over most of the South East. Using these CODAR systems, we already are measuring the perceived surface currents in real-time (note: the currents measured are the average over a 6 km square and the first 1-2 m of the water column over a 3 hour time period). Real-time data can be accessed through the NC-COOS DODS server NC-COOS Codar Page Harvey Seim <harvey_seim@unc.edu>