Marine Doppler Radar

Marine navigation radars can be modified to measure sea surface velocities (hence, waves and currents) providing an inexpensive remote sensing tool for nearshore monitoring.  At right a marine Doppler radar is deployed overlooking Black's Beach in La Jolla, CA as part of ONR's Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX).  At this site, deep submarine canyons just offshore affect the shoaling of incident waves, producing regions of large waves (= good surfing) and small waves.  The variable wave forcing produces complex alongshore circulation and potentially dangerous rip currents.