A Nested Multi-static HF Radar Testbed for the New York Bight and Beyond

Surface currents are envisioned to be an integral component of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and High Frequency (HF) radar technologies provide the means to measure these data across multiple scales. The Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab (COOL) has continuously operated a nested network of HF radars since 1998 as part of a sustained coastal observatory centered on the New York Bight. Components of this network include 25 MHz, 13MHz, and 5 MHz Tx /Rx shore stations and offshore buoy mounted Tx stations. These components are linked through GPS synchronization technology to provide fully nested multi-static surface current coverage. Data from these systems are supporting a growing number testbed activities and large science campaigns. Testbed activities focus on extending the present surface current mapping coverage closer to the beach with the development of new nearshore wave and current applications. Additional software and hardware modifications are beginning to extend the environmental monitoring to full maritime domain awareness by transitioning the sites to a dual-use mode that include hard target detection and tracking. The HF radar data has most recently supports two science campaigns, the Shallow Water 2006 (SW06) Joint Experiment supported by the Office of Naval Research and the Mid-shelf Front Experiment supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Both campaigns have used the HF radar as a resource for adaptive sampling. During the SW06 experiment, HF radar data was incorporated into daily reports along with other observation and forecast data to support the science fleet offshore. In addition to the adaptive sampling application, the mid-shelf front experiment takes advantage of the 5.5 year dataset within the study site. Long term means show a significant cross-shelf transport pathway south of the Hudson Shelf Valley that could possibly feed the mid-shelf front. These Rutgers systems fit into a larger effort across the entire Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) region from Cape Hatteras, NC to Cape Code, MA. HF radar groups across this region have now formed a consortium for the operation and maintenance of the entire network, including system hardware, data management, and product delivery. Through this consortium the existing pockets of systems, of which Rutgers is one, can be operated as one regional system that spans over 1000 km of coastline. This network consists of 11 long-range sites providing total vector coverage across a large portion of the region from Cape Hatteras NC to the apex of the New York Bight. Additional funded sites for Moriches, NY and Block Island, RI, will extend the coverage north to Cape Cod, MA and Nantucket MA In addition there are four higher resolution sub-systems made up of 15 sites in operation in the Chesapeake Bay, New York Harbor, the Long Island Sound and the Delaware Bay estuaries. In addition to scientific research and education applications, the United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center has identified the Mid-Atlantic Bight as a testbed for the new search and rescue planning tool, SAROPS.