Offshore wave and current data is a key component of WHISSP. Data will be collected using a WERA coastal radar system and by an array of Acoustic Döppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and wave buoys, which will provide data at an unprecedented spatial and temporal scale.
WERA is a HF radar using electromagnetic waves between 6 and 30 MHz to measure surface current velocities, ocean wave height and wind. The transmitted electromagnetic wave travels along the sea surface beyond the horizon and is back-scattered by ocean waves of half the electromagnetic wavelength (Bragg Scattering). Two radar sites are used to measure the full 2-dimensional current and wave conditions with typical working ranges of 115–180 km (currents) and 40-80 km (waves).
Perranporth wave buoy - In the period until the deployment of the above instrumentation, wave data is collected by a wave rider buoy moored several kilometers offshore of Perranporth and maintained by the Â鶹´«Ã½ Coastal Observatory. Data are sampled every 30 minutes and transmitted to land where they are archived for analysis.
