The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) has awarded Skidaway Institute of Oceanography a grant of $180,000 to enhance and expand Skidaway Institute’s coastal radar system that is used to study surface ocean waves and currents on Georgia’s continental shelf.

The system is built currently around two radar stations, one in South Carolina and the other on a barrier island south of Savannah. The two systems work together to create a detailed map of surface ocean currents across an area stretching more than 125 miles offshore and 135 miles north to south. The map shows the speed and direction of the current at each of those points on the ocean’s surface.

The grant money will be used to improve the system’s ability to monitor different size waves and to install a third radar station on the Georgia coast which will greatly improve the coverage area.

“This kind of data is extremely valuable for search and rescue operations or for tracking oil spills,” said Dana Savidge, the Skidaway Institute researcher in charge of the project.

Aside from the practical applications, Savidge says the primary purpose of the system is to improve researchers’ understanding of what is happening on Georgia’s continental shelf.

The special high frequency radar, known as WERA, bounces radio signals off the ocean waves. One particular size wave results in a strong reflection, depending on the frequency of the radar signal. The waves travel on the water, and the water itself also moves due to winds and tides. Because the speed of a wave is determined by its size, the system can factor out the wave velocity and measure the speed and direction of the water itself.

Savidge’s research interests include studying Gulf Stream effects on continental shelf circulation. The coverage area of the current radar allows it to monitor current patterns into the Gulf Stream as it flows northward on an undulating course at the edge of the shelf. The expansion will significantly increase that area to the south.

“The next radar installation on the Georgia coast will pave the way for collaborative work across our southern border into Florida,” said Savidge. “Our coverage will extend southward into the North Florida shelf where a group of Florida scientists are planning two new WERA sites.”

According to Savidge, these efforts, like Skidaway Institute’s, are part of the nation’s Ocean Research Priorities Plan, which calls for a nationwide coastal observatory system, to serve both societal and research needs regionally and nationally.

The GRA funding will also be used to acquire additional hardware and software to improve and enhance wave height estimates across the inner and middle shelf.

“This kind of information is in high demand from ocean and atmospheric modelers and is of interest to the National Weather Service for their wave forecasts and rip-tide warnings,” Savidge said. “The system’s third radar installation will significantly increase the capability of estimating currents on the shelf and along the shelf edge, and will approximately double the area over which wave estimates can be made.”

Skidaway scientists want to make the information they gather easily accessible to anyone who needs it. In addition to posting the data on the Internet, they plan to create displays at the University of Georgia Aquarium on Skidaway Island and other locations around the area.

“With the planned improvements, we expect to provide reliable measurements of wave heights, along with current speeds and directions across a substantial portion of the continental shelf in near real-time,” Savidge said.

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Note: The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography is an autonomous research unit of the University System of Georgia located on Skidaway Island in Savannah, Ga. The mission of the Institute is to provide the State of Georgia with a nationally and internationally recognized center of excellence in marine science through research and education.

For additional information, contact:
Michael Sullivan
External Affairs Manager
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography
(912) 598-2325
mike.sullivan@skio.usg.edu

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