Estimation Method for Arrival Directions of Radio Waves to Measure the Surface Current of Sea using VHF Radar on Vessel

摘要

Recently, VHF (Very High Frequency) radars have frequently beenused for measuring the flow velocity field on the coast, as they enablethe velocity distribution for exceedingly wide regions to be obtainedsimultaneously. This paper describes the results of an examination ofthe inference of a radar installed on board a steel vessel, where a VLCC(Very Large Crude-oil Carrier) was used for the experiments. Even ifthe characteristics of the received waves, called 'antenna pattern' here,is deformed, it is possible to estimate the arrival direction of the radiowaves in specific regions. The results imply the possibility ofmeasuring the flow velocity distribution by means of VHF radars onboard vessels.