SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SURFACE CIRCULATION AND WAVE CLIMATE USING HIGH-FREQUENCY RADAR

摘要

The high-resolution patterns of surface circulation and waves in the upper Gulf of Thailand (GoT) were studied in 2013. Geo-information systems (GIS) and high-frequency radar software packages were integrated to obtain the high-frequency radar data as an ESRI shape file. The model builder introduced in the analysis 1) converted the data from point to raster using a spline interpolation, 2) analyzed the daily averages using a raster calculation, 3) converted rasters to vectors, and 4) compiled the average velocity and direction data using a spatial join and analyzed the monthly averages using the daily averages. Monthly mapping was conducted using GIS software, a coastal radar model, and satellite imagery. In 2013, the significant wave height in the GoT was 0.52-2.99 m. The highest waves were found primarily in September and October. The residual flow was 0.05-32.82 cm/s and the circulation pattern was consistent with the season (i.e., northeast monsoon currents flowed mainly south in an anti-clockwise pattern, whereas the southwest monsoon currents flowed east in a clockwise pattern). The current velocity was higher for the northeast monsoon than for the southwest monsoon.