Verification of a Modified Bayesian Method for Estimating Directional Wave Spectra From Hf Radar

Abstract

A Modified Bayesian Method (MBM) for estimating directional wave spectra from Doppler spectra obtained by HF radar is examined using field data which were employed in the verification of Bayesian Method (BM). Applicability, validity and accuracy of the MBM are demonstrated compared with the directional wave spectra estimated by BM and observed by buoy acquired from the reliable field data obtained from Surface Current and Wave Variability Experiments (SCAWVEX) project. The necessary conditions of the Doppler spectral components to be used to estimate a reliable directional spectrum are correspondingly estimated by BM. The results clearly demonstrate that directional wave spectra can be estimated by MBM on the basis of Doppler spectra. In addition, though BM shows very time consuming in computations, BM is more robust against the presence of noise than MBM.