Quest Trial Q348: Evaluation of WaMoS II Data
Abstract
OceanWaveS participated in the DRDC trial Q348 in November of 2012 to install and operate the wave radar WaMoS II aboard the CFAV vessel Quest. This report details the experimental setup, methods, and analysis results from trial Q348. References to the prior OceanWaveS report Quest Trial Q341: Evaluation of WaMoS II data , dated May 2012, will hereafter be referred to as OWSQ341. OWS duties during the Q348 trial included optimal configuration and full-time operation of WaMoS II, as well as real-time analysis and networked data distribution in support of the DRDC Sea keeping Operator Guidance project. The necessary requirement for the DRDC Wave Data Fusion (WDF) algorithm is direct measurements of the ocean surface. It was concluded in OWS-Q341 that the primary difficulty in validating this requirement was accurately co-locating the wave buoy and WaMoS II measurements. Thus setup of both instruments was improved for this trial. The buoy was equipped with an additional GPS module to provide frequent position fixes. Setup of WaMoS II focused on maximizing data resolution, range, and overlap with the buoy position. To further address the goal of validation through direct comparison, the analysis in this report is dedicated to quantifying, explaining, and removing error sources prior to comparison. The resulting data product is the WaMoS II-derived sea surface elevations maps, which have been optimized to directly correspond to the buoy vertical displacements. Included in this report is a background explanation of the issues faced and the approach taken (Section 2). Following is a complete description of the experimental trial and methods (Section 3), including some of the logistical issues encountered during the trial. Co-location analysis results are detailed in Section 4. WaMoS and buoy comparison results are given in Section 5. Conclusions and recommendations for further work are in Section 6.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA604438
Entities
People
- Tyson Hilmer