Hourly Ocean Surface Currents Off Western Oahu Measured By Shore-Based Radars

Hourly surface current vectors were measured by a pair of High Frequency Wellen radars on Oahu's coast. The dataset covers a nine-month period from September 2002 to May 2003, processed and quality-controlled by NOAA NCEI. Data originates from shore-based installations at Ko'Olina and Kaena Point.

Use Cases

• Analyze diurnal or seasonal patterns in zonal and meridional current components over the nine-month time series.
• Validate hydrodynamic model outputs using calibrated hourly current vectors on a 5-km grid.
• Study spatial coherence of surface currents by comparing data from the two radar sites at Ko'Olina and Kaena Point.
• Map surface flow fields by combining radial current measurements into vector currents using least-square fitting within a 5-km search radius.

Strengths

• Data is calibrated and quality-controlled according to the source description.
• Provides hourly temporal resolution for detailed current analysis over a nine-month period.
• Spatial data is resolved on a consistent 5-km cartesian grid.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a single nine-month period from 2002-2003, lacking long-term continuity.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the detection range of two shore-based radars off western Oahu.
• Original data format was a MATLAB file, which may require specific tools for initial access.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from High Frequency Wellen radar measurements.

Collection Method

Surface currents measured by shore-based WERA radars, with vector currents derived by least-square fitting of radial components.

Time Range

September 2002 to May 2003

Freshness

Data collection ended in May 2003; it is a historical snapshot.

Geography

Coastal waters off western Oahu, Hawaii, near Ko'Olina and Kaena Point.