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Skidaway Institute Expanding Coastal Radar System
The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) has awarded Skidaway Institute of Oceanography a grant of $180,000 to enhance and expand Skidaway Institute of ’s coastal radar system that is used to study surface ocean waves and currents on Georgia’s continental shelf.
Skidaway Institute's Jay Fripp and Don Wagner examine one of the radar antennas on a Georgia barrier island.
The system is built currently around two radar stations, one in South Carolina and the other on a barrier island south of Savannah. The two systems work together to create a detailed map of surface ocean currents across an area stretching more than 125 miles offshore and 135 miles north to south. The map shows the speed and direction of the current at each of those points on the ocean’s surface.
The grant money will be used to improve the system’s ability to monitor different size waves and to install a third radar station on the Georgia coast which will greatly improve the coverage area.
"This kind of data is extremely valuable for search and rescue operations or for tracking oil spills," said Dana Savidge, the Skidaway Institute researcher in charge of the project.
Dr. Savidge was interviewed by WSAV-TV about the audiences for the data provided by the radar system. Aside from the practical applications, Savidge says the primary purpose of the system is to improve researchers’ understanding of what is happening on Georgia’s continental shelf.
More information about the special high frequency radar is available from the Skidaway Institute of Oceanograhy's website and blog.
