Enhancement of Wave Radar Observation Data Quality at the Socheongcho Ocean Research Station

The Ocean Research Stations are constructed in the Yellow and East China Seas to conduct observations on oceanic, meteorological, and environmental components. For ocean waves, the stations have utilized the Miros Wave and Current Radar (MWR), which is a kind of remote-sensing wave observation instrument. Under mild weather conditions, however, the MWR tends to produce noisy measurements. To overcome this shortcoming, Miros Ltd. offers various types of filters including Reduce Noise Frequency, Correlation Check, Direction Filter, Reduce White Noise and Phillips Check. This study assesses the performance of each filter by comparing MWR measurements with the Directional Waverider Buoy (DWB) time series from the Socheongcho ORS for the period of January to April 2015. A statistical analysis reveals that the quality of the MWR data can be substantially improved by applying some of the filters to the MWR raw time series. From this assessment, we suggested that the combined adaptation of Correlation Check, Direction Filter, and Phillips Check are most suitable for the MWR observations in the Yellow and East China Seas. This study would be useful for scientific purposes such as sea area characterization and high wave generation mechanism. The improved MWR time series could be used for a scientific study on the spatial and temporal characteristics of waves in terms of the generation and propagation of waves particularly.