Enhancing Coastal Monitoring: Short-Range K-Band Radar for Sea State Observation

Coastal regions are vital for human settlements since they significantly contribute to the prosperity of numerous nations. However, their vulnerability to factors like erosion and pollution necessitates constant vigilance and proactive measures. Deltas, bays, and gulfs are particularly susceptible, facing risks from natural forces and human activities, demanding ongoing management strategies. In this context, the prediction of the wave dynamics interaction with the coastline and the seabed bathymetry plays a fundamental role. To obtain reliable forecasts about sea conditions, the numerical models for wave propagation necessitate accurate initial and boundary data from real-scale motions, as well as a fine-grain representation of the seabed bathymetry, which plays a major role in dispersion and refraction phenomena. However, these prediction models need to be calibrated with accurate information about the sea state in the area under test. Usually, such information is provided by in-situ sensors (e.g. wave buoys) and remote sensing devices (e.g. radars, video-monitoring systems) [1]. Remote sensing instruments are often preferred because they allow overcoming the main limitation of in-situ devices, that is the impossibility to provide spatial and temporal information about the sea state. Among the available remote sensing technologies, radar systems such as High Frequency and marine radar, have proven to be effective in measuring the wave spectra and retrieving the sea state information in coastal areas [2]. However, the major limitation of the aforementioned systems is related to their impossibility to retrieve spatial information about sea state very close to the coastline. As a possible solution to such an issue, this communication aims at presenting the main activities and preliminary results achieved in the frame of the Italian PRIN-PNRR 2022 Project SEAWATCH - Short rangE K-bAnd Wave rAdar sysTem Close to tHe coast. Specifically, the SEAWATCH project, which started in December 2023, aims at expanding the capabilities of wave radar technology by developing an innovative short range K-band radar prototype that is suitable to perform sea state monitoring very close to the coastline. Thanks to its small size, weight, and low power supply, the proposed system is portable and allows performing on-demand surveys [3]. In this perspective, SEAWACTH addresses the safety of human life and structures in harbour and coastal zones. Finally, the developed system is expected to provide an improvement in the knowledge of the wave phenomena nearby the coast that, actually, are considered open issues in the scientific community.