Long-term coastal observatory-high frequency radar: site selection study and considerations

High Frequency Radar (HFR) has gained world-wide use as a land based remote sensing technology capable of measuring ocean surface currents and ocean waves at ranges up to 200 km or more. Regional HFR networks support a variety of services including support for search and rescue, marine spill response, and resource management operations. HFR data is useful for validation and calibration of hydrodynamic models that are used to forecast storm-surge, combined flooding and surface currents. Long-term time series data are also needed to assess changes in ocean/estuary currents in response to changes in climate, hydrology, and major coastal infrastructure. The main objective of this paper is to document the site selection process applied for two HFR networks, commissioned in Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake in Southeast Texas. The general process involved several steps including: identify sites meeting technical requirements and constraints; site access negotiation, permitting, station design, station commissioning, network operation and maintenance. To some degree, these processes could be considered sequential; however, in practice intermediate steps were essentially iterative in nature.