The POL High Frequency (HF) Radar web site

Area covered by HF Radar

The two sites are based at Llanddulas/Abergele, North Wales pointing northwards, and Formby, Merseyside pointing roughly west-south-west. They measure the sea surface every 20 minutes by sending out pulses over the sea surface and measuring the response signal. Combining information from the two sites gives enough information to calculate the current and wave parameters.

At each site, there are four transmit antennae set out in a square, and 16 receive antennae arranged in a straight line parallel to the shoreline, and the two sets of antennae are usually spaced about .5 km apart. To find out more about the individual sites, click on the Llandulas and Formby radar sites.

Data is sent to POL every hour, and forms the basis of the information on these web pages.

The WERA hardware and measuring software is supplied by Helzel Messtechnik, the grid conversion and transfer software by Neptune Radar Ltd, and the inversion software to produce waves by Seaview Sensing Ltd.

Land based radar is very useful for measuring the sea surface, as it covers a large area and negates the need for expensive ship time. This WERA system is the only one of its type in the UK, although they are used in other locations around the world.