X-band radar applications for coastal monitoring to support improved management of coastal erosion

英国各地海岸防御的设计、建造和管理需要海岸如何随时间变化以应对天气条件、波浪和潮汐的信息。大风暴对沉积物在海床上从海岸线移动到近海地区的方式产生影响，影响到海岸在何处和何时受到侵蚀。然而，这类信息很难获得，而且只有有限的几个地点进行了测量，而且间隔时间也不长。这种知识的缺乏可能导致在防洪和防侵蚀方面做出错误的决定，从而对当地社区、企业和生计造成严重影响。解决这种信息缺乏问题的一个办法是使用遥感技术，这种技术能够测量波浪、海流和水深变化，而无需在海上部署仪器。在过去15年中，自然环境研究理事会资助的研究开发了一种技术，可以从标准海洋X波段雷达（通常用于船舶的雷达类型）收集的数据中提取有关波浪和水流的信息。该雷达记录雷达周围3公里半径范围内的波浪状况，并使用一个软件将波浪数据转换成当地水深和海流，并使用从科学知识中得出的公式。雷达收集的数据可以用来测量其他类型的测量难以进行的地区的水深变化。雷达还可以探测海滩上水线的位置，并利用这些信息绘制海滩地形图。该雷达的一大优点是能够不受天气条件的影响，昼夜进行测量，该项目将测试X波段技术的使用情况，以改进有关沿海洪水和侵蚀管理的决策。具体而言，我们的目标是评估这项技术是否具有成本效益的一些实际应用所需的公共和私营部门。潜在的应用包括：对风暴影响的沿海监测;沿海工程项目的影响;以及针对导致洪水或悬崖后退风险的沿海变化开发预警系统。来自国家海洋学中心和伯恩茅斯大学的研究人员将与萨福克郡沿海区理事会，莫特麦克唐纳，环境，渔业和水产科学中心（Cefas）以及索尔彭斯（萨福克郡）的居民合作，以测试X波段雷达是否可以解决威胁村庄的海岸侵蚀问题。其目的是获取信息，以增进对沿海过程的了解，支持制定可持续、有复原力和具有成本效益的管理办法，解决影响当地社区的严重侵蚀问题。该项目的主要成果是证明，与常用方法相比，X波段雷达是否是提供沿海监测数据以支持实际沿海管理应用的具有成本效益的方法。在这种情况下，有一个巨大的潜力，研究和商业应用在英国和国际上关于沿海监测，以促进沿海过程和管理解决方案的理解。关键词：X波段雷达;海岸监测;海岸管理;决策;侵蚀;洪水;海防;可持续性;知识交流

The design, construction and management of coastal defences around the UK require information of how the coast changes through time in response to weather conditions, waves and tides. Major storms have an impact in the way sediment moves at the sea bed to and from the shoreline to offshore areas affecting where and when the coast will erode. However, such information is difficult to obtain and measurements exist for only a limited number of locations and at infrequent intervals. Such lack of knowledge may lead to poor decisions concerning flood and erosion defences, which can result in serious impacts on local communities, businesses and livelihoods. One way of resolving this lack of information is the use of remote sensing technologies, which are able to measure waves, currents and changes in bathymetry without the need to deploy instruments at sea. Research funded by the Natural Environment Research Council in the past 15 years has developed technology that enables extracting information about waves and currents from data collected by a standard marine X-Band radar (the type of radar often used in ships). The radar records wave conditions over a 3km radius around the radar and uses a software to transform wave data into local water depth and currents using formulations derived from scientific knowledge. Data collected by the radar can then be used to measure changes in water depth in areas where other types of survey are difficult to undertake. The radar can also detect the position of the waterline on the beach and use this information to map the beach topography. A great advantage of the radar is the ability to undertake measurements day and night independently of weather conditions.This project will test the use of X-Band technology to improve decisions concerning coastal flood and erosion management. Specifically, our objective is to assess whether this technology is cost-effective for a number of practical applications required in the public and private sectors. Potential applications include coastal monitoring of storm impacts; effects of coastal engineering projects; and development of early warning systems for coastal change leading to risk of flooding or cliff retreat. Researchers from the National Oceanographic Centre and Bournemouth University will work in collaboration with the Suffolk Coastal District Council, Mott MacDonald, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and residents of Thorpeness (Suffolk) to test whether the X-Band radar can bring a solution to coastal erosion problems threatening the village. The objective here is to obtain information that will improve the understanding of coastal processes to support the development of a sustainable, resilient and cost-effective management solution to the critical erosion affecting the local community. The main outcome of this project is to demonstrate whether the X-band radar is a cost-effective way to provide coastal monitoring data in support of practical coastal management applications when compared with commonly used methods. This being the case, there is a great potential for research and commercial applications in the UK and internationally concerning coastal monitoring for advancing the understanding of coastal processes and management solutions. Keywords: X-Band radar; coastal monitoring; coastal management; decision-making; erosion; flood; coastal defences; sustainability; knowledge exchange