In
January 2010 the Regional Government of Andalucia has confirmed funding
to a “Proyecto de Excelencia Investigadora” program that includes
a 1-year temporary deployment of two 25 MHz SeaSondes in the Gibraltar
Strait. This new program is under the scientific leadership of Cadiz
University, with the operational coordination of Puertos del Estado
and with the participation of Sasemar, Instituto Hidrográfico de
la Marina, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, the Harbours of Algeciras
and Ceuta, Malaga University, Abdelmalek Essaâdi University of Tanger,
Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental
de Andalucía, The Spanish and Moroccan Society for the Study of Transport
Communication Across Gibraltar Strait, Natural Park of the Strait,
and the engineering company QUALITAS Remos. The official project
title translates roughly to “Current monitoring by means of coastal
HF Radars as a core element of the Operational Oceanography System
of the Gibraltar Strait”. Installation of the radars will happen
in Cape Carnero and Ceuta Harbour inside 2010.
This could very loosely be described a “re-deployment”, as 28 years ago CODAR
units (predecessors of the SeaSonde) operated in this Northwest Alboran Sea area.
Named “Donde Va”, the 1982 field campaign objective was to study gyres created
by the jet inflowing through Gibraltar from the Atlantic. This was a multinational
program that included joint tests between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) Wave Propagation Lab and Naval Research Lab (NRL) in Stennis, Mississippi.
NRL group focused on satellite and aircraft remote sensing with the CODAR HF
radar work carried out by NOAA.
For further reading on the 1982 deployment and results, we recommend: Janopaul,
M. M., Frisch, A. S., CODAR measurements of surface currents in the northwest
Alboran Sea during the Donde Va experiment, Annales de Geophysique, vol. 2, no.
4, pp. 443-448. 1984 |
Carnero lighthouse at Cape Carnero.
View from the Ceuta Harbour breakwater. |
