X-band radar derived wave parameters and depth maps in the area of Thorpeness, Suffolk, UK between August 2015 and March 2017.

Remote sensing using X-band radar allows the estimation of wave parameters, near surface currents and the underlying bathymetry. These data were used to explore the use of radar to derive nearshore bathymetry at a complex site, at Thorpeness in Suffolk, UK. The site has a history of sporadic and focused erosion events along the beach frontage and as part of the X-Com project (X-band Radar and Evidence-Based Coastal Management Decisions) a radar system was deployed with the aim of further understanding the complex nearshore sediment processes influencing erosion. A Kelvin Hughes 10kW, 9.41 GHz marine X-band radar system was utilised at the field site between August 2015 and April 2017. The 2.4 m horizontally polarised antenna had a mean rotation time of ~2.6 seconds and had a 3dB horizontal beam width of ~0.8-degrees. The radar transceiver and antenna were installed on a 12m high scaffold tower on a cliff top overlooking the study area, for a total elevation of approximately 20 m above mean sea level. The study focused on an area of 3.3 km2 (1.5 km alongshore x 2.2 km offshore). The radar video signal was digitised using the WaMoS II analogue-to-digital converter (OceanWaveS GmbH) in "B-scan" polar coordinate format at 1/3 degree azimuthal and 5 m range resolution. Bathymetric maps were produced from radar data using the bathymetric inversion algorithms based on the linear wave theory, incorporating current correction and averaging using a "depth-memory" method.