Media

Distinguished Lecture, Dr. Jochen Horstmann (February 8, 2024)

Speaker: Dr. Jochen Horstmann
Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Institute of Coastal Ocean Dynamics, Germany

Title: Marine Radar Wind and Wave Measurements for Short Term Forecasts

Abstract: Offshore wind energy is one of the most important renewable energy source. The global offshore market grew by 21 % in the past decade, bringing total installations to 64.3 GW as of the end of 2022. For the installation and operation of these turbines, monitoring of the local wind sand wave climate is extremely important. Marine radars have shown to be a valuable tool for measuring the mean wind vector, spectral wave parameters (e.g. significant wave height and peak period) and surface currents. However, due to the complex nature of the radar modulation transfer function, the determination of surface wind fields and individual waves in space and time are not yet well developed.

Coherent marine radars measure in addition to the backscatter intensity the radial velocity of the scatterers, which is strongly related to surface wind, waves, and currents. In this presentation, the development of new methodologies to retrieve ocean surface winds and individual wave fields will be introduced. These methods utilize the intensity as well as the Doppler information measured by the radar. Results acquired under various wind and wave situations will be shown and compared to in situ measurements. These measurements will also be utilized to perform short term (30 to 60 s) forecast of wind gusts and individual waves, which could help to improve the predictive control of offshore wind farms as well as aviation operations out at sea.

Time: 13:00 (UTC) on February 8, 2024

Webinar Link: https://mun.webex.com/meet/weimin

Dr. Jochen Horstmann’s Bio:

Jochen Horstmann received the Diploma (Dipl.-Oz.) degree in physical oceanography and the Ph.D. (Dr.rer.nat.) degree in earth sciences from the University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany, in 1997 and 2002, respectively. In 1995, he joined the GKSS Research Center (currently, Helmholtz- Zentrum Hereon), Geesthacht, Germany, where he has been a Research Scientist since 2002. In 2002, he was a Visiting Scientist with the Applied Physics Laboratory, John Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA, and with the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service of NOAA, Washington, DC, USA. In 2004 and 2005, he was a Visiting Scientist with the Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing, University of Miami, FL, USA. Since 2007, he has been an Adjunct Professor with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami.  From 2008 to 2013, he was a Senior Remote Sensing Scientist with the Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation of the NATO Science and Technology Organization in La Spezia, Italy. Since 2013, he is Head of the Department of Radar Hydrography at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon. He has a wide experience in the field of ocean remote sensing and has published more than 90 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. His research interests are the development of applications for radar and video-based sensors with particular focus on ocean surface and subsurface processes.