Ezhova, Elizaveta; Gavrikov, Alexander; Sharmar, Vitaly; Gladyshev, Vsevolod; Suslov, Alexander; Koshkina, Vasilisa; Tilinina, Natalia; Ivonin, Dmitry; Krinitsky, Mikhail; Borisov, Mikhail; Kalinin, Mikhail; Artemeva, Maria (2025): Shipborne X-band Radar Observations of Ocean Wind Waves during IO RAS Expeditions with SeaVision [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.983956
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Published: 2025-11-21 • DOI registered: 2025-11-21
Abstract:
The SeaVision system, developed at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS (IO RAS) in 2020, enables automatic measurements of ocean surface wind waves from standard shipborne X-band navigation radars. The system applies a three-dimensional Fourier transform to sequences of radar backscatter images to retrieve the directional wave spectrum, which represents the full distribution of wave energy over frequencies and directions. From the directional spectrum, significant wave height, peak period, and other integral wave parameters are derived. Extensive validation of the system was performed using Spotter wave buoys and satellite altimetry data. SeaVision was deployed during multiple IO RAS expeditions between 2020 and 2025, covering a wide range of oceanic regions, including the North Atlantic, Tropical Atlantic, Arctic, and Southern Ocean. In total, over 5,500 directional spectra were collected along ship tracks during seven cruises (ASV50, AI57, AI58, AI63, AI65, AF50, and AF52), with a total measurement duration exceeding 1,300 hours. These datasets provide high-resolution time series of directional wave spectra and are particularly valuable for numerical model validation, satellite data calibration, and studies of ocean wave climate variability.
Supplement to:
Tilinina, Natalia; Ezhova, Elizaveta; Gulev, Sergey; Sharmar, Vitali; Gavrikov, Alexander; Trofimov, Boris; Bargman, Sergey; Koltermann, Klaus-Peter; Grigorieva, Victoria; Suslov, Alexander (2025): Real-time open ocean wind waves from navigation radars for a truly global wind wave operational observing system. Applied Ocean Research, 165, 104867, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apor.2025.104867
Funding:
P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (IO RAS), grant/award no. FMWE-2025-0002: Dynamics of synoptic processes in the atmosphere and upper mixed layer of the ocean based on observational and modeling data
Russian Science Foundation, grant/award no. 23-77-30001: Interaction between the Arctic and the North Atlantic as a key to climate prediction: long-term observations and modeling
Coverage:
Date/Time Start: 2020-08-08T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-18T00:00:00
Event(s):
AF50_SeaVision * Date/Time Start: 2023-10-12T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2024-06-06T00:00:00 * Location: Antarctic Ocean * Campaign: AF50 * Basis: Akademik Fedorov * Method/Device: X-band navigation radar, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, SeaVision * Comment: Logistics of polar expedition from 10°W to 120°E, from 65°S to 60°N
AF52_SeaVision * Date/Time Start: 2024-11-03T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-18T00:00:00 * Location: Antarctic Ocean * Campaign: AF52 * Basis: Akademik Fedorov * Method/Device: X-band navigation radar, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, SeaVision * Comment: Logistics of polar expedition from 10°W to 120°E, from 65°S to 60°N
AI57_SeaVision * Date/Time Start: 2021-06-27T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2021-08-02T00:00:00 * Location: North Atlantic Ocean * Campaign: AI57 * Basis: Akademik Ioffe * Method/Device: X-band navigation radar, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, SeaVision * Comment: Hydrology, biology, and meteorology measurements from 45°W to 0°, near 60°N
Comment:
File descriptions: The uploaded files have identical data structure but were collected during different expeditions. Each file contains time series of wave and meteorological parameters recorded by the SeaVision system, supplemented with ship navigation data. The expeditions covered different oceanic regions and time periods as listed below:
Expeditions with number of SeaVision measurements in brackets:
ASV50 – North Atlantic – August 2020 – (376)
AI57 – North Atlantic – June–July 2021 – (119)
AI58 – Arctic – September 2021 – (368)
AI63 – Tropical Atlantic – September–December 2022 – (177)
AI65 – Tropical Atlantic – November–January 2023 – (1371)
AF50 – Atlantic and Antarctic – October 2023–June 2024 – (1893)
AF52 - Atlantic and Antarctic - November 2024-April 2025 - (1233)
Each file contains a time series of the following parameters:
Navigation data: ship position (latitude, longitude), speed over ground (SOG), course over ground (COG), heading (HDG).
Meteorological data: wind speed (WSPD) and wind direction (WDIR) measured onboard.
Radar settings: X-band radar pulse mode (PULSE: SP, MP, or LP).
Wave parameters: significant wave height (SWH), peak period (PER_P), and peak wave direction (DIR_P).
Spectral data:
1D frequency spectra (FREQ_SPEC) with a frequency discretization of approximately 0.002 Hz (from 0 to 0.4 Hz).
2D directional wave spectra (DIR_SPEC) over frequency (0–0.4 Hz) and direction (0–360°) axes.
Variables included:
time: Timestamp (seconds since 01 Jan 1970, UTC)
lat: Ship latitude (degrees north)
lon: Ship longitude (degrees east)
sog: Speed over ground (m/s)
cog: Course over ground (degrees)
hdg: Ship heading (degrees)
pulse: Radar pulse mode (SP, MP, or LP)
wspd: Wind speed (m/s)
wdir: Wind direction (degrees)
temp: Air temperature (Celsius degrees)
pres: Aire pressure (kPa)
hmd: Air relative humidity (percentage)
swh: Significant wave height (m)
per_p: Peak wave period (s)
dir_p: Peak wave direction (degrees)
freq_spec: 1D frequency spectrum of sea surface waves (m²/Hz)
dir_spec: 2D directional wave spectrum (m²/Hz/rad)
freq_1d: Frequency array for 1D spectrum (Hz)
freq_2d: Frequency array for 2D spectrum (Hz)
theta_2d: Direction array for 2D spectrum (degrees)
flag: Data quality flag (0: good, 1: bad)
prec_flag: Precipitation flag (0: no precipitation, 1: rain or snow)
ice_flag: Ice flag (0: no ice, 1: ice)
Comment from logbook:
Each record corresponds to a single SeaVision measurement, providing a comprehensive view of sea state and atmospheric conditions along the ship routes during the cruises.
Parameter(s):
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Size:
7 data points