For more than 35 years, Miros has provided accurate, reliable ocean-monitoring systems to the maritime industry. Our expertise lies in measuring local environmental conditions and making the data accessible in real time, on- or offshore.
Wavex is a dry sensor that leverages X-band navigation radar technology for surface current measurements. The sensor delivers highly accurate real-time data undisturbed by air bubbles, turbulence, or other interferences caused by vessel motion. Wavex eliminates the time and cost issues associated with installing and maintaining underwater equipment and can interface with an existing marine X-band radar without calibration.
Miros Wavex Applications & Benefits
Wavex provides accurate and reliable wave parameters, including 2D-spectrum, surface current magnitude and direction, as well as speed through water calculations – all these output parameters are key to:
Speed optimisation to save fuel
Enhanced hull and propeller performance management
Reduced cost and risk due to weather claims
Reduced weather-related vessel and cargo damage
Improved passenger comfort
IoT-enabled sensor
Miros’ Wavex technology gives you accurate, real-time measurements of ocean surface currents, unaffected by vessel motion and propellers while eliminating the cost of traditional underwater sensors, associated maintenance, and underwater operations.
How Does It Work?
The Wavex system measures sea state from digitised sea clutter images provided by a marine X-band radar. The radar backscatter from the sea surface is modulated by gravity waves, giving wave-like patterns in the images. The modulation is related to three mechanisms:
- Tilt modulation
- Hydrodynamic modulation
- Shadowing
Grazing angles in the range of 1 to 10 degrees are recommended to achieve an appropriate radar image contrast Cartesian sections are extracted from the radar images for further processing and data from the Cartesian sections are combined into one directional wave spectrum. A minimum wind speed of 1 – 2 m/s must be present for Wavex to record wave a and current data. Recommended radar antenna mounting height is 15 – 100 meters above the sea.
Related Resources
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Miros Wavex to support Saint Brieuc offshore wind power flagship project
Miros’ dry-mounted Wavex was selected by EQUANS to reliably collect operation-critical wave and current data on the offshore substation for the Saint-Brieuc Offshore Wind Farm, Iberdrola’s first large-scale and flagship offshore wind power project in Brittany, France.
In Conversation with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research
Following the recent Wavex upgrade onboard G.O. Sars, a vessel in the fleet of the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, we spoke to scientist, Kjell Arne Mork, about the role of such data in research and practice.
Wavex Delivers Cloud-Integrated Wave & Current Monitoring to the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research
Miros upgraded the Wavex installation onboard the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research’s vessel, G.O. Sars, before it sailed north to Svalbard.