Radar antenna to be placed in Lewes dune
An 18-foot, high-frequency radar station will soon be placed in the dune between the two public parking lots on Lewes Beach.
Mayor and city council unanimously approved a request from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System, a group affiliated with the University of Delaware.
The new unit is expected to be installed by May, when it will become part of an integrated ocean observing system that’s used by 11 regional associations and 17 federal agencies, including NASA, NOAA, Coast Guard, Navy, Department of Transportation and others.
“The real-time data from the HFR unit would benefit forecast models and data products that directly support U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue, National Weather Service flood forecasting, NOAA’s navigation services to the Delaware pilots and mariner community, as well as oil spill tracking by NOAA and other stakeholders in the Delaware Bay,” said MARACOOS Executive Director Gerhard Kuska.
He said the data will also be utilized in ocean and coastal forecast models that support government operations, academic research and fisheries assessments.
MARACOOS has 41 stations varying from 5 MHz to 25 MHz from Cape Hatteras in North Carolina to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. There are two in Cape May, N.J., and one in Cape Henlopen State Park.
By adding a second Lewes radar station, the group says the Delaware Bay radar network will more than double.
“I think it’s great we can contribute this way,” said Councilman Rob Morgan.
The antenna, owned by University of Delaware, will be placed in a restricted area of the dune. It will be anchored with removable stakes; it will be silent and does not have any moving parts. It is connected by wire to an equipment box that will be installed behind the public restroom at the secondary beach parking lot. A trench will be hand dug to place the wire underground, and no heavy machinery will be used for installation of the antenna. The antenna can be taken down within a few days if city officials later decide it should be removed.
“I don’t see any downside,” said Deputy Mayor Bonnie Osler.
