Nearshore Topographic and Bathymetric Surveys, Wave, and Wind Records from the USACE Field Research Facility in Duck NC from 1980 to 2018

From September 1986 to November 1996 data was collected hourly. Frequency spectra were computed using the Welch method with 50% overlapped ensembles [1]. From the end of 1996 onward, we have maintained 0.9 m hull diameter Directional Waverider MkII and MKIII buoys [2] that, in addition to vertical acceleration, also measure two orthogonal components of horizontal acceleration.

From Feb 1997 to May 2005, time series were collected at 1.28 Hz and cross-spectral analysis was performed on shore [3, 4]. Between May 2005 and May 2013, directional Fourier coefficients computed on-board the buoy and transmitted onshore. Since May 2013, data analysis has been manged through the Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP), UCSD San Diego, CA. Data are transmitted via an Iridium satellite link at half-hour intervals.

Two dimensional (2D) frequency-direction spectra are computed using an Iterative Maximum Likelihood Estimator (IMLE) method [5].