HF radars are a unique and powerful tool for measuring surface currents. They provide an unparalleled window into the spatial variations of near-surface currents. But oceanographers who are more accustomed to measuring currents with instruments that actually get wet may reasonably ask how accurate can such remote measurements be made? And while this is an easy and obvious question to ask, it is an interestingly difficult question to answer.

Chapman, R.D., and H.C. Graber. 1997. Validation of HF radar measurements. Oceanography 10(2):76–79, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.1997.28.

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