Title: Observing the Coastal Ocean with HF Radar

Coastal-based high-frequency (HF) radar systems are an increasingly used tool for measuring surface currents in the coastal ocean. These systems provide a spatial and temporal resolution not achievable with other methods. Standard-range sites typically generate hourly maps of surface currents on a 2km grid extending approximately 50km from shore while long-range sites typically generate hourly maps on a 6km grid extending up to 200km from shore. Generating these maps from the data presents mapping challenges addressed in this thesis. The known geometric errors in HF radar current maps are reviewed. Modifications to the traditional method of mapping coastal-based HF radar measurements are proposed. One year of current data from the Oregon coast and idealized radials representing different analytically-defined currents are used to evaluate mapping issues, comparing the revised method with the traditional method. The revised method showed improved accuracy, particularly in capturing small features. The revised mapping method is applied to a deployment of two CODAR standard-range HF radar sites from May 8, 1996 through May 22, 1996. The sites were located at Bandon and Cape Blanco, Oregon. A nearby coastal wind station, an R/