30 Foot Radar Masts Soon to be Installed at the Mouth of the Mississippi River

New funding for High Frequency Radar Sites at the mouth of the Mississippi will aid in making the Gulf safer along with many other features. HFR stations play critical role in search and rescue operations, oil spill tracking, ocean navigation and more.

In regards to the high frequency radio waves, according to newswise.com, “The signals indicate where and how fast ocean surface currents are moving and provide information about wave heights, leading to better ocean condition forecasts and faster predictions — two vital elements when coastlines and ships are at risk from man-made and natural disasters like hurricanes, toxic algae blooms and oil spills.”

These sites will never be left unattended, no matter the weather conditions. So, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week a team of trained professionals will be gathering ocean data that ranges about 6,000 square miles, equivalent to a square of about 77 miles on each side.

For more information on the future of these HFR sites, you can click both here and here.