| Title | On the homogeneity of the wave field in coastal regions as determined from RADARSAT synthetic aperture radar images of the ocean surface |
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| Author | Ocampo-Torres, F J |
| Source | Scientia Marina; 65, supp 1, 2001. |
| Year | 2001 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20042790 |
| Document | book |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper |
| Abstract | Spatial variations of the wave field in coastal waters have been determined from images obtained by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on board of the European satellites ERS-1 and 2. The capabilities of
RADARSAT SAR to provide useful information to evaluate the wave field variation in near shore waters are explored. Besides the different polarization between ERS and RADARSAT SAR's, range to velocity, and signal to noise ratios, and the acquisition
swath are important issues to take into consideration to compare the performance of the radar systems. In situ data from a coastal region in the Northwest of Baja California is used to validate some of the remote observations and to provide relevant
ground truth. Particular aspects of wave phenomena in finite depth waters such as refraction, diffraction, and groupiness are considered. An appropriate method to analyse the radar images is applied to describe wave features as they originate from a
non-homogeneous process. Wave field characteristics and their spatial variations as resolved by RADARSAT SAR are relevant variables for applications such as beach erosion and coastal management. Inclusion of specific modules to retrieve this type of
information should be considered for operational software packages for the use and application of ocean surface data from SAR images. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 219592 |
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