Deriving sea-state parameters using RISAT-1 SAR data

Abstract

A technique has been demonstrated for deriving various sea-wave parameters such as peak wavelength, peak direction, and significant wave height from two-dimensional synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired by Indian active microwave remote-sensing satellite RISAT-1 (Radar Imaging Satellite 1). The significant wave height is obtained using the method of azimuth cutoff wavelength, which is the minimum wavelength that can be imaged in the azimuth direction and results due to the roll-off of the SAR image spectra at higher wave numbers. In the present paper, RISAT-1 SAR fine-resolution scan mode intensity image data are used for deriving various wave parameters at a high spatial resolution of 300m. The changes in wavelength, wave height, and wave direction of sea waves are studied for a coastal wave system using high-resolution sea-wave spectral information. The SAR-derived coastal wave parameters are then compared with JASON-2 altimeter Geophysical Data Record (GDR) products and The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)-modeled values, and are found to be in reasonable agreement.