Abstract
A total of 168 fully polarimetric synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images are selected together with the buoy measurements of ocean surface wind fields and high-frequency radar measurements of ocean surface currents. Our objective is to investigate the effect of the ocean currents on the retrieved SAR ocean surface wind fields. The results show that, compared to SAR wind fields that are retrieved without taking into account the ocean currents, the accuracy of the winds obtained when ocean currents are taken into account is increased by 0.2–0.3 m/s; the accuracy of the wind direction is improved by 3 – 4 ° . Based on these results, a semi-empirical formula for the errors in the winds and the ocean currents is derived. Verification is achieved by analysis of 52 SAR images, buoy measurements of the corresponding ocean surface winds, and high-frequency radar measurements of ocean currents. Results of the comparisons between data obtained by the semi-empirical formula and data measured by the high-frequency radar show that the root-mean-square error in the ocean current speed is 12.32 cm/s and the error in the current direction is 6.32°.
Highlights
Ocean surface currents are a defining feature of the interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere
Applying the corresponding ocean currents from HF radar measurements and vector winds from buoy observations, we use vector analysis to explore the effect of ocean currents on the retrieval of wind fields from synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images
The results suggest that when current speeds and directions are taken into consideration, the accuracy of wind speeds retrieved from SAR images is improved by about 0.3 m/s and wind directions are improved by about 3◦
Summary
Ocean surface currents are a defining feature of the interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. With improved remote sensing techniques in recent years, the monitoring of surface currents has greatly improved, making it possible to even perform real-time observations over extended areas of the sea surface [3]. Among these techniques, SAR has become a new technical means to observe ocean surface features because of its high resolution and capacity to operate in almost all weather conditions, day or night [4,5]
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