Retrieval of Wind and Total Surface Current Vectors Using Experimental Bidirectional Along-Track Interferometric TanDEM-X Data

Observations of wind and ocean surface velocity vectors by along-track interferometry (ATI) with the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) are not only important for direct applications but also to increase understandings of ocean upper layer mixing, air–ocean interactions, and mapping submesoscale (1–10 k...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Main Authors: Caldarella, Nina, Lopez-Dekker, Paco, Prats-Iraola, Pau, Nouguier, Frédéric, Chapron, Betrand, Zonno, Mariantonietta, Rodriguez-Cassola, Marc
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2022
Subjects:
Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik und Radarsysteme
SAR-Technologie
Radarkonzepte
Norway
Tromsø
Novaya Zemlya
Online Access:https://elib.dlr.de/190514/
https://elib.dlr.de/190514/1/190514_HR_infotext.pdf
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9696336
Description
Summary:Observations of wind and ocean surface velocity vectors by along-track interferometry (ATI) with the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) are not only important for direct applications but also to increase understandings of ocean upper layer mixing, air–ocean interactions, and mapping submesoscale (1–10 km) structures. An experimental bidirectional (BiDi) ATI acquisition mode of TanDEM-X observes with two squinted beams separated by an angle of approximately 13.2º in azimuth on the ground. The baseline is very short, and the along-track interferometric phase (ATI phase) of the ocean surface in the line-of-sight direction of the beams can be interpreted as a total Doppler velocity. The 2-D Doppler velocity field will thus include wind-wave detected motions. In this article, Doppler velocity fields acquired from this experimental acquisition mode are presented. The sequential retrieval of wind vector and total surface current vectors (TSCV) is demonstrated on the BiDi TanDEM-X data. The retrieval algorithm builds on existing geophysical model functions (GMFs) of normalized radar cross section (NRCS) and Doppler velocity. XMOD2 and a GMF based on the Elfouhaily ocean wave spectrum coupled with a Kirchhoff approximation (EOWS&KA) are used. The retrieved wind fields are generally consistent with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-5. While the ATI phase errors are small, the retrieved TSCV field looks promising. Acquisitions were located at sea over the tip of the Novaya Zemlya in Russia and over an area near Tromsø, Norway.

Similar Items