Abstract
In this paper an algorithm is presented which enables high-resolution ocean surface wind fields to be retrieved from the advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) data acquired by the European remote sensing satellite ENVISAT. Wind directions are extracted from wind-induced streaks that are visible in ASAR images at scales above 200 m and that are approximately in line with the mean surface wind direction. Wind speeds are derived from the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) and image geometry of the calibrated ASAR images, together with the local ASAR-retrieved wind direction. Therefore the empirical C-band model CMOD4, which describes the dependency of the NRCS on wind and image geometry, is used. CMOD4 is a semi-empirical model, which was originally developed for the scatterometer of the European remote sensing satellites ERS-1 and 2 operating at C-band with vertical polarization. Consequently, CMOD4 requires modification when applied to ASAR images that were acquired with horizontal polarization in transmitting and receiving. This is performed by considering the polarization ratio of the NRCS. To demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm, wind fields were computed from several ENVISAT ASAR images of the North Sea and compared to atmospheric model results of the German weather service.
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Acknowledgements The authors were supported by the German Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) in the framework of the project. ‘A new perspective of the Ocean ENVISAT Oceanography’ (ENVOC). The ENVISAT ASAR data were kindly made available by the European Space Agency in the framework of the ENVISAT Project AO-ID 220, Biological and geophysical parameters from synthetic aperture radar over the ocean (BIGPASO).
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Horstmann, J., Koch, W. & Lehner, S. Ocean wind fields retrieved from the advanced synthetic aperture radar aboard ENVISAT. Ocean Dynamics 54, 570–576 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-004-0098-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-004-0098-3