Ocean wave mapping from ERS SAR images in the presence of swell and wind-waves

Abstract

We present a method for estimating the significant wave height of ocean waves (SWH) in coastal zones from satellite SAR images and using the value of the width of the spectral azimuthal cutoff. The method deals with the case of an energetic swell propagating over a wind wave system. It requires the preliminary retrieval of swell parameters using the wave-SAR spectral quasi-linear relationship. The method is applied to two ERS-1 SAR images in coastal zones.

Keywords

• sar imagery
• ocean waves
• significant wave height