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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

Cryosphere Applications II / Ocean Applications
Location: Red Hall
Session Chair: Jorgen Dall, Technical University of Denmark
Session Chair: Armando Marino, The University of Stirling

Presentation 5

5:40pm - 6:00pm

Preliminary Multi-frequency Wave Spectrum Analyses Using Sentinel-1, SAOCOM-1 and Biomass Observations Along the Coast

Yan Yuan, Owen O'Driscoll, Paco López-Dekker

Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, The

The primary source of ocean surface signatures in SAR images is the surface wave field generated by local wind stress. The normalized radar cross section (NRCS) wave spectrum offers a statistical representation of the surface roughness induced by these wind waves and is closely linked to wind speed, wind direction, and overall sea state. Wind-generated waves affect the backscattered radar signal through three main mechanisms: specular reflection, Bragg scattering, and wave breaking. The relative contribution of each mechanism to the received signal depends on the radar observing frequency. For instance, at P-band wavelengths, Bragg scattering is expected to be the dominant mechanism, primarily interacting with wave features on the order of one meter. Comparing wave spectra retrieved across different frequencies enhance understanding of upper ocean dynamics under varying sea state conditions. Since different radar wavelengths are sensitive to different ocean wave scales, multi-frequency analyses also reveal how wave energy is distributed across scales, improving interpretation of sea surface processes.

In this project, we will analyze the NRCS wave spectrum to investigate ocean surface roughness and the structure of the wave field. The Biomass mission offers a unique opportunity to investigate radar observables at longer wavelengths, enabling assessment of NRCS signatures in P-band SAR observations over the ocean. This analysis allows testing the assumption that Bragg scattering dominates the received signal at P-band. In addition to Biomass, we perform multi-frequency comparisons of wave spectra retrieved from Sentinel-1 (C-band) and SAOCOM-1 (L-band). This analysis will further improve understanding of frequency-dependent scattering behavior over the ocean.