Mapping of sea surface wind and current fields in the China seas using x-band spaceborne SAR

Abstract

This chapter presents some examples of mapping sea surface wind and currents field in the China Sea using the new generation of spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X with high spatial resolution. With respect to the sea surface wind field, we choose two cases to show contrasting sea surface wind patterns downstream of an archipelago in the Bohai Sea, the bright wind jet and the dark wind wake. This comparison highlights the capability of mapping the sea surface wind field at high spatial resolution using X-band SAR and the dedicated Geophysical Model Function. The tidal current in the HangZhou Bay, East China Sea, is a typical semi-diurnal current with a maximum speed up to 3 m/s in the spring tide. We demonstrate a novel application for deriving tidal current in the HangZhou bay based on the satellite constellation data from TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X operating in the pursuit monostatic mode. The short temporal interval, on the scale of a few seconds, for the two satellite acquisitions over the same area is a unique advantage for mapping tidal current fields with great spatial and temporal variations.