Observation of Sea Surface Wind and Wave in X-Band TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X Over Hurricane Sandy

Abstract

Several TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X ScanSAR images are acquired in October, 2012 to track the Hurricane Sandy. Three of the images are acquired in the open sea, which are presented in this chapter to demonstrate observations of sea surface wind and wave extracted from X-band ScanSAR image with high spatial resolution of 17min the hurricane. In the case of the TerraSAR-X image acquired on October 26, 2012, we analyze the peak wave direction and length of swell generated by Hurricane Sandy, as well as interaction of swell with the Abaco Island, Bahamas. In the other two cases, sea surface wind field derived from the TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X acquired on October 27 and 28 are presented. The sea surface wind speed retrieved by the X-band Geophysical Model Function (GMF) XMOD2 using wind direction derived from SAR images and the NOAA Hurricane Research Division (HRD) wind analyses are both presented for comparisons. We also compare the retrieved sea surface wind speed with Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) to quantify effect of rainfall on X-band SAR images.