Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a sensor that is proven to have great potential in observing atmospheric and oceanic phenomena at high-spatial resolutions (∼10 m). The statistics of SAR backscattering that describe the image characteristics are essential to help interpret the properties of the geo...

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Main Authors: Ziyue Dai, Huimin Li, Chen Wang, Yijun He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1594
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author Ziyue Dai
Huimin Li
Chen Wang
Yijun He
author_facet Ziyue Dai
Huimin Li
Chen Wang
Yijun He
author_sort Ziyue Dai
collection DOAJ
description Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a sensor that is proven to have great potential in observing atmospheric and oceanic phenomena at high-spatial resolutions (∼10 m). The statistics of SAR backscattering that describe the image characteristics are essential to help interpret the properties of the geophysical processes. In this study, we took advantage of a hand-labeled database of ten commonly observed geophysical processes created based on the Sentinel-1 wave mode vignettes to document the SAR backscattering statistics. The probability density function (PDF), normalized variance, skewness, and kurtosis were investigated among the ten labeled categories. We found that the NRCS PDFs differ between types, implying the influences of these large-scale features on the radar backscattering distribution. The statistical parameters exhibited distinct variations among classes at the two incidence angles of 23.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> and 36.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>. In particular, the normalized variance of low wind area at 23.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> exceeded other phenomena by an order of magnitude. This lays the basis for directly identifying the SAR images of low wind areas in terms of this parameter. Sea ice and rain cells at 36.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> span within a similar range of kurtosis values, much higher than the other groups. While sea ice could be excluded using a latitude threshold, the rain cells are readily detected. The global percentage map of directly identified rain cells is consistent with the deep-learning results but with higher efficiency. The influence of these large-scale atmospheric and oceanic features on radar backscattering statistics must be considered in the future wave retrieval algorithm for improved accuracy.
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spelling doaj.art-37fa4764d596443a81f77f522a2f02f22023-11-24T05:21:27ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-10-011011159410.3390/jmse10111594Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical PhenomenaZiyue Dai0Huimin Li1Chen Wang2Yijun He3School of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaSchool of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaSchool of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaSchool of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaSynthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a sensor that is proven to have great potential in observing atmospheric and oceanic phenomena at high-spatial resolutions (∼10 m). The statistics of SAR backscattering that describe the image characteristics are essential to help interpret the properties of the geophysical processes. In this study, we took advantage of a hand-labeled database of ten commonly observed geophysical processes created based on the Sentinel-1 wave mode vignettes to document the SAR backscattering statistics. The probability density function (PDF), normalized variance, skewness, and kurtosis were investigated among the ten labeled categories. We found that the NRCS PDFs differ between types, implying the influences of these large-scale features on the radar backscattering distribution. The statistical parameters exhibited distinct variations among classes at the two incidence angles of 23.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> and 36.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>. In particular, the normalized variance of low wind area at 23.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> exceeded other phenomena by an order of magnitude. This lays the basis for directly identifying the SAR images of low wind areas in terms of this parameter. Sea ice and rain cells at 36.5<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mo>∘</mo></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula> span within a similar range of kurtosis values, much higher than the other groups. While sea ice could be excluded using a latitude threshold, the rain cells are readily detected. The global percentage map of directly identified rain cells is consistent with the deep-learning results but with higher efficiency. The influence of these large-scale atmospheric and oceanic features on radar backscattering statistics must be considered in the future wave retrieval algorithm for improved accuracy.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1594Sentinel-1 wave modelabeled ten geophysical phenomenanormalized radar cross-section statistics
spellingShingle Ziyue Dai
Huimin Li
Chen Wang
Yijun He
Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Sentinel-1 wave mode
labeled ten geophysical phenomena
normalized radar cross-section statistics
title Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena
title_full Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena
title_fullStr Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena
title_full_unstemmed Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena
title_short Backscattering Statistics of Labeled Sentinel-1 Wave Mode Imagettes for Ten Geophysical Phenomena
title_sort backscattering statistics of labeled sentinel 1 wave mode imagettes for ten geophysical phenomena
topic Sentinel-1 wave mode
labeled ten geophysical phenomena
normalized radar cross-section statistics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1594
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AT huiminli backscatteringstatisticsoflabeledsentinel1wavemodeimagettesfortengeophysicalphenomena
AT chenwang backscatteringstatisticsoflabeledsentinel1wavemodeimagettesfortengeophysicalphenomena
AT yijunhe backscatteringstatisticsoflabeledsentinel1wavemodeimagettesfortengeophysicalphenomena