Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) altimeters represent a new method of microwave remote sensing for ocean wave observations. The adoption of SAR technology in the azimuthal direction has the advantage of a high resolution. The Sentinel-3 altimeter is the first radar altimeter to acquire global observat...
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/18/3107 |
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| author | Yong Wan Rongjuan Zhang Xiaodong Pan Chenqing Fan Yongshou Dai |
| author_facet | Yong Wan Rongjuan Zhang Xiaodong Pan Chenqing Fan Yongshou Dai |
| author_sort | Yong Wan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) altimeters represent a new method of microwave remote sensing for ocean wave observations. The adoption of SAR technology in the azimuthal direction has the advantage of a high resolution. The Sentinel-3 altimeter is the first radar altimeter to acquire global observations in SAR mode; hence, the data quality needs to be assessed before extensively applying these data. The European Space Agency (ESA) evaluates the Sentinel-3 accuracy on a global scale but has yet to perform a detailed analysis in terms of different offshore distances and different water depths. In this paper, Sentinel-3 and Jason-2 significant wave height (SWH) data are matched in both time and space with buoy data from the United States East and West Coasts and the Central Pacific Ocean. The Sentinel-3 SWH data quality is evaluated according to different offshore distances and water depths in comparison with Jason-2 SWH data. In areas more than 50 km offshore, the Sentinel-3 SWH accuracy is generally high and less affected by the water depth and sea conditions (root-mean-square error of 0.28 m and correlation coefficient of 0.98); in areas less than 50 km offshore, the SWH data accuracy is slightly affected by water depth and sea conditions (especially the former). Compared with Jason-2, the observation ability of the Sentinel-3 altimeter in nearshore areas with water depths of 0 m-500 m is greatly improved, but in some deep water areas with stable sea conditions, the Jason-2 SWH data accuracy is higher than that of Sentinel-3. This work provides a reference for the refined application of Sentinel-3 SWH data in offshore deep water areas and nearshore shallow water areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:07:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6f1e81d12174d7cb28b11333cffb6d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:07:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6f1e81d12174d7cb28b11333cffb6d72023-11-20T14:43:41ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-09-011218310710.3390/rs12183107Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar AltimeterYong Wan0Rongjuan Zhang1Xiaodong Pan2Chenqing Fan3Yongshou Dai4College of Oceanography and Space Informatics, China University of Petroleum, No. 66, Changjiangxi Road, Huangdao District, Qingdao 266580, ChinaCollege of Control Science and Engineering, China University of Petroleum, No. 66, Changjiangxi Road, Huangdao District, Qingdao 266580, ChinaMarine Environmental Monitoring Center of Wenzhou, The State Oceanic Administration, No. 2, Xinanjiang Road, Wenzhou Avenue, Wenzhou 325000, ChinaRemote Sensing Office of The First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, No. 6, Xianxia Road, Laoshan District, Qingdao 266061, ChinaCollege of Oceanography and Space Informatics, China University of Petroleum, No. 66, Changjiangxi Road, Huangdao District, Qingdao 266580, ChinaSynthetic aperture radar (SAR) altimeters represent a new method of microwave remote sensing for ocean wave observations. The adoption of SAR technology in the azimuthal direction has the advantage of a high resolution. The Sentinel-3 altimeter is the first radar altimeter to acquire global observations in SAR mode; hence, the data quality needs to be assessed before extensively applying these data. The European Space Agency (ESA) evaluates the Sentinel-3 accuracy on a global scale but has yet to perform a detailed analysis in terms of different offshore distances and different water depths. In this paper, Sentinel-3 and Jason-2 significant wave height (SWH) data are matched in both time and space with buoy data from the United States East and West Coasts and the Central Pacific Ocean. The Sentinel-3 SWH data quality is evaluated according to different offshore distances and water depths in comparison with Jason-2 SWH data. In areas more than 50 km offshore, the Sentinel-3 SWH accuracy is generally high and less affected by the water depth and sea conditions (root-mean-square error of 0.28 m and correlation coefficient of 0.98); in areas less than 50 km offshore, the SWH data accuracy is slightly affected by water depth and sea conditions (especially the former). Compared with Jason-2, the observation ability of the Sentinel-3 altimeter in nearshore areas with water depths of 0 m-500 m is greatly improved, but in some deep water areas with stable sea conditions, the Jason-2 SWH data accuracy is higher than that of Sentinel-3. This work provides a reference for the refined application of Sentinel-3 SWH data in offshore deep water areas and nearshore shallow water areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/18/3107SAR altimetertime-space matchingsignificant wave heightdata accuracy evaluation |
| spellingShingle | Yong Wan Rongjuan Zhang Xiaodong Pan Chenqing Fan Yongshou Dai Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter Remote Sensing SAR altimeter time-space matching significant wave height data accuracy evaluation |
| title | Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter |
| title_full | Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter |
| title_short | Evaluation of the Significant Wave Height Data Quality for the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter |
| title_sort | evaluation of the significant wave height data quality for the sentinel 3 synthetic aperture radar altimeter |
| topic | SAR altimeter time-space matching significant wave height data accuracy evaluation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/18/3107 |
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