Enhanced Estimation of Significant Wave Height with Dual-Polarization Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery

Abstract

Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is one of the most advanced open-access satellite systems available, benefitting from its capability for earth observation under all-weather conditions. In this study, more than 280 Sentinel-1 SAR images are used to derive significant wave heights (Hs) of the sea surface using a polarization-enhanced methodology. Two study areas are selected: one is located near Hawai’i in a deep water region, and the other is in transitional water off the U.S. west coast, where the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) buoy data are available for validations. The enhanced Hs retrieval methodology utilizes dual-polarization SAR image data with strong non-Bragg radar backscattering, resulting in a better estimate of the cut-off wavelength than from those using single-polarization SAR data. The new method to derive Hs is applied to SAR images from 2017 taken from both deep water (near Hawai’i) and coastal water locations (off the U.S. West coast). The assessments of the retrieved Hs from SAR images suggest that the dual-polarization methodology can reduce the estimated Hs RMSE by 24.6% as compared to a single-polarization approach. Long-term reliability of the SAR image-derived Hs products based on the new methodology is also consolidated by large amount of in-situ buoy observations for both the coastal and deep waters.