APPLICATIONS OF MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING IN COASTAL OCEANOGRAPHY

The use of radar remote sensing in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum has many advantages in comparison with optical remote sensing in the visible and infrared wavelengths. By far the most important factor is the virtual insensitivity of radar to atmospheric conditions. This allows the regular collection of site observations independent of cloud cover or time of overpass. On the other hand, the interpretation of radar imagery over land and ocean is not as straightforward as the more commonly used visible and infrared remote sensors. Usually special image processing techniques must be applied on the radar imagery to make it more readily interpretable. Furthermore, the interpretation of the backscattering process that underlies the radar image formation must be well understood with respect to the physical characteristics of the targets under observation and the specifics of the radar instrument. This paper reports on the results of some studies that have been carried out on coastal oceanography applications using passive and active microwave remote sensing, (i) sea surface temperature from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) TMI satellite data, (ii) oil spills/slicks from Radarsat SAR data, (iii) ocean wavelength and direction, shallow water bathymetry and water fronts from ERS SAR data.