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The use of COSMO-SkyMed© SAR data for coastal management

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Abstract

In this paper, high spatial resolution wind fields retrieved by the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remotely sensed images are first analyzed to force coastal wind–wave oceanographic models. A very effective technique is here proposed to retrieve wind field by SAR images collected by the Italian Cosmo-SkyMed (CSK) constellation. The technique is first calibrated using a large data set of CSK SAR data and then applied to a meaningful set of CSK SAR data collected during three storms occurred in the Southern Thyrrenian Sea area during the winter season of 2010. CSK SAR winds are used to force SWAN wave numerical simulations to retrieve meaningful wave parameters (e.g., significant wave height, wave directions and periods) as physical descriptors of storm events. Experimental results, undertaken using both CSK and conventional ECMWF wind forcing, buoys and scatterometer winds, demonstrate that CSK winds can be successfully used to predict wave parameters during storm events. The best results are obtained when CSK winds are merged with ECMWF ones to generate a new “blended” wind product.

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Acknowledgments

COSMO-SkyMed© SAR data used in this study are provided by Italian Space Agency under the scientific research project entitled “Improvement of Oceanic Modelling for Coastal Management by means of COSMO-SkyMed© SAR data” (Project ID 1500). The project, funded by Italian Space Agency (ASI) aims at using SAR-derived wind fields to force surface wave models in a coastal environment, and to validate them with wind data sets provided by scatterometer and wave data set provided by in situ wave buoys. The research group is formed by a telecommunication engineering team for retrieving SAR image formation and wind scatterometer data inversion, and a coastal engineering team for the wave and coastal hydraulics modeling, the data validation and the following management applications (coastal risk assessment).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, University of Naples Parthenope, Centro Direzionale Is. C4, 80143, Naples, Italy

    Guido Benassai, Maurizio Migliaccio & Ferdinando Nunziata

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  1. Guido Benassai
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  2. Maurizio Migliaccio
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  3. Ferdinando Nunziata
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Correspondence to Guido Benassai.

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Benassai, G., Migliaccio, M. & Nunziata, F. The use of COSMO-SkyMed© SAR data for coastal management. J Mar Sci Technol 20, 542–550 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-015-0309-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-015-0309-2

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