Abstract
The ocean and land color instrument (OLCI) and synthetic aperture radar altimeter (SRAL) installed aboard the Sentinel-3 satellite have been in orbit for operational uses. In this study, data collected from Sentinel-3 are used to investigate internal waves in the South China Sea. An internal wave is detected using an OLCI image with a resolution of 300 m, and an analysis was performed with a quasi-synchronous moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) image. The opposite characteristics of OLCI and MODIS images of the same internal wave are explained by the critical angle in brightness reversals. The unique observational geometry of the OLCI image and its influence on observations of internal waves are discussed. The distribution of σ0 and sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs) induced by internal waves are studied using SRAL records. The σ0 records of SRAL occasionally show less sensitivity to the modulation of internal waves, which may be attributed to the observational geometry, while SSHAs show obvious variations. The synchronous pairing of OLCI images and SRAL records are analyzed to extract the three-dimensional sea surface signatures induced by internal waves. The analysis demonstrates that the profile of SSHAs in the surface shows an opposite phase to the profiles of internal waves in the ocean. The opposite phase relationship, observed in the remote sensing view, is also confirmed with a laboratory experiment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alford M H, Lien R C, Simmons H, et al. 2010. Speed and evolution of nonlinear internal waves transiting the South China Sea. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 40(6): 1338–1355, doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4388.1
Alford M H, Peacock T, MacKinnon J A, et al. 2015. The formation and fate of internal waves in the South China Sea. Nature, 521(7550): 65–69, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14399
Alpers W. 1985. Theory of radar imaging of internal waves. Nature, 314(6008): 245–247, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/314245a0
Bai Xiaolin, Li Xiaofeng, Lamb K G, et al. 2017. Internal Solitary Wave Reflection Near Dongsha Atoll, the South China Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 122(10): 7978–7991, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC012880
Bai Xiaolin, Liu Zhiyu, Li Xiaofeng, et al. 2014. Generation sites of internal solitary waves in the southern Taiwan Strait revealed by MODIS true-colour image observations. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 35(11–12): 4086–4098, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2014.916453
Bai Xiaolin, Liu Zhiyu, Li Xiaofeng, et al. 2013. Observations of highfrequency internal waves in the Southern Taiwan Strait. Journal of Coastal Research, 29(6): 1413–1419, doi: https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-12-00141.1
Bonekamp H, Montagner F, Santacesaria V, et al. 2016. Core operational Sentinel-3 marine data product services as part of the Copernicus Space Component. Ocean Science, 12(3): 787–795, doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-787-2016
Cox C, Munk W. 1954. Measurement of the roughness of the sea surface from photographs of the sun’s glitter. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 44(11): 838–850, doi: https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSA.44.000838
Da Silva J C B, Cerqueira A L F. 2016. A note on radar altimeter signatures of internal solitary waves in the ocean. In: Remote Sensing of the Ocean, Sea Ice, Coastal Waters, and Large Water Regions 2016. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: SPIE
Da Silva J C B, }Ermakov S A, Robinson I S, et al. 1998. Role of surface films in ERS SAR signatures of internal waves on the shelf: 1. Short-period internal waves. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 103(C4): 8009–8031, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/97JC02725
Gill A E. 1982. Atmosphere-Ocean Dynamics (International Geophysics Series). London: Academic Press
Guo Daquan, Akylas T R, Zhan Peng, et al. 2016. On the generation and evolution of internal solitary waves in the southern Red Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 121(12): 8566–8584, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC012221
Jackson C. 2007. Internal wave detection using the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 112(C11): C11012, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JC004220
Jackson C R, Alpers W. 2010. The role of the critical angle in brightness reversals on sunglint images of the sea surface. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 115(C9): C09019
Jiang Maofei, Xu Ke, Liu Yalong, et al. 2016. Estimating the sea state bias of Jason-2 altimeter from crossover differences by using a three-dimensional nonparametric model. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 9(11): 5023–5043, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2016.2557839
Kozlov I, Romanenkov D, Zimin A, et al. 2014. SAR observing large-scale nonlinear internal waves in the White Sea. Remote Sensing of Environment, 147: 99–107, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2014.02.017
Liu Bingqing, Yang Hong, Zhao Zhongxiang, et al. 2014. Internal solitary wave propagation observed by tandem satellites. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(6): 2077–2085, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL059281
Magalhaes J M, da Silva J C B. 2017. Satellite altimetry observations of large-scale internal solitary waves. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 14(4): 534–538, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2017.2655621
Melsheimer C, Keong K L. 2001. Sun glitter in SPOT images and the visibility of oceanic phenomena. Singapore: The 22nd Asian Conference on Remote Sensing.
Mitchum G T, Hancock D W III, Hayne G S, et al. 2004. Blooms of σ0 in the TOPEX radar altimeter data. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 21(8): 1232–1245, doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2004)021<1232:BOITTR>2.0.CO;2
Morrow R, Le Traon P Y. 2012. Recent advances in observing mesoscale ocean dynamics with satellite altimetry. Advances in Space Research, 50(8): 1062–1076, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2011.09.033
Osborne A R, Burch T L. 1980. Internal solitons in the Andaman Sea. Science, 208(4443): 451–460, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.208.4443.451
Pan Xiaoyi, Wang Jing, Zhang Xudong, et al. 2018. A deep-learning model for the amplitude inversion of internal waves based on optical remote-sensing images. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 39(3): 607–618, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2017.1390269
Ramp S R, Tang T Y, Duda T F, et al. 2004. Internal solitons in the northeastern South China Sea. Part I: sources and deep water propagation. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 29(4): 1157–1181, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.2004.840839
Santos-Ferreira A M, da Silva J C B, Magalhaes J M. 2018. SAR mode altimetry observations of internal solitary waves in the tropical ocean Part 1: Case studies. Remote Sensing, 10(4): 644, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs10040644
Tran N, Hancock D W III, Hayne G S, et al. 2002. Assessment of the cycle-to-cycle noise level of the Geosat Follow-On, TOPEX, and Poseidon altimeters. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 21(8): 1232–1245, doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2004)021<1232:BOITTR>2.0.CO;20426(2002)019<2095:AOTCTC>2.0.CO;2
Zaouche G, Perbos J, Lafon T, et al. 2010. OSTM/Jason-2: Assessment of the system performances (ocean surface topography mission: OSTM). Marine Geodesy, 33(S1): 26–52
Zhang Xudong, Wang Jing, Sun Lina, et al. 2016. Study on the amplitude inversion of internal waves at Wenchang area of the South China Sea. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 35(7): 14–19, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-016-0902-1
Zhang Xudong, Zhang Jie, Fan Chenqing, et al. 2018. Observations of internal waves with high sampling data of radar altimetry and MODIS images. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 39(21): 7405–7416, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2018.1470700
Zhao Zhongxiang. 2016. Using CryoSat-2 altimeter data to evaluate M2 internal tides observed from multisatellite altimetry. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 121(7): 5164–5180, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC011805
Zheng Quanan, Yuan Yeli, Klemas V, et al. 2001. Theoretical expression for an ocean internal soliton synthetic aperture radar image and determination of the soliton characteristic half width. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 106(C12): 31415–31423, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JC000726
Acknowledgements
The MODIS image is provided by NASA-the Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & distribution System (LAADS) distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The Sentinel-3 dataset is provided by Copernicus Online Data Access (https://coda.eumetsat.int).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The National Key R&D Program of China under contract No. 2016YFC1401005; the National Youth Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41906157 and 61501130; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 61471136; the Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction Program of China under contract No. GASI-02-SCS-YGST2-04.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, X., Zhang, J., Meng, J. et al. Observation of internal waves with OLCI and SRAL on board Sentinel-3. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 39, 56–62 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-019-1510-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-019-1510-7