Fusion of synthetic aperture radar and optical satellite data for underwater topography estimation in coastal areas

A method to obtain underwater topography for coastal areas using state-of-the-art remote sensing data and techniques worldwide is presented. The data from the new Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite TerraSAR-X (TS-X) with high resolution up to 1m are used to render the ocean waves. As bathymetry is reflected by long swell wave refraction governed by underwater structures in shallow areas, the bathymetry can be derived using the dispersion relation from observed swell properties. To complete the bathymetric maps, optical satellite data of the QuickBird satellite are fused to map extreme shallow waters, e.g., in coast near areas. The streak structures produced by SAR imaging of the wave breaking at the shore are investigated. This allows estimating the amplitude of the breaking wave before keeping