Ocean Feature Tracking Using Sequential SAR Images

With repeated coverage, spaceborne SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) instruments provide the most efficient means to monitor and study the changes in important elements of the marine environment. Due to highresolution of SAR data, the coverage of SAR sensor is always limited, especially for a repeat cycle. With more SAR sensors from various satellites, new data products such as ocean surface drift can be derived when two SARs' tracks overlap in a short time over coastal areas. Currently, there are two SAR sensors on different satellites with almost the exactly same path. That is, ERS-2 is following ENVISAT with a 30-minutes delay, which will be a good timing for ocean mesosclae feature tracking. For another application, a mystery ship near a big eddy with strong ship wake has been tracked between ERS-2 and ENVISAT SAR images to estimate its ship speed.