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http://dx.doi.org/10.7780/kjrs.2013.29.6.6

Validation of Significant Wave Height from Satellite Altimeter in the Seas around Korea and Error Characteristics  

Park, Kyung-Ae (Department of Earth Science Education / Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University)
Woo, Hye-Jin (Department of Science Education, Seoul National University)
Lee, Eun-Young (Department of Science Education, Seoul National University)
Hong, Sungwook (Satellite Analysis Division, National Meteorological Satellite Center, Korea Meteorological Administration)
Kim, Kum-Lan (Satellite Analysis Division, National Meteorological Satellite Center, Korea Meteorological Administration)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Remote Sensing / v.29, no.6, 2013 , pp. 631-644 More about this Journal
Abstract
Significant Wave Height (SWH) data measured by satellite altimeters (Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1, Envisat, and Jason-2) were validated in the seas around Korea by comparison with wave height measurements from marine meteorological buoy stations of Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). A total of 1,070 collocation matchups between Ku-band satellite altimeter data and buoy data were obtained for the periods of the four satellites from 1992 to the present. In the case of C-band and S-band observations, 1,086 matchups were obtained and used to assess the accuracy of satellite SWH. Root-Mean-Square (RMS) errors of satellite SWH measured with Ku-band were evaluated to roughly 0.2_2.1 m. Comparisons of the RMS errors and bias errors between different frequency bands revealed that SWH observed with Ku-band was much more accurate than other frequencies, such as C-band or S-band. The differences between satellite SWH and buoy wave height, satellite minus buoy, revealed some dependence on the magnitude of the wave height. Satellite SWH tended to be overestimated at a range of low wave height of less than 1 m, and underestimated for high wave height of greater than 2 m. Such regional characteristics imply that satellite SWH should be carefully used when employed for diverse purposes such as validating wave model results or data assimilation procedures. Thus, this study confirmed that satellite SWH products should be continuously validated for regional applications.
Keywords
significant wave height; satellite altimeter; Ku-band; validation;
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