Airborne Scanning Lidar Measurement of Ocean Waves

A scanning lidar system provides high-resolution three-dimensional measurements of ocean wave displacement. The airborne operation further enhances the speed of data acquisition. These properties allow rapid characterization of the ocean wave environment. In addition to active ranging, the scanning optics can obtain passive measurements of surface emissivity, yielding a digital image of surface brightness in real time. Processed into a binary image, these measurements can provide information on the average statistics and the spatial distribution of breaking waves. Technical specifications of the system and examples of application are presented. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.