Validation of a new empirical SAR algorithum

A new empirical algorithm-CWAVE [1] was developed at the German aerospace center (DLR). A global dataset of two years (September 1998 to December 2000) of ERS SAR data was reprocessed to more than one million SAR imagettes. Met ocean parameters like significant ocean wave height (H_s), wind speed (U₁₀) and mean wave period (T_m-10) are derived from the SAR images using the CWAVE algorithm [1]. The results are compared to collocated ERS altimeter data and in situ measurements from NOAA buoys and observations taken onboard the vessel Polarstern. It is shown that the SAR derived H_s is comparable in quality to altimeter measurements and can thus be used for real time assimilation.