High resolution wind and wave measurements from TerraSAR-X and Tandem-X satellites in comparison to marine forecast

Remote sensing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from TerraSAR-X and Tandem-X (TS-X and TD-X) satellites have been used for validation and verification of newly developed coastal forecast models in the German Bight of the North Sea. The empirical XWAVE algorithm for estimation of significant wave height from X-band satellite data has been adopted for coastal application. All available TS-X images in the German Bight collocated with measurements of 6 buoys since 2013 were processed and analysed (53 passages with 196 StripMap images). One TS-X overflight covers strips with length of ~200km and width of 30km over the German Bight from East-Frisian Islands to the Danish coast with a sequence of 3-6 StripMap images. The comparisons with results of wave prediction model show a number of local variations due to variety in bathymetry and wind fronts. The developed Sea State Processor SSP includes XWAVE, pre-filtering of ships and other artefacts and checking results was implemented for NRT services. The comparison with in-situ buoy measurements results in Scatter Index of 20% and RMSE of 0.25m.