SATELLITE-BASED RADAR MEASUREMENTS FOR VALIDATION OF HIGHRESOLUTION SEA STATE FORECAST MODELS IN THE GERMAN BIGHT

Abstract. 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 has been adopted for coastal application and implemented for NRT services. All available TS-X images in the German Bight collocated with buoy measurements (6 buoys) since 2013 were processed and analysed (total of 46 scenes/passages with 184 StripMap images). Sea state estimated from series of TS-X images cover strips with length of ~200km and width of 30km over the German Bight from East-Frisian Islands to the Danish coast. The comparisons with results of wave prediction model show a number of local variations due to variety in bathymetry and wind fronts