27
impossible, to obtain by traditional shipboard measurements. After 5-year data recording,
more than 5,500 sea surface temperature charts are presently available from which mainly
European users benefit.
Since 1994, ice charts have been produced during the winter months for the northern Baltic
providing daily updates on sea ice formation in the area.
DLR-P2: Spatial resolution of marine meteorological and biological parameter fields in
coastal zones using ERS-SAR (SARPAK)
Objectives
Meso-scale wind fields, wave parameters and currents are derived from ERS radar data.
Present scientific knowledge
One of the major limitations in the numerical simulation of marine meteorological parameters
in coastal areas is the scarcity of measured wind fields with a sufficiently high resolution.
Owing to its good spatial resolution and coverage, synthetic aperture radar appears to be
excellently suited to measure spatially inhomogeneous wind and wave fields. A method is
being developed for the generation of meso-scale wind fields from ERS SAR images of
European coastal areas. A number of locations will be tested to check the calibration with
respect to regional influencing factors.
In-situ measurements and model results from different sensors and numerical models,
respectively, are compiled and evaluated for selected locations in the European coastal zone.
The data thus obtained serve as ground truth for ERS SAR data, from which the spatial
pattern of environmental parameters in the coastal zone can be derived.
To examine the wave formation mechanism in more detail, the SINEWAVE experiment was
carried out near Heligoland in co-operation with GKSS and BSH. The studies involved will be
performed jointly by nine European institutes. They are part of the current international
project LOISCZ and of the European COST Action 714.
Products
100 x 100 km charts of meso-scale wind fields with a resolution 500 m; two-dimensional wave
spectra for wave lengths from 100 m to 1000 m.
DLR-P3. TIDE, synergy of remote sensing and mathematical tidal models to optimize
divergent utilizations in estuaries
Objectives
The Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) operates numerical models
of the estuarine zones and regularly investigates the natural physical processes taking place in
those areas. Within the framework of the TIDE project, synoptic input data for numerical
modelling are generated from remote-sensing data, and verification is performed by comparing
the model results with the remote sensed data.