Advancing coastal upwelling observations with use of SAR data: Case study from SE Baltic

Abstract

Nowadays exploitation of satellite data, mostly infrared and visible, became a regular practice for upwelling detection and analysis. At the same time these types of satellite data strongly depend on sun illumination conditions and cloud cover, with the latter being very limiting factor specifically for the Baltic Sea. In this case SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imagery not affected by clouds and with high spatial resolution can significantly contribute to upwelling observations. The aims of this study are to show how SAR complements both in situ and satellite optical data, and to examine general SAR limitations to observe sea surface temperature (SST) fronts associated with coastal upwelling.