Synchronous inversion of bathymetry and wave height using wave textures and sun glint signals

Abstract

Waves and sun glints in optical remote sensing images present opportunities for inverting water depth and wave height, rather than being considered as unwanted noise. This study focuses on the simultaneous inversion of water depth and wave height from satellite images, without the use of auxiliary data, aiming to improve data utilization efficiency. Firstly, ocean dynamic parameters, such as wavelength, are derived using wave textures and the imaging delay mechanism. Then, the parameters derived in the previous step are used in the linear dispersion relation to give support for water depth-related research. Simultaneously, wave height inversion is achieved by integrating sea surface roughness obtained from sun glints with the wavelength utilized in the water depth inversion process. Water depth around Oahu Island and Beidao Island is derived, and wave heights near multiple buoy stations worldwide are retrieved. The results indicate that: 1) based on the wave textures, the MAE (Mean Absolute Error) of the depth inversion experiments for Beidao and Oahu Islands are 3.08 m and 2.06 m, respectively; the MRE (Mean Relative Error) are 51.4 % and 30.9 %, respectively; 2) the MRE of the wave height inversion results is 32.4 %, and the MAE is 0.35 m. Thus, water depth and wave height can be obtained using wave and glint information.