Abstract
ERS-1 and ERS-2 synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) imagery have been collected for the period August to December 1995. These images were obtained in support of measurements made during the UK Shelf-Edge Studies (SES) programme of the European continental shelf-break West of Scotland. Thirty-nine image strips, including eighteen ERS-1/ERS-2 tandem pairs, were received at Defence Research Agency (DRA) West Freugh ground station. The image strips have been surveyed to assess the degree to which atmospheric and oceanographic effects can be distinguished in SAR imagery. The survey revealed that oceanic internal-waves are generated in a deterministic manner due to tidal interaction with the shelf break. Internal wave packets have been found to propagate both on and off and along the shelf. From the imagery it is also apparent that the wind direction can be often be inferred from the presence of boundary layer roll-vortices, atmospheric internal-waves (180° ambiguity) and island and mountain wind-wakes (no ambiguity). Occasionally very long (up to ∼100 km) wind wakes are observed in the lee of coastal and island mountains.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1385-1390 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP |
| Issue number | 414 PART 3 |
| State | Published - 1997 |