Analysis of Sentinel-3A Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) altimetry waveforms over the Southeast Asia region

Abstract

This paper presents the assessment of the advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) altimetry waveforms over the largest archipelagos in the Southeast Asia. The results identify that the major waveform classes in that region are ocean-like waveform (91%), recorded at location beyond 500 m from the coastline. However, along the satellite tracks that are parallel to the coastline, there is evidence of non-ocean waveforms are within 7 km from the coastline. Three major classes have been identified, specifically ocean-like waveforms (Class 1), multi-peak waveforms (Class 2) and quasi specular waveforms (Class 3). The finding from this study suggest that the need of a retracking optimized for SAR coastal waveforms.