The first quantitative remote sensing of ocean internal waves by Chinese GF-3 SAR satellite

Quantitative analysis and retrieval is given by the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics（SOED）,Second Institute of Oceanography（SIO）,State Oceanic Administration（SOA）,China,from the first batch of GF-3 synthetic aperture radar（SAR）data with ocean internal wave features in the Yellow Sea.

Satellite SAR observation of shallow bottom topography of the east Australia Sea

A preliminary account of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging mechanisms of oceanic bottom topographic features and a description of the principles of the information extracted from SAR images and the processing and the analysis technology of SAR images are made. Some results were obtained from researching shallow topography and its bathymetric features of the regions of offshore in the east Australia Sea by ERS-1 SAR images. The preliminary research indicates that these features covered with SAR have never been reported before and some results of them are yielded for the first time in Australia. This information is very valuable in a great number of applications to oceanic engineering, shipping navigation, marine fishery and environment, as well as oceanographic research and development. The paper comes to the conclusion that SAR remote sensing of oceanography and its applications are of great potential.

On generation source sites of internal waves in the Luzon Strait

This effort aims to determine the generation source sites in the Luzon Strait for energetic, long-crest, transbasin internal waves （IW） observed in the northern South China Sea （NSCS）. The roles of islands distributed on eastern side of the strait, Kuroshio, submarine ridges, shoaling thennocline, and strait configuration played in the IW generation are examined using the cruise data analysis, satellite data interpretation, and dynamical analysis. The islands and channels on eastern side of the strait are excluded from a list of possible IW source sites owing to their unmatched horizontal dimensions to the scale of IW crest line length, and the relative low Reynolds number. The Kuroshio has a potential to be a radiator for the long-crest IW disturbances, meanwhile, the Kurosbio west （east） wing absorbs the eastward （westward） propagating IW disturbance. Namely, the Kuroshio blockades the outside west-east propagating IW disturbances. The 3-D configuration of the Luzon Strait is characterized by a sudden, more than one order widening of the cross-section areas at the outlets on both sides, providing a favorable condition for IW type initial disturbance formation. In the Luzon Strait, the thermocline is featured by a westward shoaling all the year around, providing the dynamical conditions for the amplitude growth （declination） to the westward （eastward） propagating IW type disturbance. Thus, the west slope of western submarine ridge at the western outlet of the Luzon Strait is a high possibility source sites for energetic, long-crest, transbasin IWs in the NSCS. The interpretation results of satellite SAR images during a 13 a period from 1995 to 2007 provide the convincing evidence for the conclusions.

Monitoring Crustal Deformations with Radar Interferometry: A Review

The crustal movements, probably motivating earthquakes, are considered as one of the main geodynamic sources. The quantitative measurements of ground surface deformations are vital for studying mechanisms of the buried faults or even estimating earthquake potential. A new space-geodetic technology, synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR), can be applied to detect such large-area deformations, and has demonstrated some prominent advantages. This paper reviews the capacity and limitations of InSAR, and summarises the existing applications including some of our results in studying the earthquake-related crustal motions. Finally it gives the outlook for the future development of InSAR.