FEW³O at IfM
FEW³O stands for Fernerkundung von Wechselwirkungen an der Wasseroberfläche (Remote sensing of interactions at the water surface). We perform systematic analyses of satellite imagery, particularly of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of coastal regions, field campaigns involving measurements of the radar backscattering from the sea surface, and lab experiments in the University's wind-wave tank.
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Wind-Wave Tank
The University's wind-wave tank was built in the early 1970s and is located at the Federal Institute of Waterways Engineering in Hamburg-Rissen. We have been performing measurements of wave damping by monomolecular surface films, of the radar backscattering from the water surface, and of exchange processes across the water-air interface. Nowadays, the wind-wave tank is primarily used for educational purposes such as practical courses and BSc-/MSc studies.
To the wind-wave tank's Wiki pages this way.
Scatterometer
Systematic measurements of the radar backscattering from the sea surface and their analyses contribute to a better understanding of backscattering mechanisms in general and to the development of methods to derive oceanic and atmospheric parameters from such measurements. Lab experiments deploying a scatterometer were performed in the 1980s, and in the 1990s field campaigns were performed in the German Bight of the North Sea, deploying a scatterometer from board a helicopter. From July 2008 until October 2011 systematic measurments of the radar backscattering from the sea surface were performed from the research platform FINO-2 in the Western Baltic Sea. On the platform the University's scatterometer Multi³Scat was installed, allowing measurements at 5 frequency bands and at 4 polarization combinations. Some info on FINO-2 can be found here.
To the wiki pages of the FINO-2 measurements this way.
Satellite Imagery
We are regularly analysing satellite images, particularly when acquired with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors. These high-resolution active microwave sensors are used to derive hydrodynamic processes from sea surface roughness variations that manifest in spatial variations of the SAR image intensity. This is done, e.g., to identify different marine surface films or to help classifying different sediment types on exposed intertgidal flats.
To the wiki pages of SAR analyses of exposed intertidal flats this way.
SAR images are already being used for the operational oil-spill monitoring. These images are used for comprehensive statistical analyses that allow, e.g., an assessment of the mean oil pollution of dedicated coastal regions and its seasonal variability. Such analses were recently done for Indonesian coastal waters.
To the wiki pages of the statistical analyses of oil pollution based on SAR imagery this way.
SAR images, along with data acquired by other sensors, can be used to detect submesoscale and mesoscale turbulent processes at the water surface and to identify their spatio-temporal variation. Collaborative studies have been performed together with colleagues from the University's Department of Informatics, from Moscow, Russia, and from Liège, Belgium.
To the wiki pages of the analyses of submeso- and mesoscale phenomena using SAR data this way.
SAR image database
Information on the available SAR imagery are kept in a database.
Miscellaneous, Internal Pages
...to the Internal FEW³O pages this way.