Shallow water bathymetric surveys by spaceborne synthetic aperture radar

A numerical model for shallow water bathymetric surveys by spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and its calculation procedure have been developed based on the SAR imaging mechanism of sea bottom topography. Water depths of the Xiaoyinsha sandwave off the east coast of Jingsu province have been calculated from the ERS-1 SAR imagery. The results have been compared with the sea chart. It is shown that the agreement between the image-calculated bathymetric pattern and that in the chart is excellent. A root mean square difference accuracy of 0.42 m has been achieved.