Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data

This paper presents an improved algorithm for retrieving ocean surface currents from X-band marine radar images. The original polar current shell (PCS) method begins with a 3D fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the radar image sequence, followed by the extraction of the dispersion shell from the 3D ima...

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Main Authors: Yi Li, Zhiding Yang, Weimin Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4140
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author Yi Li
Zhiding Yang
Weimin Huang
author_facet Yi Li
Zhiding Yang
Weimin Huang
author_sort Yi Li
collection DOAJ
description This paper presents an improved algorithm for retrieving ocean surface currents from X-band marine radar images. The original polar current shell (PCS) method begins with a 3D fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the radar image sequence, followed by the extraction of the dispersion shell from the 3D image spectrum, which is then transformed into a PCS using polar coordinates. Building on this foundation, the improved approach is to analyze all data points corresponding to different wavenumber magnitudes in the PCS domain rather than analyzing each specific wavenumber magnitude separately. In addition, kernel density estimation (KDE) to identify high-density directions, interquartile range filtering to remove outliers, and symmetry-based filtering to further reduce noise by comparing data from opposite directions are also utilized for further improvement. Finally, a single curve fitting is applied to the filtered data rather than conducting multiple curve fittings as in the original method. The algorithm is validated using simulated data and real radar data from both the Decca radar, established in 2008, and the Koden radar, established in 2017. For the 2008 Decca radar data, the improved PCS method reduced the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) for speed estimation by 0.06 m/s and for direction estimation by 3.8° while improving the correlation coefficients (CCs) for current speed by 0.06 and direction by 0.07 compared to the original PCS method. For the 2017 Koden radar data, the improved PCS method reduced the RMSD for speed by 0.02 m/s and for direction by 4.6°, with CCs being improved for current speed by 0.03 and direction by 0.05 compared to the original PCS method.
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spelling doaj-art-ce9bc9c9299f4569bd9f0b9978cf973d2024-11-26T18:19:41ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-11-011622414010.3390/rs16224140Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar DataYi Li0Zhiding Yang1Weimin Huang2Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, CanadaDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, CanadaDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL A1B 3X5, CanadaThis paper presents an improved algorithm for retrieving ocean surface currents from X-band marine radar images. The original polar current shell (PCS) method begins with a 3D fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the radar image sequence, followed by the extraction of the dispersion shell from the 3D image spectrum, which is then transformed into a PCS using polar coordinates. Building on this foundation, the improved approach is to analyze all data points corresponding to different wavenumber magnitudes in the PCS domain rather than analyzing each specific wavenumber magnitude separately. In addition, kernel density estimation (KDE) to identify high-density directions, interquartile range filtering to remove outliers, and symmetry-based filtering to further reduce noise by comparing data from opposite directions are also utilized for further improvement. Finally, a single curve fitting is applied to the filtered data rather than conducting multiple curve fittings as in the original method. The algorithm is validated using simulated data and real radar data from both the Decca radar, established in 2008, and the Koden radar, established in 2017. For the 2008 Decca radar data, the improved PCS method reduced the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) for speed estimation by 0.06 m/s and for direction estimation by 3.8° while improving the correlation coefficients (CCs) for current speed by 0.06 and direction by 0.07 compared to the original PCS method. For the 2017 Koden radar data, the improved PCS method reduced the RMSD for speed by 0.02 m/s and for direction by 4.6°, with CCs being improved for current speed by 0.03 and direction by 0.05 compared to the original PCS method.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4140ocean current measurementPCS algorithmX-band marine radarsignal processing
spellingShingle Yi Li
Zhiding Yang
Weimin Huang
Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data
Remote Sensing
ocean current measurement
PCS algorithm
X-band marine radar
signal processing
title Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data
title_full Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data
title_fullStr Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data
title_full_unstemmed Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data
title_short Improved Polar Current Shell Algorithm for Ocean Current Retrieval from X-Band Radar Data
title_sort improved polar current shell algorithm for ocean current retrieval from x band radar data
topic ocean current measurement
PCS algorithm
X-band marine radar
signal processing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/22/4140
work_keys_str_mv AT yili improvedpolarcurrentshellalgorithmforoceancurrentretrievalfromxbandradardata
AT zhidingyang improvedpolarcurrentshellalgorithmforoceancurrentretrievalfromxbandradardata
AT weiminhuang improvedpolarcurrentshellalgorithmforoceancurrentretrievalfromxbandradardata