Synergy within MARSAIS
Synergy is defined as
the combined power of a group of things when they are working together which is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately (Cambridge International Dictionary of English, 1995)
The application of this principle to MARSAIS means that additional information aside from SAR imagery is used to improve the interpretation of the SAR data which leads to a better insight into oceanic processes than both data sources (SAR and additional) would have allowed individually.
There is a large choice of additional data sources available for some SAR scenes. MARSAIS concentrates on the combined interpretation of SAR images with those data collected by other satellite sensors. This has the advantage that, whilst there is some similarity between the platforms from which the data has been collected (e.g. they are all spaceborne and have therefore a similar viewing angle of the oceans), the differences between them can be exploited for a better interpretation of the oceanic processes.
Synergy studies of oceanographic phenomena
MARSAIS combines data from SAR sensors with those acquired by either optical or thermal infrared sensors. The aim of this is a better understanding of physical and bio-physical processes in the coastal zone than could be achieved with the help of SAR analysis alone.
The following figure demonstrates how the combination of data from different sensors improves the spatial and temporal coverage for the monitoring of coastal processes like eddies and shelf-sea fronts.
Sampling characteristics of several thermal infrared and optical sensors and ERS-SAR for monitoring a number of coastal processes.
Examples:
Glossary:
| ERS | European Remote Sensing satellite: two dedicated EO satellites flow by ESA (European Space Agency). ERS-1 flew from 1991 and was decomissioned in 1996. ERS-2 was launched in 1994 and is still operational. |
Algorithm:
The UoS Synergy Toolkit enables joint display and analysis of SAR and other satellite data.