SURFACE CURRENT MAPPING IN COASTAL ZONES USING HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION SATELLITE DATA

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25610140
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Meteorology/Physical oceanography/Hydrology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Matthews John 京都大学, 国際高等教育院, 教授 (70649152)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: Inter-satellite mapping / Surface currents / Marine debris / Fukushima Daiichi

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research focused on the synoptic mapping of surface currents and floating debris motions in the coastal zone adjacent to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station that developed within one week of the tsunami of 11 March 2011. In the general absence of in situ data, a technique based on inter-satellite comparison has been used to perform this mapping. Good results were obtained for 14 March 2011, both in terms of surface current determinations (which revealed the complexity of the oceanic movements in the near-coastal zone) and in terms of identifying the factors controlling the evolution of floating debris clusters, some of which were likely drawn from the power-station complex by the retreating tsunami waters. As a result of unique satellite-data coverage, this project yielded the first open-ocean evidence of a restructuring of the wind profile in the vicinity of zones of strong surface-roughness suppression that develop in association with floating-debris dispersal trails.

Free Research Field

Satellite Oceanography