Analyzing Sources of Inaccuracy in Ocean Surface Current Estimation from Shipborne Marine X-Band Radar Data

The extraction of sea surface current from marine X-band radar data significantly affects subsequent oceanic parameter determination. Therefore, assessing the influence of diverse factors on the accuracy of current parameter estimation is critical. In this paper, motion compensation is used to optimize the current estimation results derived by the Polar Current Shell (PCS) and the normalized scalar product (NSP) algorithms. The data collected by Defence Research and Development Canada between November 24 and December 5, 2008 was used for analysis. Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) and correlation analysis results for both current speed and direction obtained by PCS and NSP are presented. This study explores the intricate relations between measurement errors and precipitation, wind speed, vessel speed, vessel speed change and heading change. Our analysis indicates that the accuracy of current measurement significantly decreases under precipitation and lower wind speed conditions.