The use of spatial constraints in the derivation of mesoscale sea surface current fields from multi-sensor satellite data

Sequential multi-sensor satellite images are used for the computation of mesoscale surface currents in the Northern and Southern Baltic Proper. Different marine surface films and accumulated algae at the water surface are imaged by the sensors working in the optical, infrared, and microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum and can thus be used as tracers for the local motion of the sea surface. Due to the generality of the problem, there are different algorithms available for motion estimation using object tracking in images. To apply these to the field of sea surface current estimation, we need to take the smoothness assumptions into account that the algorithms were built up on. We present the influence of different spatial constraints in the algorithms for the derivation of mesoscale sea surface currents using multi-sensor / multi-channel satellite images by means of a quantitative comparison with model results provided by the German Federal and Maritime Agency (BSH).