Undergraduate summer research project
Title: Mathematical modelling of how wave breaking might be imaged by a radar small particles through the system.
Supervisor: Professor Frederic Dias
Co-supervisor: Dr Susanne Støle-Hentschel
The project will last 6 weeks, starting in mid-June. Details of the exact start date can be negotiated with the supervisor. A stipend of €1500 will be funded by the SFI Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science.
Closing date is May 24th and applicants should send a cover letter (max 1 page) and CV (max 2 pages) as a single PDF file to (opens in a new window)frederic.dias@ucd.ie.
In the paper Catalán et al. (2011), the authors analysed synchronous and colocated optical and microwave signals from waves in the surf zone. The field data were collected using a high-resolution video system and a calibrated horizontally polarized marine radar during the decaying phase of a storm. The resulting changes in the received signals from varying environmental conditions were analyzed. The analysis of the optical signal histograms showed functional shapes that were in accordance with the expected imaging mechanisms from the breaking and nonbreaking waves. For the microwave returns, the histogram shape showed a little dependence on the environmental parameters and exhibited an inflexion point at high returned power that the authors attributed to a change in the scattering mechanism. The high intensity signals were clearly associated with active
wave breaking. However, with either sensor, it can be difficult to effectively isolate the wave breaking signature from other sources, such as a remnant foam or the highly steepened nonbreaking waves. The authors developed a combined method using the joint histograms from both sensors, that was shown to effectively discriminate between active breaking, remnant foam, and steepened waves.
Tasks:
- Familiarise oneself with the paper (Download Paper)
- Use an inverse engineering approach to mimic the behaviour described in the paper
Reference:
P. A. Catalan, M. C. Haller, R. A. Holman and W. J. Plant, "Optical and Microwave Detection of Wave
Breaking in the Surf Zone," in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 49, no. 6,
pp. 1879-1893, June 2011, doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2010.2095864.