An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size

Sediment grain size on beaches has been established as a crucial parameter to determine shoreline changes and provide coastal protection. However, traditional surveying techniques are time-consuming, with records becoming outdated quickly. The use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for this appl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mann, Sophie
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71829/
_version_ 1848800693981282304
author Mann, Sophie
author_facet Mann, Sophie
author_sort Mann, Sophie
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Sediment grain size on beaches has been established as a crucial parameter to determine shoreline changes and provide coastal protection. However, traditional surveying techniques are time-consuming, with records becoming outdated quickly. The use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for this application will enable quick surveying of beaches and is particularly useful due to the ability to collect data irrespective of weather-conditions. This study aims to evaluate if there is a relationship between sediment grain size on beaches and the backscatter from satellite SAR data. As part of this investigation, a fieldwork methodology has been constructed and carried out to obtain ground-truth data for beach sediment grain size and elevation. Results show a strong positive correlation between backscatter from C-band Sentinel-1 data and median sediment grain size on beaches. However, only a moderate correlation was found between backscatter from S-band NovaSAR data and median sediment grain size. These results are mainly attributed to the size of the sediment analysed in this study, compared to the SAR wavelength, along with increasing surface roughness as sediment size increases.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:55:37Z
format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
id nottingham-71829
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:55:37Z
publishDate 2022
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-718292022-12-13T04:40:48Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71829/ An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size Mann, Sophie Sediment grain size on beaches has been established as a crucial parameter to determine shoreline changes and provide coastal protection. However, traditional surveying techniques are time-consuming, with records becoming outdated quickly. The use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for this application will enable quick surveying of beaches and is particularly useful due to the ability to collect data irrespective of weather-conditions. This study aims to evaluate if there is a relationship between sediment grain size on beaches and the backscatter from satellite SAR data. As part of this investigation, a fieldwork methodology has been constructed and carried out to obtain ground-truth data for beach sediment grain size and elevation. Results show a strong positive correlation between backscatter from C-band Sentinel-1 data and median sediment grain size on beaches. However, only a moderate correlation was found between backscatter from S-band NovaSAR data and median sediment grain size. These results are mainly attributed to the size of the sediment analysed in this study, compared to the SAR wavelength, along with increasing surface roughness as sediment size increases. 2022-12-13 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71829/1/MANN_Sophie_MRes_Dissertation.pdf application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71829/2/MANN_Sophie_MRes_Dissertation_CopyrightRemoved.pdf Mann, Sophie (2022) An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham. Coastal sediments; Synthetic aperture radar; Backscattering
spellingShingle Coastal sediments; Synthetic aperture radar; Backscattering
Mann, Sophie
An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size
title An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size
title_full An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size
title_fullStr An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size
title_full_unstemmed An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size
title_short An investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and beach sediment grain size
title_sort investigation into the relationship between synthetic aperture radar (sar) data and beach sediment grain size
topic Coastal sediments; Synthetic aperture radar; Backscattering
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/71829/