Optical retrieval of sea surface wave parameters using China’s HY-1E Coastal Zone Imager

Lifeng WANG; Qingjun SONG; Mingxiu WANG; Sheng YANG; Ziyao YIN; Jun TANG; Hang LÜ; Keli ZHANG; Yuze CAO; Lili WANG; Yuntao WANG; Yingcheng LU

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Optical retrieval of sea surface wave parameters using China’s HY-1E Coastal Zone Imager

Updated：2026-07-29

- Optical retrieval of sea surface wave parameters using China’s HY-1E Coastal Zone Imager
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Pages: 1-14(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.International Institute for Earth System Science, Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
  2.National Satellite Ocean Application Service, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100081, China
  3.DFH Satellite Co., Ltd., Beijing 100094, China
  4.Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China
- Author bio：
  
  luyc@nju.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：
  CLC：
- Received：15 December 2025，
  
  Online First：29 July 2026，
- Accepted：
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WANG Lifeng,SONG Qingjun,WANG Mingxiu,et al.Optical retrieval of sea surface wave parameters using China’s HY-1E Coastal Zone Imager[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,
DOI：

WANG Lifeng,SONG Qingjun,WANG Mingxiu,et al.Optical retrieval of sea surface wave parameters using China’s HY-1E Coastal Zone Imager[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, DOI：.

摘要

Abstract

High resolution satellite optical sensors provide detailed sea surface textures and wave patterns

offering significant potential for retrieving sea surface wave parameters. The Coastal Zone Imager (CZI) onboard China’s ocean color satellite Haiyang-1E (HY-1E) provides 20-m multispectral and 5-m panchromatic imagery with a 3-d revisit cycle. Its distinctive optical design

which separates transmission and reflection channels onto different focal planes

introduces specific along-track channel time lags. In this study

the viewing geometry and inter-channel time lags of the CZI sensor were systematically evaluated. A dedicated workflow for wave parameter retrieval was developed and its feasibility was validated using 4 in-situ measurements and 69 reanalysis matchups. There is a statistically linear relationship between CZI-derived and reanalysis wave direction (RMSE=20.50°

Bias=0.24°) and period (RMSE=1.68 s

Bias=0.10 s). The specific requirements and limitations of CZI for resolving the 180° directional ambiguity were analyzed in detail. Furthermore

the proposed method was applied to generate the original coastal regional wave products from HY-1E. The uncertainty in comparison with ERA5 products and the potential of wind speed estimation were additionally discussed. Overall

these findings demonstrate that the HY-1E CZI sensor can effectively retrieve sea surface wave parameters

providing a valuable data source for monitoring coastal and marine dynamical environments.

关键词

Keywords

references

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