Fugro NPA possess a wealth of experience interpreting meteorological and oceanic features visible on SAR imagery. With two decades of experience, and a library of over 12,000 images covering more than 80% of the world’s coastline and offshore basins, Fugro NPA can provide satellite-derived oceanographic desk studies at microscale, mesoscale and synoptic scale.
When used in conjunction with Fugro GEOS’s consultancy services, Fugro NPA’s oceanographic studies yield important information critical to offshore operations, facility management and development.
Example applications include historical internal wave investigation and estuarine/convergent water front.
Internal waves are generated when the naturally occurring density layers in the ocean are disturbed, normally by changes in the seafloor topography. A sharp disturbance will create an internal wave, propagating away from the generation site. Near the surface, internal waves have a dramatic effect on microscale currents and pose a very real threat to offshore operations.
Freshwater discharged by rivers into the ocean generate a shallow salinity front that moves offshore over the denser seawater. The front is narrow but has strong surface current convergence and sedimentary influence affecting coastal engineering, surface pollutants, local wave stability and renewable energy projects. Satellite imagery can yield valuable information on the extents of river plumes and salinity fronts, providing additional historical information for key decisions and feasibility evaluations in coastal management and engineering.