Challenges of Tidal Flat Monitoring with Sentinel-1 SAR — A Case Study in the German Wadden Sea

This study analyzes to what extend Sentinel-1 acquisitions can help monitoring morphological changes in tidal flat areas, i.e., coastal regions covered by water during high tide and exposed during low tide. Remote sensing methods provide an efficient monitoring solution for these largely inaccessible locations. As a case study, two scenes taken over the Wadden Sea in the German Bight with 36 hours temporal difference and similar water level were selected, their landwater boundaries semi-automatically retrieved and differences analyzed. In conclusion, despite similar conditions, several differences were detected, attributable to different acquisition criteria and differences in the tidal wave state.