Wavecams topographies are validated by comparison with independent topography measurements: DGPS and Lidar data if available.
Here is an example of validation with DGPS measurements acquired in the central part of Etretat bay on the 10th of January 2020, through the following 3D interactive figure (to move inside the figure: left clic(rotation), mouse wheel( zoom), right clic(translation)) :
After interpolation of DGPS data on our topography grid, we obtain very good validation results: MAE=27cm, RMSE=32cm (MAE: Mean average Error, RMSE: Root Mean Square Error)
Here is an example of validation with Lidar measurements acquired in the whole Etretat bay on the 28th of August 2019, through the following 3D interactive figure (to move inside the figure: left clic(rotation), mouse wheel( zoom), right clic(translation)) :
Good validation results are obtained, with MAE=27cm and RMSE=37cm, knowing that the vertical precision of Lidar measurements is about 20 cm.
The validation results from both Lidar and DGPS data reinforce our confidence in the quality of high frequency intertidal topographies generated by Wavecams, especially as the DGPS measurements were done in winter conditions with fast changing topographies.