Abstract
Measurements of satellite-based, vertically polarized radar backscatter from the ocean surface translate via empirical formulae into wind speed and direction. (Early references include Jones and Schroeder (1977), Jones et al. (1982), and Schroeder et al. (1982). See Stoffelen (1998) and its references for the various “CMOD” algorithms that relate wind speed and backscatter for C-band (5.3 GHz) scatterometers.) This relationship exists because the wind roughens the water surface via the production of gravity-capillary waves (Dorman, Mollo-Christensen 1973; Kahma, Donelan 1987; Caulliez et al. 1998) which, in turn, effectively backscatter radar signals via Bragg scattering for grazing angles between 20° and 70° (Plant 1990). Gravity-capillary waves may also be generated by the crumpling of the front of wind-driven gravity waves that are near breaking. (Jessup et al. 1997) reviews the literature on gravity capillary waves and also offers infrared images of their microscale breaking.) These waves can be an additional significant source of direct C-band radar backscatter for grazing angles between 60° and 10° (Plant 1997) as well as at smaller grazing angles (Smith et al. 1996). They can also induce multiple scattering (Trizna, Carlson 1996; Trizna 1997). Small-scale bores created by microscale breaking are also a significant source of backscatter at low grazing angles (Trizna 1997). The crumpling waves are a source of radar backscatter independent of local, short-term wind conditions. So are wind-driven gravity waves and swell, which modulate the gravity-capillary wave field, thereby producing significant variations in radar backscatter (Donelan, Pierson 1987).
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Mourad, P.D. (1999). Footprints of Atmospheric Phenomena in Synthetic Aperture Radar Images of the Ocean Surface: A Review. In: Geernaert, G.L. (eds) Air-Sea Exchange: Physics, Chemistry and Dynamics. Atmospheric and Oceanographic Sciences Library, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9291-8_11
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