Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

The goal of this work is to develop and evaluate techniques for the retrieval of wind and internal wave (IW) information from marine X-band radar data. While ocean wind measurements are crucial for the transfer of energy and momentum across the air-sea interface, IWs play an important role in tidal energy transport. Marine radars work by transmitting microwave energy from a rotating antenna that also measures the backscatter. The radar backscatter from the sea surface is controlled by the wind-generated small ripple waves through the Bragg-scattering mechanism. Surface winds are thus the dominant factor for generating the radar backscatter. The varying surface current fields associated with IWs interact with the ripples, generating rough convergent and smooth divergent zones. Radars are capable of imaging such IW-induced surface signatures as bands of enhanced and weakened backscatter.