Radar pulse compression and high resolution sea reflectivity

The state-of-the-art in radar pulse compression as it applies to spacecraft altimetry is summarized. It is illustrated how in the next few years vertical resolutions to 0.5 to 2.0 ft. can be obtained with relative accuracies of 5 to 10% of these values if the nature of the sea surface is known. Data are also given that show when high accuracy is desired, second order effects such as the asymmetries in the sea surface reflectivity may be taken into account.