A video-aided study of sea spikes in radar backscatter at moderate incidenceBackscatter from a lake was measured at a 37-deg incidence angle using an FM-CW radar operating on X band and C band simultaneously. A limited amount of Ka-band data was also collected at 50 deg incidence. A video camera recorded the activity within the footprint looking upwind and crosswind. The video showed that breaking waves at all look directions and wedge-shaped waves when looking upwind consistently produced spikes in the radar time series. However, 62 percent to 90 percent of the spikes were not attributable to any surface structure visible on the video picture except wave crests. These spikes may be due to specular reflections or micro-scale breaking too small to be seen. Individual contributions to the backscattering coefficient were calculated for unattributed spikes, breaker spikes, and wedge spikes.
Document ID
19920052560
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bush, Daniel A. (NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Gogineni, S. P. (NASA Headquarters Washington, DC United States)
Moore, Richard K. (University of Kansas Center for Research Inc., Lawrence, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1991
Subject Category
Oceanography
Meeting Information
Meeting: IGARSS ''91: Annual International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium