Ph. Hildebrand, ESTIMATION OF SEA-SURFACE WINDS USING BACKSCATTER CROSS-SECTION MEASUREMENTS FROM AIRBORNE RESEARCH WEATHER RADAR, IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing, 32(1), 1994, pp. 110-117
A technique is presented for estimation of sea-surface winds using bac
kscatter cross-section measurements from an airborne research weather
radar. The technique is based on an empirical relation developed for u
se with satellite-borne microwave scatterometers which derives sea-sur
face winds from radar backscatter cross-section measurements. Unlike a
scatterometer, the airborne research weather radar is a Doppler radar
designed to measure atmospheric storm structure and kinematics. Desig
ned to scan the atmosphere, the radar also scans the ocean surface ove
r a wide range of azimuths, with the incidence angle and polarization
angle changing continuously during each scan. The new sea-surface wind
estimation technique accounts for these variations in incidence angle
and polarization and derives the atmospheric surface winds. The techn
ique works well over the range of wind conditions over which the wind
speed-backscatter cross-section relation holds, about 2-20 m/s. The pr
oblems likely to be encountered with this new technique are evaluated
and it is concluded that most problems are those which are endemic to
any microwave scatterometer wind estimation technique. The new techniq
ue will enable using the research weather radar to provide measurement
s which would otherwise require use of a dedicated scatterometer.