Continental shelf parameters inferred from SAR internal wave observations

This paper presents preliminary results on the use of synthetic aperture ra dar (SAR) imagery to extract oceanographic information about the continenta l shelf. From late spring through early fail the thermocline on the shelf i s fully developed and the entire Mid-Atlantic Eight is replete with interna l waves. The surface manifestation of these internal waves is observed usin g the SAR on board the European Research Satellite-1. The depth of the pycn ocline and the density of the surface layer can be estimated from the dispe rsion relation obtained from a two-layer fluid model. The other parameters that are required to make this estimate are obtained by assuming climatolog ical bottom density, estimating the speed of propagation from the tidal-gen erated wave packets, and calculating the depth of the pycnocline based on t he isobath where the internal waves are dissipated, This robust method for obtaining quantitative information about the structure of the shelf's water column shows goad agreement with the in situ observations from that area.