Microwave Specular Measurements and Ocean Surface Wave Properties

Microwave reflectometers provide spectrally integrated information of ocean surface waves several times longer than the incident electromagnetic (EM) wavelengths. For high wind condition, it is necessary to consider the modification of relative permittivity by air in foam and whitecaps produced by wave breaking. This paper describes the application of these considerations to microwave specular returns from the ocean surface. Measurements from Ku and Ka band altimeters and L band reflectometers are used for illustration. The modeling yields a straightforward integration of a closed-form expression connecting the observed specular normalized radar cross section (NRCS) to the surface wave statistical and geometric properties. It remains a challenge to acquire sufficient number of high-wind collocated and simultaneous reference measurements for algorithm development or validation and verification effort. Solutions from accurate forward computation can supplement the sparse high wind databases. Modeled specular NRCSs are provided for L, C, X, Ku, and Ka bands with wind speeds up to 99 m/s.