Sea-spike backscatter from a steepening wave

H-pol and V-pol backscatter cross sections at incidence angles of 85°, 60°, and 40° are computed at X-band for two temporal sequences of simulated sea waves, one with a wavelength of 1 m and the other with a 2.3 m wavelength, that are steepening as they undergo breaking. At an incidence angle of 85° (5° grazing) H-pol and V-pol backscatter from these waves are shown to have the characteristics of a sea spike. At a 60° incidence angle only the l m sequence produces a sea spike. No sea spike is seen from either sequence at 40     

Evaluation of a compound probability model with tower-mountedscatterometer data

Six months of data from the YSCAT94 experiment conducted at the CCIW WAVES research platform on Lake Ontario, Canada, are analyzed to evaluate a compound probability model. YSCAT was an ultrawideband small footprint (≈1 m) microwave scatterometer that operated at frequencies of 2-18 GHz, incidence angles from 0° to 60°, both h-pol and v-pol, and which tracked the wind using simultaneous weather measurements. The probability distribution function of the measured instantaneous backscattered amplitude (p(a)) is compared to theoretical distributions developed from-the composite model and a simple wave spectrum. Model parameters of the resulting Rayleigh/generalized lognormal distribution probability density function (pdf) (C, a₁ , and a₂) are derived directly from the data and are found to demonstrate relationships with wind speed, incidence angle, and radar frequency     

Radar determination of winds at sea

This paper reviews the history and the current status of the relationship between the backscattering coefficient σ° and the wind-speed u at microwave frequencies. When σ° is assumed to be proportional to u^γ, measurements have indicated that γ lies in the vicinity of 1.4 to 2.0. Under similar conditions with incidence angle between 30° and 80°, γ for HH polarization is usually larger than that of VV polarization and γ for upwind or downwind is larger than that of the crosswind. Better surface truth and controlled experiments are still needed to obtain a more specific value for γ under a given condition. Theoretical modeling of radar sea scatter indicates that near vertical incidence the physical optics method is applicable while for incidence angles approximately in the range 30° to 80° the return can be explained by Bragg scattering due to capillary waves when the tilting effect of the large-scale waves is also included. The methods used in extracting wind vectors from SEASAT scatterometer measurements are outlined. Areas where further experimental and theoretical studies are needed are indicated.     

Modeling of wind direction signals in polarimetric sea surfacebrightness temperatures

There has been an increasing interest in the applications of polarimetric microwave radiometers for ocean wind remote sensing. Aircraft and spaceborne radiometers have found a few Kelvins wind direction signals in sea surface brightness temperatures, in addition to their sensitivities to wind speeds. However, it was not clear what physical scattering mechanisms produced the observed brightness dependence on wind direction. To this end, polarimetric microwave emissions from wind-generated sea surfaces are investigated with a polarimetric two-scale scattering model, which relates the directional wind-wave spectrum to passive microwave signatures of sea surfaces. Theoretical azimuthal modulations are found to agree well with experimental observations for all Stokes parameters from near nadir to 65° incidence angles. The upwind and downwind asymmetries of brightness temperatures were interpreted using the hydrodynamic modulation. The contributions of Bragg scattering by short waves, geometric optics scattering by long waves and sea foam are examined. The geometric optics scattering mechanism underestimates the directional signals in the first three Stokes parameters, and predicts no signals in the fourth Stokes parameter (V). In contrast, the Bragg scattering was found to dominate the wind direction signals from the two-scale model and correctly predicted the phase changes of the upwind and crosswind asymmetries in T_υ and U from middle to high incidence angles. The phase changes predicted by the Bragg scattering theory for radiometric emission from water ripples is corroborated by the numerical Monte Carlo simulation of rough surface scattering. This theoretical interpretation indicates the potential use of polarimetric brightness temperatures for retrieving the directional wave spectrum of short gravity and capillary waves     

Laboratory study of polarized microwave scattering by surface wavesat grazing incidence: the influence of long waves

Laboratory measurements of microwave scattering at grazing incidence from superposed wind and weakly nonlinear (AK<0.024) regular long waves are presented. This study is an extension of previous measurements with wind waves only. A dual polarized (VV, HH) coherent pulsed Ku-band (14 GHz) scatterometer with temporal resolution of 3 ns was used to obtain Doppler spectra and the absolute cross section of scattered signals for grazing angles from 6° to 25° and winds in the range 2-12 m/s. A wire wave-gauge array was used to measure the wind-wave field. Measurements of the frequency and amplitude modulation of the scattered signal due to the long waves showed that the data separated into two groups. The first grouping corresponded to HH scattering in the upwind direction and was clearly associated with scattering from the dominant gravity wind-waves on the crests of the long waves. In this case, the wind speed clearly influences the frequency modulation due to long waves. The second grouping corresponded to scattering in the downwind direction and was consistent with Bragg scattering from higher frequency waves. In this case the frequency modulation due to orbital velocity of the long waves was found to be weakly dependent on wind speed over the range of parameters studied. This classification of the electromagnetic scattering was consistent with comparisons of direct and Doppler measurements of the kinematics of the surface wave field     

Laboratory study of polarized scattering by surface waves atgrazing incidence. I. Wind waves

Laboratory measurements of Ku-band scattering at grazing incidence are presented. This study was motivated by the need to understand the processes which significantly contribute to scattering at grazing incidence. A dual polarized (VV, HH) coherent pulsed Ku-band scatterometer with good temporal resolution (3 ns) was used to obtain Doppler spectra and the absolute cross-section of scattered signals for grazing angles from 6-12°, and winds in the range 2-12 m/s. Wire wave gauges were used to measure the wind-wave field. Measurements of the first few moments of the Doppler spectra (cross-section, central frequency and bandwidth) showed that the data separated into two groups. The first grouping corresponded to HH scattering in the upwind look direction, and was clearly associated with scattering from the dominant gravity wind-waves. The second grouping corresponded to HH scattering in the downwind look direction, and all VV scattering, and was consistent with Bragg scattering from free higher frequency waves. This classification of the electromagnetic scattering was consistent with comparisons of direct and Doppler measurements of the kinematics of the surface wave field. The electromagnetic classification was also consistent with asymmetries in the wave field which increased with increasing wind speed     

Seasat over-land scatterometer data. I. Global overview of theKu-band backscatterer coefficients

Statistics on the backscatter coefficient σ⁰ from the Ku-band Seasat-A Satellite Scatterometer (SASS) collected over the world's land surfaces are presented. This spaceborne scatterometer provided data on σ⁰ between latitude 80° S and 80° N at incidence angles up to 70°. The global statistics of vertical (V) and horizontal (H) polarization backscatter coefficients for 10° bands in latitude are presented for incidence angles between 20° and 70° and compared with the Skylab and ground spectrometer results. Global images of the time-averaged V polarization σ⁰ at a 45° incidence angle and its dependence on the incidence angle are presented and compared to a generalized map of the terrain type. Global images of the differences between the V an H polarization backscatter coefficients are presented and discussed. The most inhomogeneous region, which contains the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, is studied in greater detail and compared with the terrain type     

Accuracy of scatterometer-derived winds using the Cramer-Rao bound

A wind scatterometer makes measurements of the normalized radar-backscatter coefficient σ° of the ocean surface. To retrieve the wind, a geophysical model function (GMF), which relates σ° to the near-surface wind, is used. The wind vector can be estimated using maximum-likelihood techniques from several σ° measurements made at different azimuth angles. The probability density of the measured σ° is assumed to be Gaussian with a variance that depends on the true σ° and therefore, depends on the wind through the GMF. With this model for wind estimation, the Cramer-Rao (C-R) bound is derived for wind estimation, and its implications for wind retrieval are discussed. As part of this discussion, the role of geophysical modeling error is considered and shown to play a significant role in the performance of near-surface wind estimates. The C-R bound is illustrated using parameters from the ERS AMI, NSCAT, and Sea Winds scatterometers     

海洋环境对雷达海杂波后向散射特性影响分析

为分析海洋环境对雷达海杂波后向散射特性的影响,建立了一种基于修正复合模型方法的雷达海杂波后向散射关系模型。雷达入射余角较大时,主要散射形式为镜面散射;入射余角较小时,主要散射形式为Bragg散射。考虑了逆顺风条件下后向散射系数的差异性,改进了原有模型Bragg散射的方向海谱部分,增加了风向因子。利用模型对不同入射角条件下海洋环境因素与后向散射系数的关系进行了仿真计算。计算结果表明,当海面作为雷达波的反射面时,雷达后向散射特性十分复杂,风速、风向、海浪、降水、海面油污等海洋环境因素都会对其产生影响。其中,风速和有效波高对海面后向散射的影响最大,风向次之,降水再次之,而海面油污的影响最小。      

The polarization-dependent relation between radar backscatter fromthe ocean surface and surface wind vector at frequencies between 1 and18 GHz

A series of airborne scatterometer measurements carried out with the DUTSCAT multifrequency airborne scatterometer are discussed. This study deals with the first results obtained from the analysis of these measurements. The objective of this activity is to establish a multifrequency dual-polarization radar signature database, and with it a multidimensional version of the current CMOD1 model. The main features of the data set are the following. The wind exponent of the upwind normalized radar cross section (NRCS) increases with frequency and incidence angle in the case of HH polarization. The upwind/downwind ratio is mainly negative at 20° of incidence angle, always at C-, X-, and Ku1-bands     

95-GHz scattering by terrain at near-grazing incidence

This study, consisting of three complimentary topics, examines the millimeter-wave backscattering behavior of terrain at incidence angles extending between 70 and 90°, corresponding to grazing angles of 20° to 0°. The first topic addresses the character of the statistical variability of the radar backscattering cross section per unit area σ_A. Based on an evaluation of an extensive data set acquired at 95 GHz, it was determined that the Rayleigh fading model (which predicts that σ_A is exponentially distributed) provides an excellent fit to the measured data for various types of terrain covers, including bare surfaces, grasses, trees, dry snow, and wet snow. The second topic relates to the angular variability and dynamic range of the backscattering coefficient σ⁰, particularly near grazing incidence. We provide a summary of data reported to date for each of several types of terrain covers. The last topic focuses on bare surfaces. A semi-empirical model for σ⁰ is presented for vertical (VV), horizontal (HH), and cross (HV) polarizations. The model parameters include the incidence angle &thetas;, the surface relative dielectric constant ϵ, and the surface roughness ks, where k=2π/λ and s is the surface root mean square (RMS) height     

Measurement and classification of low-grazing-angle radar seaspikes

High-resolution dual-polarization X-band images of the ocean surface were obtained at a grazing angle of about 3°. Area extensive imaging allowed us to study the backscatter properties of sea spikes and to compare radar measurements with visual surface features evident from video recordings. The vertically polarized radar images consist of distributed scatter whose amplitude and Doppler velocity are modulated by larger scale gravity waves consistent with Bragg scattering and composite surface theory (CST). The horizontally polarized radar images are dominated by spatially discrete scattering centers (or sea spikes) moving at velocities comparable to the phase velocities of gravity waves beyond the spectral peak. These sea spikes also exist in the corresponding V-pol radar images, but are less prominent due to the dominant Bragg backscatter. Sea spikes are characterized by polarization ratios H/V that often exceed unity, typically by about 5 dB. Comparison of the larger spikes with simultaneous co-registered video recording of the surface indicates that approximately 30% of observed sea spikes are associated with actively breaking waves (whitecaps) while the remainder are identified with “steep” wave features. By classifying the larger sea spikes according to their corresponding surface features, we find hat the Doppler velocities for sea spikes due to whitecaps are noticeably faster (about 50%) than other sea spikes, though the distributions for both overlap significantly. We also find little measurable difference in the polarization ratios of the two classes of sea spikes as observed on the open ocean     

ERS-1 scatterometer measurements. I. The relationship between radarcross section and buoy wind in two oceanic regions

Extensive European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-1) spacecraft scatterometer measurements were collocated within ±25 km of buoy measurements at midlatitudes and in the equatorial Pacific during 1992-1994. Two different directional functional forms for the geophysical model were fit to these measurements described by cross section maxima aligned and offset, with respect to the mean wind direction. The two models exhibit fits with similar residuals for each of three years in the equatorial region. Thus, neither of these two model functions can convincingly be identified as more accurate than the other unless additional factors are considered. Nevertheless, the offset model results in an average directional offset near 10° for each season during the three-year period; whereas, no such offset was inferred at midlatitudes. The cross section dependence on wind direction also exhibits another unexpected average property: a larger downwind compared to upwind cross section, A₁₀≈-0.25 dB in the equatorial Pacific. This characteristic could be caused by a concentration of the short Bragg waves on the backside of the long wave crests. Both of these unexpected characteristics are likely related to a dominant systematic swell traveling nearly perpendicular to the prevailing easterly winds across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The possible cross section dependence on wind stress and wind speed is due to long waves when adjusting the buoy measurements to a common height are discussed     

Error estimates for a histogram in scatterometer geophysical modelfunction estimation

The relationship between the normalized radar cross section σ° and the ocean surface wind field, i.e., the geophysical model function, is a key element in scatterometry. Due to many unsolved physical modeling problems, only a semi-empirical approach can be used to quantitatively relate the observed σ° to the wind field. Once the appropriate functional form has been selected, a model calibration procedure based on colocated σ° measurements and external wind field observations/determinations is accomplished. To this end, a σ° data grouping (binning) is performed to limit measurement uncertainties and reduce data volume. On this note, the binning procedure is revisited as an histogram estimation procedure and the relevant errors are determined. It is shown that in the best case of wind field error-free model the bias error introduced by the binning is negligible (but for low wind regimes) while the variance error is significant     

The analysis of wind exponents retrieved from microwave radar andradiometric measurements

The analysis of the dependence of gravity-capillary spectral density on wind speed is based on near-nadir microwave radiometric measurements and VV scatterometric measurements at view angles 30°-60° from nadir obtained by different investigators in field experiments during the last 25 years. Wind exponents estimated by a symmetric-regression technique for moderate wind speed are consistent both for radiometric and scatterometric measurements. Using Donelan and Pierson's approach, a parameterization of the exponent in the nonlinear dissipation term is derived. The results obtained can be used in model development for the purposes of microwave remote sensing of the ocean     

Numerical study on the along-track interferometric radar imagingmechanism of oceanic surface currents

The phase information in along-track interferometric synthetic aperture radar (along-track INSAR, ATI) images is a measure of the Doppler shift of the backscattered signal and thus of the line-of-sight velocity of the scatterers. It can be exploited for oceanic surface current measurements from aircraft or spacecraft. However, as already discussed in previous publications, the mean Doppler frequency of the radar backscatter from the ocean is not exclusively determined by the mean surface current, but it includes contributions associated with surface wave motion. The authors present an efficient new model for the simulation of Doppler spectra and ATI signatures. The model is based on Bragg scattering theory in a composite surface model approach. They show that resulting Doppler spectra are consistent with predictions of an established model based on fundamental electrodynamic expressions, while computation times are reduced by more than one order of magnitude. This can be a key advantage with regard to operational applications of ATI. Based on model calculations for two simple current fields and various wind conditions and radar configurations, they study theoretical possibilities and limitations of oceanic current measurements by ATI. They find that best results can be expected from ATI systems operated at high microwave frequencies like 10 GHz (X band), high incidence angles like 60°, low platform altitude/speed ratios, and vertical (VV) polarization. The ATI time lag should be chosen long enough to obtain measurable phase differences, but much shorter than the decorrelation time of the backscattered field     

Wind vector retrieval using ERS-1 synthetic aperture radar imagery

An automated algorithm intended for operational use is developed and tested for estimating wind speed and direction using ERS-1 SAR imagery. The wind direction comes from the orientation of low frequency, linear signatures in the SAR imagery that the authors believe are manifestations of roll vortices within the planetary boundary layer. The wind direction thus has inherently a 180° ambiguity since only a single SAR image is used. Wind speed is estimated by using a new algorithm that utilizes both the estimated wind direction and σ ₀ values to invert radar cross section models. The authors show that: 1) on average the direction of the roll vortices signatures is approximately 11° to the right of the surface wind direction and can be used to estimate the surface wind direction to within ±19° and 2) utilizing these estimated wind directions from the SAR imagery subsequently improves wind speed estimation, generating errors of approximately ±1.2 m/s, for ERS-1 SAR data collected during the Norwegian Continental Shelf Experiment in 1991     

Effect of shadowing on electromagnetic scattering from rough oceanwavelike surfaces at small grazing angles

A hybrid moment-method/geometrical-theory-of-diffraction technique (MM/GTD) has been implemented to numerically calculate the electromagnetic scattering from one-dimensionally rough surfaces at extreme illumination angles (down to 0° grazing). The hybrid approach allows the extension of the modeled scattering surface to infinity, avoiding the artificial edge diffraction that prevents use of the standard moment method at the smallest grazing angles, Numerical calculation of the backscattering from slightly rough large-scale surfaces approximating ocean wave features shows that roughness in strongly shadowed regions can contribute significantly to the total backscatter at vertical polarization. This is observed when the shadowing obstacle is several wavelengths high, and the magnitude of the shadow-region contribution does not depend on the radius-of-curvature of the shadowing feature. Strongly shadowed roughness does not significantly contribute to the backscatter at horizontal polarization, although weakly shadowed roughness near the incidence shadow boundary does. The calculations indicate that a shadowing-corrected two-scale model may be able to predict the distributed-surface portion of the sea-surface scattering from the ocean surface at grazing angles down to about 15°, but at lower grazing the shadowing and large-scale curvature of the surface prevent the establishment of a Bragg resonance and invalidate the model     

High-resolution mapping of oceanic wind fields with skywave radar

The direction of the mean surface wind field in the North Pacific Ocean was mapped on September 25 and 26, 1973, over an area of3 times 10^{6}(km)²by OTH-B HF radar. A spatial resolution of 60 km in range and 15 km in cross range was used at points spaced by 150 km in range and 80 km in cross range. Wind directions were inferred from the upwind/downwind first-order Bragg ratio and the measure of the maximum ratio occurring for radial winds at points near each observation.     

An empirical model and an inversion technique for radar scatteringfrom bare soil surfaces

Polarimetric radar measurements were conducted for bare soil surfaces under a variety of roughness and moisture conditions at L -, C-, and X-band frequencies at incidence angles ranging from 10° to 70°. Using a laser profiler and dielectric probes, a complete and accurate set of ground truth data was collected for each surface condition, from which accurate measurements were made of the rms height, correlation length, and dielectric constant. Based on knowledge of the scattering behavior in limiting cases and the experimental observations, an empirical model was developed for σ°_hh, σ°_vv, and σ° _hv in terms of ks (where k=2π/λ is the wave number and s is the rms height) and the relative dielectric constant of the soil surface. The model, which was found to yield very good agreement with the backscattering measurements of the present study as well as with measurements reported in other investigations, was used to develop an inversion technique for predicting the rms height of the surface and its moisture content from multipolarized radar observations