FY 1981

Ocean surface current detection by synthetic aperture radar

González, F.I., C.L. Rufenach, and R.A. Schuchman

In Oceanography from Space, J.F.R. Gower (ed.), Plenum Press, New York, 511–523 (1981)

Synthetic aperture radar Doppler histories have been used to obtain estimates of ocean surface currents. For currents in excess of 1 meter/second, airborne radar measurements agree with surface observations to within 25 percent. Satellite measurements, however, yield current speeds far in excess of surface estimates. The technique developed to obtain the Doppler information is described, and possible sources of error are discussed.