Mapping of Mesoscale and Submesoscale Wind Fields Using Synthetic Aperture Radar
Abstract
The long-term goal of this research effort is to investigate the possibility of obtaining quantitative information about the near-surface wind field and perhaps other parameters that characterize the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) from an analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. Because of its potential for yielding such information at high horizontal resolution, this application of SAR would represent a significant advance over most scatterometer and passive microwave sensors that yield only coarse-resolution estimates of the wind field. The major scientific objective of our research is to determine, by comparisons with more standard measurements and model predictions, if it is possible to extract detailed quantitative estimates of the near-surface wind field and perhaps various other parameters that characterize the MABL from SAR imagery. Because of the large footprint associated with conventional multiple-antenna scatterometers or passive microwave sensors, wind estimates in coastal regions are difficult to obtain. SAR, on the other hand, provides high-resolution imagery where various signatures associated with fluctuations in the MABL are commonly seen, especially in coastal waters. Moreover, because SAR can resolve the surface signatures of turbulence structures in the MABL, it may be possible to diagnose the surface layer stability and therefore even produce wind-speed estimates corrected for this important effect.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA537534
Entities
People
- Donald R. Thompson
- Robert C. Beal
Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University