Eddy detection using RADARSAT-1 synthetic aperture radar

Author

Friedman, Karen S. ; Li, Xiaofeng ; Pichel, William G. ; Clemente-Colón, Pablo ; Walker, Nan ; Veenstra, Tim

Author_Institution

NOAA, Camp Spring, MD

Volume

7

fYear

2004

fDate

20-24 Sept. 2004

Firstpage

4707

Abstract

Two projects undertaken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) have shown success in using spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to identify oceanic eddies and current boundaries. In addition to detecting the frontal area and change in slick patterns, the SAR imagery may also pick up a change in the low-level wind structure as a result of the sea surface temperature (SST) gradient between the eddy and its surroundings affecting the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) stability. This wind fluctuation modulates the sea surface roughness, allowing the eddy boundaries to be imaged by SAR. Two examples, one of an eddy in the Gulf of Alaska, and the second of the Loop Current boundary in the Gulf of Mexico, are analyzed to show the correlation between the SST and surface wind gradients across their boundaries

Keywords

atmospheric boundary layer; atmospheric structure; atmospheric techniques; eddy currents; oceanographic techniques; radar imaging; spaceborne radar; synthetic aperture radar; wind; Gulf of Alaska; Gulf of Mexico; Loop Current boundary; MABL; NESDIS; NOAA; National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; RADARSAT-1 synthetic aperture radar; SAR imaging; SST; eddy boundaries; low-level wind structure; marine atmospheric boundary layer; oceanic eddy current boundaries; sea surface roughness; sea surface temperature; slick patterns; spaceborne synthetic aperture radar; surface wind gradient; wind fluctuation; Fluctuations; Ocean temperature; Radar detection; Rough surfaces; Satellites; Sea surface; Spaceborne radar; Stability; Surface roughness; Synthetic aperture radar;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2004. IGARSS '04. Proceedings. 2004 IEEE International

Conference_Location

Anchorage, AK

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8742-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IGARSS.2004.1370209

Filename

1370209