W-band radar measurements of laboratory water waves

The paper presents results on millimetre wave radar backscattering from laboratory water waves. Firstly, in a linear wave-tank, the radar has sensed mechanically generated surface waves of varying frequency (1 to 4 Hz) and amplitude (0.5 to 10 cm). Finally, in a 13 m diameter wave-tank, scaled versions of particular internal wave phenomena have been set-up under mechanically generated surface waves, and the resulting wave-field has been sensed by the radar in SAR mode. Both series of experiments have been carried out at the Laboratoire des Ecoulements Geophysiques et Industriels, Grenoble, France, within the EC project Mesoscale Ocean Radar Signature Experiments. First, the role of the radar and its operating mode are briefly presented, and the experiments are described. Then, the paper focuses on the data analysis and draws some conclusions on the backscattering mechanisms