Wind field retrieval from SAR images using the continuous wavelet transform

Describes the results of a method, based on the two dimensional wavelet technique, to retrieve the wind field from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images without any external information about the wind direction. This method works well when backscatter structures formed by wind rolls are shown by SAR images. An ERS-2 SAR image has been analysed with this technique. The result has been compared with the ADEOS-1 NSCAT scatterometer wind field obtained in the same area 15 minutes after the ERS-2 passage. The SAR and NSCAT wind fields are very consistent in direction (mean difference is 15°), but the NSCAT wind velocities are higher than the SAR ones by ∼3.5 m s^-1.