Mapping of Mesoscale and Submesoscale Wind Fields Using Synthetic Aperture Radar

The long-term goal of the research effort to be described in this paper 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 obtaining such information, this application of SAR, especially for use in coastal waters, would represent a significant advance over most scatterometer and passive microwave sensors that yield only coarse-resolution estimates of the wind field. Moreover, the extended swath width of the ScanSar beam modes, already available on RADARSAT and planned for ENVISAT, can significantly extend the coverage necessary for practical applications.