Airborne measurements of the ocean's Ku‐band radar cross‐section at low incidence angles

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Abstract
Ocean backscatter data obtained with a Ku‐band airborne radar are presented along with coincident altimeter and directional wave spectral estimates. These data were collected using one sensor, NASA's radar ocean wave spectrometer (ROWS). The measurements are compared with an electromagnetic scattering model for perfectly conducting Gaussian random surfaces. The normalized radar cross‐section (NRCS) data cover those incidence angles (0–20°) where both quasi‐specular and Bragg scattering mechanisms are expected. Under certain conditions, identification and separation of these two mechanisms is possible. The scanning radar allows observations of the azimuthal variations in NRCS that are at times indicative of short‐scale wave generation in the wind direction.