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Science 29 June 1979:
Vol. 204. no. 4400, pp. 1418 - 1421
DOI: 10.1126/science.204.4400.1418
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Articles

Seasat Synthetic Aperture Radar: Ocean Wave Detection Capabilities

F. I. GONZALEZ 1, R. C. BEAL 2, W. E. BROWN 3, P. S. DELEONIBUS 4, J. W. SHERMAN III 4, J. F. R. GOWER 5, D. LICHY 6, D. B. ROSS 7, C. L. RUFENACH 8, and R. A. SHUCHMAN 9

1 Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington 98105
2 Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland 20810
3 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91103
4 National Environmental Satellite Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C. 20233
5 Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 4V2
6 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia 22060
7 Sea-Air Interaction Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida 33149
8 Wave Propagation Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado 80303
9 Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48107

A preliminary assessment has been made of the capability of the Seasat synthetic aperture radar to detect ocean waves. Comparison with surface and aircraft measurements from five passes of the satellite over the Gulf of Alaska indicates agreement to within about – 15 percent in wavelength and about ± 25° in wave direction. These results apply to waves 100 to 250 meters in length propagating in a direction predominantly across the satellite track, in sea states with significant wave height (Hfrac13) in a range of 2 to 3.5 meters.

Submitted on April 20, 1979


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Spaceborne Imaging Radar: Monitoring of Ocean Waves.
R. C. BEAL (1980)
Science 208, 1373-1375
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