Azimuth falloff effects in two-antenna SAR measurements of ocean wave spectra

• Published in: IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 1020 - 1028
• Main Authors: Lyzenga, D.R., Malinas, N.P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01-07-1996; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Subjects: Antenna measurements; Azimuth; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Extraterrestrial measurements; Ocean waves; Physics of the oceans; Receiving antennas; Sea measurements; Spatial resolution; Surface waves, tides and sea level. Seiches; Synthetic aperture radar; Synthetic aperture radar interferometry; Transmitting antennas; Sea surface; Radar observation; Microwave; Data processing; Sea surface wave; Synthetic aperture radar; Remote sensing; Field study
• ISSN: 0196-2892; 1558-0644
• DOI: 10.1109/36.508419

Estimates of ocean wave spectra obtained from conventional synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images suffer from the azimuth falloff effect which limits the range of azimuth wavenumbers that can be observed by such systems. This effect was earlier predicted to be modified by the use of a second receive antenna which is displaced from the first in the along-track direction. The authors present experimental evidence which is consistent with these theoretical predictions and suggests that the azimuth falloff limitations inherent in conventional SAR systems can be overcome by the use of two or more appropriately spaced antennas.