Impact of high frequency waves on the ocean altimeter range bias

New aircraft observations are presented on the range determination error in satellite altimetry associated with ocean waves. Laser-based measurements of the cross correlation between the gravity wave slope and elevation are reported for the first time. These observations provide direct access to a long, O(10 m), gravity wave statistic central to nonlinear wave theory prediction of the altimeter sea state bias. Coincident Ka-band radar scattering data are used to estimate an electromagnetic (EM) range bias analogous to that in satellite altimetry. These data, along with ancillary wind and wave slope variance estimates, are used alongside existing theory to evaluate the extent of long- versus short-wave, O(cm), control of the bias. The longer wave bias contribution to the total EM bias is shown to range from 25 to as much as 100%. Moreover, on average the term is linearly related to wind speed and to the gravity wave slope variance, consistent with WNL theory. The EM bias associated with interactions between long and short waves is obtained assuming the effect is additive to the independently observed long-wave factor. This second component is also a substantial contributor, is observed to be quadratic in wind speed or wave slope, and dominates at moderate wind speeds. The behavior is shown to be consistent with EM bias prediction based in hydrodynamic modulation theory. Study implications for improved correction of the on-orbit satellite sea state bias are discussed

Two-Scale Kirchhoff Theory: Comparison of Experimental Observations With Theoretical Prediction

We introduce a non-perturbative two scale Kirchhoff theory, in the context of light scattering by a rough surface. This is a two scale theory which considers the roughness both in the wavelength scale (small scale) and in the scales much larger than the wavelength of the incident light (large scale). The theory can precisely explain the small peaks which appear at certain scattering angles. These peaks can not be explained by one scale theories. The theory was assessed by calculating the light scattering profiles using the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) images, as well as surface profilometer scans of a rough surface, and comparing the results with experiments. The theory is in good agreement with the experimental results.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Doppler spectra of airborne sound backscattered by the free surface of a shallow turbulent water flow

Measurements of the Doppler spectra of airborne ultrasound backscattered by the rough dynamic surface of a shallow turbulent flow are presented in this paper. The interpretation of the observed acoustic signal behavior is provided by means of a Monte Carlo simulation based on the Kirchhoff approximation and on a linear random-phase model of the water surface elevation. Results suggest that the main scattering mechanism is from capillary waves with small amplitude. Waves that travel at the same velocity of the flow, as well as dispersive waves that travel at a range of velocities, are detected, studied and used in the acoustic Doppler analysis. The dispersive surface waves are not observed when the flow velocity is slow compared to their characteristic velocity. Relatively wide peaks in the experimental spectra also suggest the existence of nonlinear modulations of the short capillary waves, or their propagation in a wide range of directions. The variability of the Doppler spectra with the conditions of the flow can affect the accuracy of the flow velocity estimations based on backscattering Doppler. A set of different methods to estimate this velocity accurately and remotely at different ranges of flow conditions is suggested

Weighted Curvature Approximation: numerical tests for 2D dielectric surfaces

The weighted curvature approximation (WCA) was recently introduced by Elfouhaily et al [7] as a unifying scattering theory that reproduces formally both the tangent-plane and the small-perturbation model in the appropriate limits, and is structurally identical to the former approximation with some different slope-dependent kernel. Due to the simplicity of its formulation, the WCA is interesting from a numerical point of view and the aim of the present paper is to establish its accuracy on some representative test cases. We derive statistical formulae for the coherent field and the cross-section in the case of stationary Gaussian random surfaces. We then specialize to the case of isotropic Gaussian spectra and perform numerical comparisons against rigorous method of moments (MoM)-based results on 2D dielectric surfaces. We show that the WCA remains extremely accurate in a roughness range where other first-order classical approximations (small-slope and Kirchhoff) clearly fail, at the same computational cost

Impact of high-frequency waves on the ocean altimeter range bias

New aircraft observations are presented on the range determination error in satellite altimetry associated with ocean waves. Laser-based measurements of the cross correlation between the gravity wave slope and elevation are reported for the first time. These observations provide direct access to a long, O(10 m), gravity wave statistic central to nonlinear wave theory prediction of the altimeter sea state bias. Coincident Ka-band radar scattering data are used to estimate an electromagnetic (EM) range bias analogous to that in satellite altimetry. These data, along with ancillary wind and wave slope variance estimates, are used alongside existing theory to evaluate the extent of long- versus short-wave, O(cm), control of the bias. The longer wave bias contribution to the total EM bias is shown to range from 25 to as much as 100%. Moreover, on average the term is linearly related to wind speed and to the gravity wave slope variance, consistent with WNL theory. The EM bias associated with interactions between long and short waves is obtained assuming the effect is additive to the independently observed long-wave factor. This second component is also a substantial contributor, is observed to be quadratic in wind speed or wave slope, and dominates at moderate wind speeds. The behavior is shown to be consistent with EM bias prediction based in hydrodynamic modulation theory. Study implications for improved correction of the on-orbit satellite sea state bias are discussed

Three-dimensional modulation of turbulent shear stress over oblique moving waves

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