Preliminary Results of Dual Polarized Radar Sea Scatter

Abstract

Preliminary results are presented for dual polarized X-band radar sea scatter measurements made at the U.S. Army Field Research Facility instrumented pier at Duck, N.C. Ranges measured extended from the surf zone to deep water. The 30-ns pulse radar data indicated that the radar return was localized about the wave crests, which were tracked in range from relatively deep water through breaking at the shoreline. This ability to track waves allowed a measure of their phase velocity under shoaling conditions. Radar cross sections are presented as a function of depression angle for simultaneous dual-polarized data. Radar cross sections are found to be very similar for plunging breakers, presumably due to specular and volume scatter. Vertically polarized scatter from wave crests over a shoal 300 m off shore was found to be 20 dB or more than that for horizontal polarization, not in disagreement with predictions of the two-scale model.