SAR signatures of the marine atmospheric boundary layer: Implications for numerical forecasting

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) offers the potential for 10 to 100 times higher-resolution remote sensing of the wind field at sea than is possible with spaceborne scatterometers. With this enhanced resolution comes new opportunities for quantitative analysis of marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) processes. In particular, SAR's ability to resolve much of the turbulence spectrum permits quantitative diagnosis of air-sea fluxes as well as the depth and stability of the MABL. Because the cost of a SAR satellite is closely linked to its resolution, it is essential to examine the minimum resolution required for each of these capabilities. The well-known similarity forms of the MABL's wind speed spectrum provide the basis for this evaluation.