Airborne measurements of radar backscatter from the ocean surface at C-Band

This dissertation describes a set of airborne C-Band scatterometer measurements made during two experiments: the Surface Waves Dynamics Experiment, and a set of validation underflights of the ERS-1 satellite. These measurements were collected under a wide variety of environmental conditions. The effects of low wind speed and atmospheric instabilities on the normalized radar cross section of the ocean surface are studied. The measurements are compared to relevant empirical and theoretical scattering models. Additionally, the airborne C-Band measurements are compared to coincident measurements made by the AMI scatterometer onboard the ERS-1 satellite, and by an airborne Ku-Band scatterometer