Measurement of ocean surface currents from space with multi-frequency microwave radars

The concept of using microwave radars to map ocean surface currents is considered in this dissertation. The theory of surface current measurements using the dual frequency microwave technique is presented and the signal to noise ratio relevant to the problem is defined. Signal processing requirements of the dual frequency system that enable the extraction of stable current information from the cross product spectrum of the two backscattered microwave signals are examined. The quantities considered include the minimum observation time, the sampling rate, frequency stability requirements and the spectral stability. It is shown that systems that are likely candidates for surface current mapping must be located in geostationary orbit. Problems related to the spatial resolution of the currents are addressed and the concept of using multiple antennas to resolve the currents azimuthally is introduced.