Comparison of Ocean Currents Derived from UHF ATI-SAR to Dispersive Shifts Observed in Sub-Aperture Image Sequences

Abstract:
We report interim results of an experimental investigation into measurement of ocean surface currents with an ultra high frequency synthetic aperture radar (UHF SAR) that supports an along-track interferometric (ATI) mode. We compare results from two different approaches to current measurement: standard ATI-SAR processing, and the analysis of wave dispersion in a time-sequence of sub-aperture images. We find that while the ATI-SAR analysis produces a current profile across the north wall of the Gulf Stream that is consistent with expectations, the dispersion method may require additional analysis to improve and evaluate its accuracy.