Eddy detection using RADARSAT-1 synthetic aperture radar

Two projects undertaken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) have shown success in using spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to identify oceanic eddies and current boundaries. In addition to detecting the frontal area and change in slick patterns, the SAR imagery may also pick up a change in the low-level wind structure as a result of the sea surface temperature (SST) gradient between the eddy and its surroundings affecting the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) stability. This wind fluctuation modulates the sea surface roughness, allowing the eddy boundaries to be imaged by SAR. Two examples, one of an eddy in the Gulf of Alaska, and the second of the Loop Current boundary in the Gulf of Mexico, are analyzed to show the correlation between the SST and surface wind gradients across their boundaries