Effects of wave breaking on SAR signatures observed near the edge of the Gulf Stream

This paper examines the role of wave breaking in the formation of the bright linear features that appear in SAR images collected near the edge of the Gulf Stream. Results from a recent set of laboratory experiments are used to develop a relationship between the rate of energy dissipation and the generation of small-scale roughness by breaking waves. This source function is found to exceed the direct generation of waves by the wind at high wavenumbers when there are large current gradients. The changes in the small-scale roughness and radar backscatter due to this mechanism are estimated and the results are compared with SAR observations from the High-Resolution Field Experiment