SIR-C/X-SAR wind and wave observations in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

There were six datatakes by SIR-C/X-SAR over a wind and wave buoy site in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in October 1994. The authors present the data set, including SAR, buoy, and model wind and wave data. Reasonable agreement is shown between C-band VV polarization radar cross section data from SIR-C and CMOD4 wind model radar cross sections. The C-band HH polarization radar cross sections were comparable to those of C-band VV, but were expected to be more than 1 dB smaller. Based upon initial analysis, systematic differences in measured wave propagation direction were noted between SIR-C and X-SAR. The qualitative agreement between the buoy, model, and SIR-C/X-SAR wavenumber spectra was reasonable