Investigation of the ocean backscatter during high wind events. I. Experiment description and results

Several aircraft-based experiments have been conducted over the last few years to measure the ocean surface characteristics at microwave frequencies. Measurements were made using a C- and Ku-band scatterometer system under a variety of environmental conditions. These frequencies are similar to those of current and planned satellite-based scatterometer missions. The goal of these flight experiments was to collect data to improve upon the wind retrieval algorithms currently being used at C- and Ku-band. In particular, these experiments targeted high ocean surface wind speed events