Simulation of GNSS-R returns for delay-DOPPLER analysis of the ocean surface

We present a new approach to the retrieval of sea surface roughness using GNSS-R. The steps through the simulation of the whole end-to-end microwave scattering of GNSS signals from the sea surface are explained, with emphasis on how to generate a linear sea surface and to implement the Kirchhoff Approximation (KA), as the large-scale part of the full scattering model. We illustrate some examples of radar cross sections calculated using the Kirchhoff scattering model, and how they change with respect to different polarizations. Their variations with geometry, sea state and spatial resolution are investigated and discussed.