Classification of wave breaking mechanisms from their polarimetric radar signatures

Abstract

While it is usually convenient and invariably simpler to model the ocean surface as a simply-connected, single-valued function, the intrinsic nonlinearity of surface hydrodynamics results in a class of events, collectively termed wave breaking, in which either or both of these assumptions are invalid. Many geophysical processes are dependent on the details of these events, including bubble generation, chemical exchange between atmosphere and ocean, acoustic noise generation, momentum transfer and surface wave development. It is therefore of interest to establish whether different forms of wave breaking can be distinguished by their radar signatures. We demonstrate in this paper that high resolution polarimetric radar echo analysis can reveal characteristic structural features which may lead to a viable classification scheme.