An Application of Ocean Wave-Current Refraction to the Gulf Stream Using SEASAT SAR Data

When ocean waves in deep water interact with a current, the direction of propagation and characteristics of the waves such as height and length are affected. Swell in the open ocean can undergo significant refraction as it passes through major current systems like the Gulf Stream or Antarctic Circum...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Byman, Michael W.
Other Authors: NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1989
Subjects:
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
*OCEAN WAVES
*ITERATIONS
*OCEAN CURRENTS
POSITION(LOCATION)
THESES
SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR
SPECTRA
CORRELATION
PROFILES
REMOTE DETECTORS
INVERSION
BEHAVIOR
TOMOGRAPHY
REFRACTION
OCEANS
GEOGRAPHIC AREAS
GULF STREAM
DEEP WATER
WAVES
OPEN WATER
PROPAGATION
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
POLAR REGIONS
Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA216769
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA216769
Description
Summary:When ocean waves in deep water interact with a current, the direction of propagation and characteristics of the waves such as height and length are affected. Swell in the open ocean can undergo significant refraction as it passes through major current systems like the Gulf Stream or Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Remote sensing techniques such as synthetic aperture radars (SAR) have the potential to detect wave systems over a wide geographical area. Combining a model for wave refraction in the presence of currents with SAR measurements, the inverse problem of using the measured wave data can be solved to determine the direction and magnitude of the intervening currents. In this study the behavior of swell measured by SAR on a satellite pass over the Gulf Stream is examined. The refraction predicted by a numerical model under conditions of varying current profiles and velocities is compared to SAR generated wave spectra. By matching the current profile which results in the best correlation of wave refraction to the SAR data, the tomographic problem of measuring the Gulf Stream current is solved. Keywords: Theses.

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