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Satellite detection of natural films on the ocean surface
Author(s) -
Espedal Heidi A.,
Johannessen Ola M.,
Knulst Johan
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/96gl03009
Subject(s) - satellite , synthetic aperture radar , remote sensing , environmental science , backscatter (email) , radar , sea surface temperature , natural (archaeology) , space based radar , atmospheric sciences , geology , meteorology , radar imaging , oceanography , radar engineering details , geography , physics , aerospace engineering , paleontology , astronomy , telecommunications , computer science , engineering , wireless
Natural films on the ocean surface influence air‐sea fluxes of momentum, heat and gas. It is therefore essential to be able to map the geographical extent and variability of such films to determine the resulting impact on the earth's climate system. Satellite based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) may prove very useful, and perhaps the only way, to quantify global scale film distribution. In order to investigate the composition of natural film and its effect on radar return, in situ samples of the surface microlayer were for the first time taken simultaneously with ERS‐1 SAR coverage of the sea. Our results show that the film was enriched in organic composition and that the concentration of fatty acids was generally one order of magnitude higher inside than outside natural film areas, resulting in a 6–17 dB decrease in radar backscatter.