Measurements of sea surface temperature and wind vector by nadir airborne microwave instruments in Joint United States/Russia Internal Waves Remote Sensing Experiment JUSREX'92

The results of the Joint United States/Russia Internal Waves Remote Sensing Experiment (JUSREX'92) are presented. A Russian research aircraft, TU-134, equipped with both optical and microwave instruments participated in the experiment. In situ data were obtained from the "Akademik Ioffe;" a research vessel equipped with contact and remote sensing instruments. To determine surface wind speed and direction by means of passive microwave polarimetry, airborne Ka-band radiometer-polarimeter was used. Sea surface temperature was measured by means of the S-band radiometer. Surface temperature and wind vector data were related to true surface data. Special attention was paid to the factors affecting the accuracy of surface parameters retrieval. Wind and temperature fields retrieved from radiometer data were compared with side-looking radar images. The combined analysis of passive and active microwave instrument data has proved important for furthering our understanding of the ocean-atmosphere interaction.