Signature of Lighthouses, Ships, and Small Islands in Altimeter Waveforms

High-rate (20 Hz) altimeter echo waveforms are particularly sensitive to small-scale changes of surface backscatter and they contain a wealth of information on the sea surface. A detailed analysis of these waveforms often reveals the signatures of objects that emerge from the sea. Such objects, such...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 2007-06, Vol.24 (6), p.1143-1149
Main Author: Tournadre, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altimeters
Islands
Lighthouses
Marine
Sea level
Standard deviation
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Summary:High-rate (20 Hz) altimeter echo waveforms are particularly sensitive to small-scale changes of surface backscatter and they contain a wealth of information on the sea surface. A detailed analysis of these waveforms often reveals the signatures of objects that emerge from the sea. Such objects, such as beacons, lighthouses, ships, and small islands, have deterministic signatures that can be estimated using simple geometry. Examples of signatures of ships, beacons, and islands in the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason altimeters waveforms are presented and analyzed. Some potential applications are also presented. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0739-0572
1520-0426
DOI:10.1175/jtech2030.1