SAR Remote Sensing of Marine Surface Films

Marine surface films, be they of biogenic or anthropogenic origin, dampen the small-scale waves that are responsible for the radar backscattering, hence they can be seen on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery as areas of reduced image brightness. Examples of different kinds of marine surface films are presented, that were observed on spaceborne SAR imagery since the launch of SEASAT in 1978. In addition, some results from SAR data analyses are used to demonstrate the key aspects of the visibility of marine surface films on spaceborne SAR imagery.