Ocean surface current mapping with a bi-static radar system

A bi-static radar system 100 is provided for mapping of oceanic surface conditions. The system 100 includes at least one transmitter 102 positioned in a location separated from at least one receiver 106. Both transmitter 102 and receiver 106 have a local oscillator locked to a GPS signal received by a GPS circuit 134 to provide coherency between the transmitted and received signals. A signal processing means may be provided for determining current velocity within a scattering cell using a Doppler shift of the radar echoes measured by the bi-static radar system.