C-Band Cross-Polarization Airborne Ocean Surface NRCS Observations in Hurricanes: 2015–2019

Beginning in 2015, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/NESDIS/STAR and UMass Amherst collaborated with the European Space Agency (ESA) to collect ocean surface normalized radar cross-section (NRCS) measurements at co- and cross-polarizations in extreme wind conditions from the NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft using a prototype antenna for the next-generation European spaceborne scatterometer. Since then, more research has been done to understand the effects of ocean-surface wind vectors on NRCS from both satellite and aircraft. Here we show the data from several seasons of flight experiments to understand the airborne measurements of NRCS in context.