What does the satellite QuikSCAT measure?

The NASA QuikSCAT (Quick Scatterometer) was an Earth observation satellite carrying the SeaWinds scatterometer. Its primary mission was to measure the surface wind speed and direction over the ice-free global oceans.

How does a satellite scatterometer work?

A radar scatterometer operates by transmitting a pulse of microwave energy towards the Earth’s surface and measuring the reflected energy. A separate measurement of the noise-only power is made and subtracted from the signal+noise measurement to determine the backscatter signal power.

How did the launch of the SeaSat satellite help with this task?

The SeaSat mission pioneered satellite oceanography and proved the viability of imaging radar for studying our planet. The SAR instrument provided a wealth of information on such diverse ocean phenomena as surface waves, internal waves, currents, upwelling, shoals, sea ice, wind, and rainfall.

How has satellite technology helped the study of oceanography?

Satellites also provide information about the color of the ocean. For example, color data helps researchers determine the impact of floods along the coast, detect river plumes, and locate blooms of harmful algae that can contaminate shellfish and kill other fish and marine mammals.

How does synthetic aperture radar work?

A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an active sensor that first transmits microwave signals and then receives back the signals that are returned, or backscattered , from the Earth’s surface. The instrument measures distances between the sensor and the point on the Earth’s surface where the signal is backscattered.

When scatterometer are used for measurement of radar backscatter from the?

ASCAT is a so-called fan beam scatterometer. This instrument is a radar with vertically polarized antennas. It consists of two sets of three antennas. Thus each point of the surface is seen and measured by the scatterometer three times….Scatterometers.

	C-band	Ku-band
Wavelength	5 cm	2 cm

Is seasat still in orbit?

But this spunky satellite, which is still in orbit, shining in the night sky at magnitude 4.0, continues to live on through the many Earth and space observation missions it has spawned.

How are satellites used to predict the weather?

Satellite data help forecast the weather in two ways: expert forecasters interpret the images, and numerical weather-prediction models assimilate observations. Image analysis plays an important role in short-term forecasts, those that predict the weather in one to three hours into the future.

What on earth is synthetic aperture radar?

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), used to create the majority of the imagery available in the ASF archive, is one of the power tools of remote sensing. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) bounces a microwave radar signal off the Earth’s surface to detect physical properties.