Comparison of Model Predictions With Measurements of Ku- and Ka-Band Near-Nadir Normalized Radar Cross Sections of the Sea Surface From the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes Experiment

A comparison of model predictions with measurements of near-nadir normalized radar cross sections (NRCSs) of the sea surface at Ku- and Ka-bands is reported. Measurements of Airborne Precipitation Radar Second Generation (APR-2) from near nadir to 25 degrees incidence angle, along with simultaneous wind truth from dropsonde observations, are compared with predictions of the "cutoff-invariant" two-scale model of sea scattering with the overall goal of assessing the model for possible future use in the APR-2 calibration process. The performance of the model as a function of wind speed and incidence angle is therefore emphasized. The measured data set, acquired primarily during the 2010 "Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes" (GRIP) experiment, includes wind speeds from approximately 5 to 45 m/s. Model comparisons are limited by uncertainties in the wind fields due to limited dropsonde coverage; the data set is separated into "more reliable" (containing wind speeds of 5-20 m/s) and "less reliable" (wind speeds of 5-45 m/s) wind truth categories accordingly. Because a model of the sea spectrum is required for cutoff-invariant model predictions, comparisons with measured data are performed for three differing sea spectrum descriptions. It is found that a bias of less than similar to 1 dB over the wind speed range 5-40 m/s and a standard deviation less than 1 dB over the wind speed range 10-40 m/s can be achieved when using the "unified" sea spectrum description of Elfouhaily et al. The model also provides error levels that are near uniform with respect to both incidence angle and wind speed.