Azimuth falloff effects in two-antenna SAR measurements of ocean wave spectra

Estimates of ocean wave spectra obtained from conventional synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images suffer from the azimuth falloff effect which limits the range of azimuth wavenumbers that can be observed by such systems. This effect was earlier predicted to be modified by the use of a second receive antenna which is displaced from the first in the along-track direction. The authors present experimental evidence which is consistent with these theoretical predictions and suggests that the azimuth falloff limitations inherent in conventional SAR systems can be overcome by the use of two or more appropriately spaced antennas.