Brightness variability on synthetic aperture radar imagery of the sea surface caused by kilometer-scale atmospheric convective eddies

Kilometer-scale variability in surface stress caused by convective structures in the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) is often manifested by brightness variability patterns on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery of the sea surface. Such brightness variability patterns are modeled using a new, nonlinear dynamical system (NDS) derived from the Boussinesq equations having boundary conditions appropriate for MABL flow. Linear analysis of the model solutions produces the preferred horizontal wavelengths of the convective structures. These preferred wavelengths depend critically on the form and strength of the background wind profile and an the intensity of the capping inversion. By requiring that these preferred horizontal wavelengths match those determined via spectral analysis of a SAR image, plausible background wind profiles and inversion strengths can be deduced. Presented in this paper is an application of this technique to a kilometer-scale brightness variability pattern seen on a SAR image taken 17 June 1993 during the HI-RES 2 field program.