Directional wavenumber characteristics of short sea waves and their comparison with microwave backscatter

Azimuthal dependence of radar cross section measured with an X-band scatterometer during an experiment at the Buzzards Bay Tower shows a typical broadly peaked shape. The directional distribution of energy in the capillary-gravity wavelengths measured with an in situ wire wave gage array cotemporally deployed, however, shows a much narrower spreading of energy than previously estimated or measured. This data is discussed with the purpose being not to generate or compare a parameterized spreading function with previously proposed models or data, but to simply present new experimental data which may shed more light on the directional characteristics of short sea waves.