Extraction of sea state and wind speed from reflected GPS signals: modeling and aircraft measurements

Currently, the wind retrieval from GPS ocean reflections uses the geometric optics model. This model could be insufficient in situations when quasi-specular reflections are affected or dominated by Bragg scattering. A small-slope approximation of the lowest order that accounts for both mechanisms is used for modeling of bistatic cross-section of a rough surface. The paper reports comparison between modeled and measured waveforms of the reflected GPS signal, and the impact of this factor on wind retrieval is discussed.