SEASAT-A Satellite Scatterometer (SASS)

Description

The Seasat-A Satellite Scatterometer (SASS) experiment was designed to use an active radar system to measure sea surface winds. The instrument, developed from the Skylab experimental scatterometer, determined wind direction within 20 deg and wind speed from 4 to 26 m/s with an accuracy of 2 m/s. The transmitted frequency was 14.6 GHz. The SASS illuminated the sea surface with four fan-shaped beams (two orthogonal beams, each 500 km wide, on each side of the ground track). The high wind swaths added an additional 250 km to each side. The spatial resolution was 50 km over a region of 200 to 700 km on either side of the spacecraft. For more detailed information, see J. W. Johnson, et al., "Seasat-A satellite scatterometer instrument evaluation," IEEE J. of Oceanic Eng., v. OE-5, pp. 138-144, 1980. The SASS began operating on July 6, 1978, and gathered data for approximately 2290 h. Data are available from SDSD.