Scatterometer

A scatterometer or diffusionmeter is a
scientific instrument to measure the
return of a beam of light or radar waves
scattered by diffusion in a medium such
as air. Diffusionmeters using visible light
are found in airports or along roads to
measure horizontal visibility. Radar
scatterometers use radio or microwaves
to determine the normalized radar cross
section (σ0, "sigma zero" or "sigma
naught") of a surface. They are often
mounted on weather satellites to find
wind speed and direction, and are used in
industries to analyze the roughness of
surfaces.

Optical

Airport scatterometer (or diffusometer).

Optical diffusionmeters are devices used

in meteorology to find the optical range
or the horizontal visibility. They consist of
a light source, usually a laser, and a
receiver. Both are placed at a 35° angle
downward, aimed at a common area.
Lateral scattering by the air along the
light beam is quantified as an attenuation
coefficient. Any departure from the clear
air extinction coefficient (e.g. in fog) is
measured and is inversely proportional to
the visibility (the greater the loss, the
lower is the visibility).

These devices are found in automatic

weather stations for general visibility,
along airport runways for runway visual
range, or along roads for visual
conditions. Their main drawback is that
the measurement is done over the very
small volume of air between the
transmitter and the receiver. The visibility
reported is therefore only representative
of the general conditions around the
instrument in generalized conditions
(synoptic fog for instance). This is not
always the case (e.g. patchy fog).

Radar scatterometer

Radar scatterometer

A radar scatterometer operates by

transmitting a pulse of microwave energy
towards the Earth's surface and
measuring the reflected energy. A
separate measurement of the noise-only
power is made and subtracted from the
signal+noise measurement to determine
the backscatter signal power. Sigma-0
(σ⁰) is computed from the signal power
measurement using the distributed target
radar equation. Scatterometer
instruments are very precisely calibrated
in order to make accurate backscatter
measurements.

The primary application of spaceborne

scatterometry has been measurements
of near-surface winds over the ocean.[1]
Such instruments are known as wind
scatterometers. By combining sigma-0
measurements from different azimuth
angles, the near-surface wind vector over
the ocean's surface can be determined
using a geophysical model function
(GMF) which relates wind and
backscatter. Over the ocean, the radar
backscatter results from scattering from
wind-generated capillary-gravity waves,
which are generally in equilibrium with
the near-surface wind over the ocean.
The scattering mechanism is known as
Bragg scattering, which occurs from the
waves that are in resonance with the
microwaves.
The backscattered power depends on the
wind speed and direction. Viewed from
different azimuth angles, the observed
backscatter from these waves varies.
These variations can be exploited to
estimate the sea surface wind, i.e. its
speed and direction. This estimate
process is sometimes termed 'wind
retrieval' or 'model function inversion'.
This is a non-linear inversion procedure
based on an accurate knowledge of the
GMF (in an empirical or semi-empirical
form) that relates the scatterometer
backscatter and the vector wind.
Retrieval requires an angular diversity
scatterometer measurements with the
GMF, which is provided by the
scatterometer making several
backscatter measurements of the same
spot on the ocean's surface from
different azimuth angles.

A snapshot of Typhoon Soulik while at Category 4

intensity captured by Eumetsat's ASCAT (Advanced
Scatterometer) instrument on board the Metop-A
satellite

Scatterometer wind measurements are

used for air-sea interaction, climate
studies and are particularly useful for
monitoring hurricanes.[2] Scatterometer
backscatter data are applied to the study
of vegetation, soil moisture, polar ice,
tracking Antarctic icebergs[3] and global
change.[4] Scatterometer measurements
have been used to measure winds over
sand and snow dunes from space. Non-
terrestrial applications include study of
Solar System moons using space probes.
This is especially the case with the
NASA/ESA Cassini mission to Saturn and
its moons.

Several generations of wind

scatterometers have been flown in space
by NASA, ESA, and NASDA. The first
operational wind scatterometer was
known as the Seasat Scatterometer
(SASS) and was launched in 1978.[5] It
was a fan-beam system operating at Ku-
band (14 GHz). In 1991 ESA launched the
European Remote-Sensing Satellite ERS-
1 Advanced Microwave Instrument (AMI)
scatterometer,[6] followed by the ERS-2
AMI scatterometer in 1995. Both AMI
fan-beam systems operated at C-band
(5.6 GHz). In 1996 NASA launched the
NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT),[1] a Ku-
band fan-beam system.[7] NASA
launched the first scanning
scatterometer, known as 'SeaWinds', on
QuikSCAT in 1999. It operated at Ku-
band. A second SeaWinds instrument
was flown on the NASDA ADEOS-2 in
2002. The Indian Space Research
Organisation launched a Ku-band
scatterometer on their Oceansat-2
platform in 2009. ESA and EUMETSAT
launched the first C-band ASCAT in 2006
onboard Metop-A.[8] The Cyclone Global
Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS),
launched in 2016, is a constellation of
eight small satellites utilizing a bistatic
approach by analyzing the reflection from
the Earth's surface of Global Positioning
System (GPS) signals, rather than using
an onboard radar transmitter.

Contribution to botany
Scatterometers helped to prove the
hypothesis, dating from mid-19th century,
of the anisotropic (direction dependent)
long distance dispersion by wind to
explain the strong floristic affinities
between landmasses.

A work, published by the journal Science

in May 2004 with the title "Wind as a
Long-Distance Dispersal Vehicle in the
Southern Hemisphere", used daily
measurements of wind azimuth and
speed taken by the SeaWinds
scatterometer from 1999 to 2003. They
found a stronger correlation of floristic
similarities with wind connectivity than
with geographic proximities, which
supports the idea that wind is a dispersal
vehicle for many organisms in the
Southern Hemisphere.

Semiconductor and precision

manufacturing

Scatterometers are widely used in

metrology for roughness of polished and
lapped surfaces in semiconductor and
precision machining industries.[9] They
provide a fast and non-contact
alternative to traditional stylus methods
for topography assessment.[10][11]
Scatterometers are compatible with
vacuum environment, are not sensitive to
vibration, and can be readily integrated
with surface processing and other
metrology tools.[12][13]

Uses

Illustration of the ISS-RapidScat location on the

International Space Station

Examples of use on Earth observation

satellites or installed instruments, and
dates of operation:[14]

NSCAT (NASA Scatterometer)

instrument on ADEOS I (1996–97)
 SeaWinds instrument on QuikSCAT
(2001–2009)
OSCAT-2 instrument on SCATSAT-1
(launched 2016)
SCAT instrument on Oceansat-2
(2009–2014)
ISS-RapidScat on the International
Space Station (2014–2016)
ASCAT on MetOp satellites
The CYGNSS constellation (launched
2016)

References
1. F. Naderi; M. H. Freilich & D. G. Long
(June 1991). "Spaceborne Radar
Measurement of Wind Velocity Over
 the Ocean—An Overview of the
NSCAT Scatterometer System" .
Proceedings of the IEEE. 79 (6):
850–866. doi:10.1109/5.90163 .
2. P.S. Chang, Z. Jelenak, J.M.
Sienkiewicz, R. Knabb, M.J. Brennan,
D.G. Long, and M. Freeberg.
Operational Use and Impact of
Satellite Remotely Sensed Ocean
Surface Vector Winds in the Marine
Warning and Forecasting
Environment, Oceanography, Vol. 22,
No. 2, pp. 194–207, 2009.
3. K.M. Stuart and D.G. Long, Tracking
large tabular icebergs using the
SeaWinds Ku-band microwave
 scatterometer, Deep-Sea Research
Part II,
doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.11.004 ,
Vol. 58, pp. 1285–1300, 2011.
4. D.G. Long, M.R. Drinkwater, B. Holt,
S. Saatchi, and C. Bertoia. Global Ice
and Land Climate Studies Using
Scatterometer Image Data, EOS,
Transactions of the American
Geophysical Union, Vol. 82, No. 43,
pg. 503, 23 Oct. 2001.
5. W.L. Grantham, et al., The SeaSat-A
Satellite Scatterometer, IEEE Journal
of Oceanic Engineering, Vol. OE-2, pp
200–206, 1977.
6. E. Attema, The Active Microwave
Instrument Onboard the ERS-1
Satellite, Proceedings of the IEEE, 79,
6, pp. 791–799, 1991.
7. W-Y Tsai, J.E. Graf, C. Winn, J.N.
Huddleston, S. Dunbar, M.H. Freilich,
F.J. Wentz, D.G. Long, and W.L.
Jones. Postlaunch Sensor
Verification and Calibration of the
NASA Scatterometer, IEEE
Transactions on Geoscience and
Remote Sensing, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp.
1517–1542, 1999.
8. J. Figa-Saldaña, J.J.W. Wilson, E.
Attema, R. Gelsthorpe, M.R.
Drinkwater, and A. Stoffelen. The
 advanced scatterometer (ASCAT) on
the meteorological operational
(MetOp) platform: A follow on for
European wind scatterometers,
Canadian Journal of Remote
Sensing, Vol. 28, No. 3, June 2002.
9. John C. Stover. SPIE Optical
Engineering Press, 1995 – Science –
321 pages.
10. Myer, G, et al (1988) "Novel Optical
Approach to Atomic Force
Microscopy", Applied Physics
Letters, 53, 1045–1047
11. Baumeister, Theodore, et al. (1967)
Standard Handbook for Mechanical
 Engineers. McGraw-Hill, LCCN 16-
12915
12. John M. Guerra. "A Practical Total
Integrated Scatterometer", Proc.
SPIE 1009, Surface Measurement
and Characterization, 146 (March 21,
1989)
13. "Roughness via Scatterometry" .
ZebraOptical. Retrieved
30 December 2016.
14. "Scatterometry & Ocean Vector
Winds: Satellite Studies" . Florida
State University. Retrieved
30 December 2016.

External links
 NASA/JPL Physical Oceanography
website
ESA Scatterometer site
Scatterometer Climate Record
Pathfinder
NOAA Weather site

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