The 1989 ONR Field Experiment: High Resolution Surfactant Film Measurements
2007
Peltzer, R. D. | Griffin, O. M. | Kaiser, J. A. | Barger, W. R.
Surface-active films are found in all geographic regions of the oceans. They are easily detected visually on the ocean surface when the wind speed is less than 10 knots (5.1 m/s). They are generally of biological origin and consist mainly of fulvic and humic acids, carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. Surface-active films that become concentrated at the edges of the centerline wake generated by the passage of a surface ship strongly influence the propagation of the short gravity and capillary waves which interact with electromagnetic waves at both radar and visible wavelengths. An accurate method for detecting the presence of surface films and measuring the fine-scale surface film pressure and surface elasticity distributions on a water surface has been developed at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). A device for measuring the surfactant field was deployed during the 1989 ONR Field Experiment in order to measure the redistribution of the film material by the ship's passage. These measurements have led to a better understanding of the role these ship-generated surface-active film distributions play in the formation of the dark centerline wake and railroad track or dark line features which appear in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of ship wakes. These features are important factors to be considered in demonstrating the utility of the detection and classification of surface ships and their wakes using SAR from aircraft and satellites.... Surface ship wakes, SAR Imagery, Remote sensing, Ship wake hydrodynamics.
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