Investigation on the Doppler shifts induced by 1-D ocean surface wave displacements by the first order small slope approximation theory: comparison of hydrodynamic models

Based on the first order small slope approximation theory (SSA-I) for oceanic surface electromagnetic scattering, this paper predicts the Doppler shifts induced by wave displacements. Theoretical results from three distinct hydrodynamic models are compared: a linear model, the nonlinear Barrick model, and the nonlinear Creamer model. Meanwhile, the predicted Doppler shifts are also compared with the results associated to the resonant Bragg waves and the so-called long waves in the framework of the two-scale model. The dependences of the predicted Doppler shifts on the incident angle, the radar frequency, and the wind speed are discussed. At large incident angles, the predicted Doppler shifts for the linear and nonlinear Barrick models are found to be insensitive to the wind speed and this phenomenon is not coincident with the experimental data. The conclusions obtained in this paper are promising for better understanding the properties of time dependent radar echoes from oceanic surfaces.